How to Improve the Color Blindness Accessibility of Your Website?

Color blindness or color vision deficiency is one of the most common visual problems in the world. It affects a considerable portion of the population and is regarded as an impairment. 

That is why when you design your website, you need to address the color scheme head-on in order to help people with color blindness understand content the same way.

Color blindness can be a serious obstacle for people when they are trying to navigate websites, primarily if the website relies too much on color.

It is essential to improve your website's accessibility and adapt it so it is easier for people with color blindness to use. By doing this kind of adjustment, you will make it easier for your colourblind users to navigate through your web pages.

Local legislation, depending on the place where you live, probably also has requirements about the use of colors and accessibility to color blindness. They are part of the core guidelines in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) rulebook by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). So, by adding color blindness accessibility features, you are not only helping people out but also avoiding costly legal battles.

In this article, we will introduce you to practical strategies and tools for improving the accessibility of your website for color blindness.

What Is Color Blindness?

Color blindness is considered a visual impairment that makes it difficult for people to distinguish different colors and hues. The reason behind this is the absence or malfunction of certain color-detecting molecules in the eye's cone cells.

There are several types of color blindness, each affecting color perception differently:

• Red-green color blindness – the most common type. It means that the person experiences reduced sensitivity to red or green colors from the color spectrum.
• Blue-yellow colour blindness – not as common as the red-green colour blindness. It includes a low vision for blue and yellow colors.
• Total colour blindness – a very rare condition when the person who suffers from it sees no colours at all, only shades of grey.

Color blindness can occur both as a result from genetic factors and trauma or disease. It significantly affects daily activities, especially tasks involving colour-coded information. This is why you should consider colour blindness accessibility when developing your web site or online product.

Around 8% of men and 0.5% of women worldwide experience some form of color blindness, making it a significant portion of the population.

Why Should Your Website Follow Color Blindness Accessibility Guidelines?

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As an online service provider you should know that you are obligated by law to follow accessibility standards and regulations. You must do it to help everybody regardless of their abilities reach and connect with the information and services that you provide.

This can significantly increase the amount of people who get to see and interact with your content.

These are the key reasons why color blindness accessibility protocols and guidelines must be followed:

• Inclusivity – Equal access is one of the fundamental human rights.
• Improved user experience – Design decisions that consider color blindness, such as a high color contrast ratio on the used text and clear labels, lead to a user-friendly interface.
• Legal compliance – By following the WCAG, you can rest assured that you also follow all the accessibility laws and regulations.
• Better design practices – This includes using text labels alongside colour, making sure there is enough colour accessibility and bright colours so the colourblind people can navigate easily, etc.
• Business benefits – Creating an accessible website will also have a positive business impact. It will increase your reach, attract more customers and bring your brand's reputation to the next level.

You should know that accessible websites are perceived better by users and lead to even more people accessing your webpage. Following colour blindness accessibility guidelines is of huge importance in order for you to create an inclusive, user-friendly, legally compliant and well-designed website.

Design Considerations

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When your goal is to make your website as accessible as possible, there are a few things to consider regarding colorblind accessibility.

Here are our top tips on how to achieve that:

• Color contrast matters – High contrast between background imagery and text is a must if you want your colorblind users to see everything on the page. It also improves the readability of content for all visually impaired users.
• Don't use only color to convey meaning – using color as a way to give information to users is a huge NO in color blindness accessibility. A large portion of your content won't be visible to colorblind people. Instead, try to use a different way – combine color and formatting, use a different type of pattern, etc.
• Clear labels – always use clear labels for buttons and any other navigational design.
• Give alternatives – a lot of websites in modern times offer a read-only mode that has no colors and is solely concentrated on meaning.
• Choose your color palette wisely – your website designer should consider the color palette of the webpage very carefully in order to find the perfect colors and hues visible for people with color blindness.

Once you have completed the list above it's time to test it. This is done best with real-world testing by users with color blindness.

It's really important to have a design and development team that understands the standards and requirements in regard to color blindness accessibility. This will help you integrate accessibility considerations into the design process from the very beginning of your project.

Website Elements That Are Inaccessible to Colorblind Users

Designing your website to be accessible for colour blind users is not a challenging task if you know what to do and what to avoid. 

In the text above, we talk about the things you should do and the features you should integrate so you can have an accessible and user-friendly website but there are also some things you should avoid.

Here are some common website elements that can be inaccessible to colorblind or visually impaired users:

• Colour dependent navigation menus – Those are menus that rely only on colour to express information. This can be an obstacle for colour blind users that may not see the colour dynamics in their full scale and can lead to confusion and frustration.
• Graphs and charts – Any type of data visualizations that use colour alone to make a difference between data sets can be difficult for colourblind users to interpret.
• Form validation – Error messages and required field indicators that rely only on color may be left unnoticed by the visually impaired.
• Links and buttons – Links or buttons that are differentiated from regular text only by color will be indistinguishable for the colorblind.
• Interactive elements – Toggles, switches, or sliders that use color to indicate something will be confusing.
• Infographics – Infographics that use a variety of colors to convey different pieces of information will be challenging for impaired users.
• Alerts and notifications – Alerts that rely on color will be left unnoticed by the visually impaired.
• Image overlays – Text that is overlaid in images will be hard to read if the colour of the text blends with the background image.
• Dropdown menus – Dropdown menus that change color to indicate selection will be problematic.

These are some of the key elements that makes it hard for the visually impaired people to access your website or online service. You can significantly improve your accessibility by addressing them and repairing the colours that you use if needed.

What Colours Work Best for Colorblind People?

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When you design your website for colorblind users, you should be really careful with the color combinations you choose. Depending on the type of color blindness, users will lose parts of the information.

You should at all times avoid problematic pairings of colors. Those can be red-green, green-brown, blue-purple, light green-yellow, etc. Consider using an altogether colorblind-friendly palette. A good example is a palette with dark blue and orange.

The monochrome design is also a perfect choice. You can use variations of a single color, but remember – contrast is key. You should always have a significant difference between the different hues. These are just some of the ways you can improve the accessibility of color blindness on your website.

Conclusion

Designing websites with color blindness accessibility in mind is essential if you want to create an inclusive digital environment. By understanding the different types of color blindness and integrating designs and features on your website that make it more accessible for people with visual disabilities, you are providing equal access for everyone.

Prioritizing accessibility not only complies with legal standards but also widens your audience and proves your commitment to social responsibility.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Benefits of Improving Accessibility to My Website for Color Blindness?

It enhances overall user experience, increases inclusivity, and broadens your audience reach.

How Can I Make Graphs and Charts Accessible to Colorblind Users?

Use patterns or textures in addition to color to differentiate between data sets. Include direct labeling on the graph elements and provide a text description or legend. Using distinct shapes or line styles can also help in distinguishing data points.

What Are Some Design Strategies to Accommodate Colorblind Users?

Using high-contrast color schemes, avoiding reliance solely on color to convey information, incorporating textures and patterns, adding text labels and icons, and ensuring clear and descriptive labels for interactive elements.