5 Ways To Make Your Website More Autism-Friendly
The CDC reports that about 1 in 36 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States. Autism is a prevalent disorder that affects how people understand and engage with their surroundings. Adults and children across all ethnicities and countries must manage this daily. In a world that is increasingly focused on content dumping, life can get overwhelming for anyone with ASD. Since April is Autism Awareness Month, there is no better time to make your website more autism-friendly, creating a more accessible and inclusive environment for anyone who wishes to understand what you do. Businesses can take many small yet significant steps in their web design, layout, and copy to make life a little easier for everyone.
Increase Visuals
Adding visual cues along with copy may greatly help people with ASD. It can get difficult to understand how a website works, where to click, and what things mean when there are simply too many words. Consider adding pictures, graphics, or illustrations to your website to increase clarity and give your users direction. For example, many websites have icons next to certain features. The button for the home page will feature a house, or the section to buy products will include a shopping cart. These icons simplify the website experience for people with ASD and those without, making for a more seamless and comfortable website experience. You can apply this logic to all aspects of your business, not only your website. For example, if you have a newsletter to send out over email, consider reworking the copy for an infographic instead.
Limit Distractions & Pop-Ups
Some websites love to bombard users with different pop-ups as soon as the page loads. This involves urging them to join a mailing list, offering discount codes, or publishing company-related news. While the intentions of these pop-ups are good, the experience of it for people with ASD might not be. Such an intensity of website action might increase distraction, making people more stressed and less likely to understand how to navigate the website. Consider opting for a cleaner and more straightforward approach to your website to highlight brevity, clarity, and ease of use. For example, you might offer a 10% discount to all new customers. Instead of creating a flashy pop-up for it, you could add it as a different colored banner on the side of the website. This way, it will always be visible but won’t suddenly appear on the screen.
Avoid Unnecessary Jargon
Language has one primary function: communication. This means being as clear and concise as possible. The best copy isn’t one that uses obscure words and lengthy sentences. Instead, it conveys information succinctly and accurately. If parts of your website are too heavy in their copy, consider reworking them to remove unnecessary jargon and overly academic language. If there are specific topics you need to include that have jargon in them, always add an explanation for what you’re talking about. The simplicity required for this also translates into flowery language. Excessive metaphors and similes may get confusing for people with ASD because they add ambiguity and vagueness to a point that can otherwise be made clearly and concisely.
Structure Helps!
When there’s a large body of material for the user to sift through, adding as much structure as possible helps. This involves adding clear headings, breaking up the body of text with frequent paragraphs or visuals, and adding as many bullet points as possible. You can also experiment with how the information is conveyed. Perhaps certain parts of the text can be reworked into color-blocked sections, thus breaking a large stream of words into more digestible information. Alternatively, you can use a bold font or underline certain phrases that are the most important, making it easier for someone to grasp the relevant information. Remember not to overwhelm the user with too many graphics, fonts, and colors. It should be eye-catching and easy to read but not so complex that it distracts users with ASD.
Videos Are Good, But Only Under Certain Conditions
Adding video content to your website is always a good idea. It makes for a more interactive and engaged experience for all users. However, it is also an excellent idea for people with ASD because immersive videos on your website allow them to take a break from reading and scrolling, resulting in higher retention and increased concentration. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when adding video content to ensure you include people with ASD. Firstly, you must ensure that high-quality audio has been added. Frequent mumbling or a lower audio resolution might lead to voices that aren’t distinguishable from each other. Secondly, captions should always be added to the videos. This allows everyone—people with and without ASD—to concentrate better on the content instead of trying to figure out what is being said.
Web design that is inclusive for people with ASD doesn’t differ much from what every company should already be doing for their online presence: ensuring concise, neat, and beautiful content. Every user’s experience should be considered when a website is being created or remodeled, and this must include people with ASD.
Always in your corner,
The Content Queens
