Create Inclusive Experiences Online With Accessibility Software

Hi, I’m Ross, Founder and CEO at Recite Me. I couldn’t be happier to announce the launch of our first ever Accessibility Awareness Week. ‘What Does Accessibility Mean to Me’ awareness week with Recite Me will be running from October 18th- 22nd, 2021. Bringing together business owners, employees, students, and industry experts, we’ll be delving into a broad range of accessibility, diversity, and inclusion topics as the week goes on. Why? Because for all the great things we’ve achieved and the huge leaps forward in web accessibility awareness in the last decade or so, there’s still more work to be done. We hope this week will provide a platform for us to come together with our clients and wider network to raise awareness for web accessibility and give people a voice to express their opinions and experiences. Web Accessibility The internet is a significant part of life. We use it to shop, pay our bills, communicate with friends and family, apply for jobs, book trips, and learn about local services. At 98%, the UK has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the world, and according to Ofcom’s 2020 report, we spend an average of 3 hours and 37 minutes online every day. Most people take access to online information as a given. However, when content fails to meet recognised accessibility standards, many people cannot read, understand, or use the information. I know, because I’m one of them. My Story I’m dyslexic. I didn’t find out until after I’d graduated university, but I’d be lying if I said I’d never suspected there was something different about the way my brain worked. At school, I struggled with subjects that required lots of writing – and reading aloud in front of the class terrified me. It took me much longer than my classmates to figure out word and sentence order. And I could never seem to improve, no matter how hard I tried. Which, for someone as competitive and driven as me, was frustrating. One day after I graduated, I was giving a presentation at work, and a colleague commented that I was displaying all the signs of dyslexia. So I got tested, and my diagnosis was confirmed. It was a relief to finally have an explanation, and I was provided with software support. But, as it only worked on one computer, it was pretty limiting. I knew there had to be a better way, and as smartphones and tablets became more prevalent, having assistive technology on just one device was never going to be practical. That’s the reason I founded Recite me. To give people like me more options and for the internet to be a more inclusive place. And to help businesses understand accessibility requirements and accessibility guidelines so they can support their employees as much as possible. Web Accessibility Guidelines In the last decade, there’s been a collective leap forward in the way people view diversity and inclusion. Every year, more businesses see inclusion as a positive change, and most reputable companies have accessibility statements on their website. Organisations are also trying harder to meet The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which is great to see. WCAG is the gold standard when it comes to web accessibility. While not an official requirement for private enterprises (yet!), government and public sector bodies are expected by law to meet Level AA. And now, with the newest WCAG update due for release in 2022, it’s more important than ever that businesses stay ahead of the curve and actively work towards inclusivity. So…What Does Accessibility Mean to You? We hope this week will help us all develop a much deeper understanding of what accessibility means to all of us. To me, web accessibility opens up the world. Remember the days before we carried the internet around in our pockets? Tasks like renewing a phone contract or switching to a new energy supplier were time-consuming. They meant hours on the phone or a trip down to a physical store to speak to a representative. Now we can accomplish those tasks in seconds within just a few clicks. Well, many people can. The only way everyone can do this is if websites and apps are accessible. That’s why web accessibility is so important to me. Nobody should be at a financial, social, or educational disadvantage just because they read and understand information differently. Here’s a few insights into what accessibility means to other people. The Customer Service Expert’s Perspective To Caroline Wells, CEO of Different Petal, accessibility means treating each customer as an individual with different access requirements, rather than seeing the entire customer base as one entity. “The flexibility needs to be there for customers to communicate in their preferred way. Businesses should be empowering customers by giving them choice, rather than making them ask for alternatives or work harder to get responses. “ The Diversity and Inclusion Professional’s Perspective Alex Greenwood, Head of People and Culture at Derwent fm, on what accessibility means to her as a human resources specialist. “While we must always keep our business objective in mind, we must also create a culture where colleagues feel truly included. Accessibility undoubtedly plays a role in this, and a skilled and knowledgeable HR team within diversity and inclusion at its core is essential to support the overall business plan”. The Client Perspective Vijay Matthew of Howlround Theatre Commons on the importance of true inclusion, rather than compliance box-checking. “Our biggest lesson was learning that simply complying with technical standards is not the same thing as true inclusion. We can’t just check the box of compliance and think that the work is done. It is quite possible to make a website that technically passes all the accessibility tests, but that still is terribly difficult for a person to use.” The End-User Perspective Maria, a Sefton Council Resident, explains why web accessibility and access to assistive software is so important to her. “I have Autism and Dyslexia, and without accessible websites or assistive technology, I can’t access or understand the information I need to stay independent. Being able to make individual changes on the council website and use tools like the ruler and screen reader have been life-changing. Accessibility Best Practices Being accessible means making reasonable adjustments and removing online barriers so that everyone can read and use the information on your website in the same way. Here is a list of steps to work through. Make sure your website build is accessible. Good web developers can help you adapt your site by incorporating best practices for accessibility. Familiarise yourself with the most up-to-date Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and aim for compliance level AA. Gather employee feedback regularly and make sure that employees with disabilities have a say in decision-making processes. Develop an inclusive recruitment process. Give clear direction about how you want your customers to communicate with you, and provide online customer service portals that account for a wide range of users and their varied needs and preferences. Use assistive technology like the Recite Me toolbar to bridge the gap between accessibility and usability, creating an inclusive online experience for everyone. Get Involved What does accessibility mean to you? We hope you’ll all join us this week and get involved to let us know! It’s important that organisations reach out to their employees and discover how people feel about accessibility. Giving everyone a voice to share their experiences and knowledge will bring the workplace together, empower individuals, and improve inclusion. You can download your resource pack, including blogs, social media posts, graphics, email templates, logos and more on our Awareness Week landing page.

The Very Group, operator of Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, has added Recite Me accessibility and language tools to its careers website to promote a diverse talent pool. The Very Group is the UK’s largest integrated online retailer and financial services provider, and values a diverse workforce, and building an open and inclusive culture. To achieve Very’s mission of inclusive recruitment, The Very Group has removed online application barriers for those with disabilities, learning difficulties, visual impairments, and those who speak English as a second language. Sean Allen, Very’s Head of Talent, commented, “We want to attract the best talent. Allowing everyone who visits our careers site to use it the way we intended is a vital part of our mission. That’s why we’ve worked with Recite Me to make our website digitally inclusive. It’s the right thing to do and the best decision for our business.” Assistive technology supports the 1 in 5 people in the UK with a disability by enabling access to The Very Group’s website in a way that best suits an individual’s needs. The Recite Me accessibility and language toolbar on The Very Group Jobs website includes screen reading functionality, multiple reading aids, customisable styling options and an on- demand live translation feature that boasts over 100 languages, including 35 text-to-speech and styling options. To customise your own digital experience on The Very Group Jobs website, please select the pink ‘Accessibility Tools’ button in the bottom right of the screen. If you would like more information on how your organisation can provide inclusive recruitment by using assistive technology, contact our team or book a real-time demonstration of our toolbar. Making the digital world inclusive for all.

We all know that e-commerce is big business, and with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas season fast approaching, retailers are doubling down on efforts to maximise their sales and revenue. But what if their websites are not accessible to all online shoppers? People with disabilities make up the largest minority group in the world. This includes people with visual impairments, hearing deficits, and cognitive, learning, and neurological disorders, as well as those who are physically disabled. And that’s without considering the millions of online consumers with diverse language needs. Not supporting these shoppers would be a big mistake for online retailers. How Big is the Disabled Shopping Market? Over one billion people worldwide are disabled, and the spending power of disabled people and their families adds up to $8 trillion. We all know that’s a big number, almost incomprehensibly so. So let’s have a look at what 8 trillion dollars could get you in laymen’s terms: 42 million new high-end cars Annual salaries for 18 million teachers 145 million kilograms of gold A home worth half a million for two million people That’s a whole heap of sales for retailers to lose out on because of an inaccessible website. Disability affects approximately one in every five people, so e-commerce businesses that don’t have accessible websites actively exclude 20% of the market and lose revenue to their more accessibility-aware competitors. In the UK, disabled people and their families have a spending power of £249 billion. The online spending power of people with access needs in Australia is AUD54 million. The total disposable income for Americans with disabilities is about $490 billion. Shopping Online Versus Shopping In-Store There has been a noticeable shift in preferences towards shopping online in recent years, and the e-commerce sector continues to expand rapidly. The lockdown and social restrictions of COVID-19 have boosted the demand for online shopping services. The advancement of mobile technology coupled with fast and efficient next-day delivery services – and the simple fact that consumers can shop easily from the comfort of their beds and sofas – are also significant contributing factors. In 2019, only 14.1% of all global sales were e-commerce purchases. By 2021, this figure increased to 18.1%. And by 2023, online sales are expected to account for 22% of global retail spending, totalling a spend of over $6.5 trillion. What Access Barriers to Disabled Shoppers Face? There are hundreds of specific conditions that create barriers to accessing information online. But broadly speaking, there are four key reasons why users cannot access a website. People Can’t Read It – Because the size of the text, the font used, or the colour contrast between the text and background is not suitable, and screen readers and text-to-speech options are unavailable. People Don’t Understand It – Because the web copy is not clearly written, doesn’t run in a logical order, or is not available in their language. People Can’t Navigate It – Because keyboard-only navigation is unavailable to people whose disabilities make smartphone use challenging. People Are Scared of It – Because there are distracting flashing images, videos, or photo carousels that make maintaining their place on a webpage too difficult. What Disabled Users Say According to Think With Google, 63% of all shopping journeys start online, so the onus is on retailers to ensure that their websites are welcoming to all consumers. Yet, WebAIM’s comprehensive analysis of the top 1 million home pages concluded that 98.1% have accessibility compliance failures. Customer research undertaken by The Purple Pound and Click Away Pound determined that: 73% of disabled customers experience barriers on more than one in four websites they visit. 75% of disabled people and their families have walked away from a business because of poor accessibility or customer service. 71% of web users simply leave a site that they find hard to use. 83% of people with access needs limit their shopping to sites that they know are accessible. 86% of users with access needs would spend more if there were fewer barriers. It’s possible that many retailers don’t realise how inaccessible their products and services are, because only 8% of site visitors will contact the owner to alert them to barriers they encounter. So it’s imperative that businesses have a thorough understanding and are proactive on web accessibility factors. 3 Ways Online Retailers Can Support Disabled Customers Ultimately, technology that benefits people with disabilities benefits all consumers, and upping your game on inclusion is not as scary, complicated, or costly as many people think. Make sure your website build is accessible. Good web developers can help you adapt your site by incorporating best practices for accessibility. Familiarise yourself with the most up-to-date Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and aim for compliance level AA. Use assistive technology like Recite Me to bridge the gap between accessibility and usability, creating an inclusive online experience for everyone. Being Accessible is The Smart Thing to Do You’ve probably already established that being accessible is the right thing to do. But many organizations still hesitate, because doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily equate to financial gain. However, where accessibility is concerned, this is simply not the case. Plus, there’s a whole list of other benefits to smart companies that take the lead in becoming accessible ahead of their competitors: Reach a wider audience. By attracting and retaining an additional 20% market share, you can significantly expand your customer base. SEO Benefits. Many best practices for accessibility are heavily weighted on search engine algorithms. Improved PR. Many customers consciously only buy from companies with inclusive values. Forbes Magazine recently reported that 52% of online consumers consider a company’s values when making a purchase. Improved Brand Reputation. Customers favour brands that care about helping others, and if your company isn’t viewed as inclusive, some customers will simply not spend their money with you. Companies Leading the Way We are proud to work with numerous businesses in the retail and e-commerce sector already. Promo Direct Tesco Boots very.com Paul Smith Dunelm Watford FC Online store Computacenter "By making use of cutting edge technologies on our website, we hope to build a future where nobody is left behind. We are committed to delivering a website that is accessible to a wide range of audiences, regardless of their ability and circumstance.” Dave Sarro, CEO of Promo Direct How Recite Me Can Help Your Online Business The Recite Me toolbar bridges the gap between accessibility and usability and promotes inclusivity by allowing those with sight loss, cognitive impairments, learning difficulties, physical disabilities, and varying linguistic needs to access websites in the way that is best suited to them. Functions include: Fully customisable text size, font, and spacing. The ability to change text colour and background colour contrasts. A screen mask to provide colour tinting and block visual clutter. Additional reading aids such as an on-screen ruler and text-only mode. Text-to-speech functions in 35 languages. A real-time translation feature catering to over 100 languages. What the Data Says Recite me is now installed on over 3,500 websites, and over the last 12 months, our data shows that: Our assistive toolbar was launched over 2.5 million times Over 13.8 million web pages were viewed using the toolbar Over 3.6 million individual styling changes were made 11.4 million pieces of content were translated into different languages 27.1 million pieces of content were read aloud Want to Know More? If you’d like to learn more about how your business can make a positive change towards inclusion and boost sales at the same time, please contact our team or book a real-time demonstration of our toolbar.