How to improve your website’s accessibility with HubSpot

If you’ve read our accessibility series, you might already be familiar with the benefits of truly accessible content. From the ability to engage a wider range of audiences to more effective SEO, accessible content can do wonders to optimise your website’s performance. 

Yet, according to recent statistics, over 90% of websites don’t meet basic Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and this includes not only small bloggers and retailers, but also government, news and large e-commerce websites. With about 16% of the world’s population living with different forms of disability, many of which can impact users’ ability to access relevant services and information online, this figure is worrying

One thing to remember is that accessibility is not a feature or tool: from content to design and user journeys, it is something that should be weaved into every aspect of site building and management. And that can be complex and time-consuming.

Luckily, your CRM can help automate some of the tasks that ensure you stay on top of accessibility requirements. And if you chose HubSpot, there are even more tools to help with this mission.

How accessible is your website now?

To pinpoint areas for improvement, it’s essential to know the status quo. How is your website currently performing in terms of accessibility? To answer this question, HubSpot offers built-in accessibility audits that spot potential problems and suggest the best course of action to fix them. These can range from content issues, like missing ALT text and unclear calls to action, to design challenges such as insufficient colour contrast. 

You can also find HubSpot’s accessibility audits directly integrated into the platform’s content creation tools, so you can get real-time feedback and ensure new content is compliant. The platform can also help you assess existing content such as landing pages and blog posts, checking for common issues such as missing ALT text or poorly written headings and subheadings.

HubSpot also recognises that every improvement to SEO will inherently improve accessibility, helping you optimise content for both your users and search engines. For example, improving heading structures can make your content easier to read, but also offers you the chance to embed relevant keywords in a prominent position. 

HubSpot also offers easily customisable templates and themes designed with accessibility in mind. These provide a solid foundation to create accessible web pages, while giving you a chance to stay true to your brand identity and create content and design that is in line with your organisation’s style and tone of voice. These templates include features like keyboard navigation support and semantic HTML structure, which help you make your website more inclusive, without negatively impacting creativity and originality.

Key accessibility features in HubSpot

Now that you have a better understanding of how inclusive your website truly is, it’s time to make the most of HubSpot’s accessibility tools. Here are some of the most interesting ones

• ALT Text automation: Setting ALT text is essential to support visually impaired people relying on screen readers. ALT text automation can suggest a suitable description based on image content, speeding up content creation while ensuring this essential element isn’t neglected. 
• Readable fonts and colour contrast tools: HubSpot content tools provide options to choose from easily readable fonts, as well as colour contrast checkers. These tools make content easier to read for visually impaired users, but also help any user easily scan through text and get the information they need, at a glance. 
• Accessible forms and menus: HubSpot’s template for forms and menus come with user-friendly labels and instructions to help you create forms that present information in a logical way, streamlining the user experience. Moreover, thanks to clear and concise menus, it will be easier for your users to find the information they need, regardless of how complex your website might be. This might significantly improve the experience of neurodivergent users, who particularly benefit from having information presented in a clear and logical order. 
• Lazy image loading: What if your user base relies on older devices or slow connections? In this case, the page load speed can significantly impact their experience. Lazy image loading ensures images are loaded only when the user is about to view them, instead of all at once. This reduces bandwidth usage and speeds up page loading times, helping users with slower connections or limited data plans.

These are just some of the tools HubSpot offers to help build accessible and inclusive websites. By conducting regular audits, making the most of HubSpot’s suggestions to fix areas of concern, and using the CRM’s accessibility features to ensure new content is on point, you can ensure your website caters to a vast and diverse audience. 
But remember: accessibility is not a one-time fix or add on, but an ongoing process. It requires both a willingness to review and improve existing content, design and user journeys, and a commitment to adhere to best practices moving forward.

To help you in this process, here is a handy checklist for new and existing content. You can use HubSpot’s accessibility suite of tools to address each point:

Accessibility checklist:

• Did you add ALT text to images?
• Did you add HTML tags?
• Are you sure there is enough contrast between text and background?
• Are headings and subheadings following a logical and hierarchical order? Do they include your primary keywords?
• Is your page mobile-friendly?
• Do audio elements have transcripts? Do videos have captions?
• Content: did you perform a readability test? If so, does the score match your audience’s average level of education?
• Are calls to action clear and descriptive? 
  

The Marketing Pod is a Platinum HubSpot Solutions Partner. If you’d like to know more on how HubSpot’s can help you improve your website’s accessibility, get in touch with our team.