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Accessibility, Performance, Best Practices and SEO when building a wordpress website

Accessibility, Performance, Best Practices and SEO when building a wordpress website

by | Jan 27, 2024 | Best Practices, Search Engine Optimization, Website Accessibility

Introduction

When it comes to building a website, there are several key criteria that must be considered to ensure its success. In this article, we will explore the four essential criteria that every website developer should focus on: Accessibility, Performance, Best Practices, and SEO. By keeping these factors in mind, you can create a website that not only looks great but also functions flawlessly and attracts the right audience.

Accessibility: Making Your Website Inclusive

Accessibility is all about making your website usable for all users, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. It is crucial to ensure that your website is accessible to everyone, including those with visual impairments, hearing impairments, motor disabilities, or cognitive impairments.

Our team follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure that your website meets the necessary standards. We pay attention to factors such as color contrast, keyboard accessibility, alternative text for images, and proper heading structure. By prioritizing accessibility, we aim to create an inclusive online experience for all users.

Here are some key accessibility considerations when building a WordPress website:

  • Use proper heading structure to provide a clear hierarchy of content.
  • Include alternative text for images to provide context for visually impaired users.
  • Ensure that color contrast is sufficient for users with visual impairments.
  • Make sure that your website is keyboard accessible for users who cannot use a mouse.
  • Provide captions and transcripts for audio and video content.

Performance: The Need for Speed

Website performance plays a crucial role in user experience and can greatly impact the success of your WordPress website. A slow-loading website can frustrate users and lead to high bounce rates. To address this, we utilize premium plugins such as WP Rocket to optimize your website’s performance.

Here are some tips to optimize the performance of your WordPress website:

  • Optimize images by compressing them without compromising quality.
  • Minify CSS and JavaScript files to reduce file sizes and improve loading speed.
  • Utilize caching plugins to store static versions of your website and reduce server load.
  • Enable Gzip compression to reduce file sizes and improve loading speed.
  • Choose a reliable hosting provider that offers fast server response times.

Best Practices: Building with Quality in Mind

Following best practices when building a WordPress website ensures that your website is well-structured, secure, and easy to maintain. Here are some essential best practices to consider:

  • Keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date to ensure security and compatibility.
  • Use a child theme to make customizations without modifying the parent theme.
  • Organize your content with categories and tags for better navigation and SEO.
  • Implement a backup solution to protect your website from data loss.
  • Regularly monitor and optimize your website’s performance.

SEO: Getting Found in the Digital Jungle

SEO is crucial for driving organic traffic to your WordPress website. Optimizing your website for search engines can help improve its visibility and rank higher in search engine results.

We utilize Google Development Tools to analyze and optimize your website’s performance in search engine rankings. By conducting keyword research, optimizing meta tags, improving site structure, and creating high-quality content, we can help your website rank higher in search engine results.

Here are some SEO tips for your WordPress website:

  • Research and target relevant keywords for your content.
  • Optimize your page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs with targeted keywords.
  • Create high-quality and engaging content that provides value to your audience.
  • Optimize your images with descriptive file names and alt tags.
  • Build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.

By implementing these accessibility, performance, best practices, and SEO strategies, you can create a WordPress website that not only looks great but also provides an excellent user experience, performs well, and ranks higher in search engine results. Remember, building a successful website requires ongoing maintenance and optimization, so make sure to regularly review and update your website to stay ahead of the competition.

Contact 360 Web Firm for your website Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices and SEO.

Why Use the Proper Web Safe Font for Your Headers and Body Text

Why Use the Proper Web Safe Font for Your Headers and Body Text

by | Jan 13, 2024 | Best Practices, Website Accessibility, Website Content

When it comes to designing a website, there are countless decisions to be made. From the layout to the color scheme, every detail plays a crucial role in creating an engaging and visually appealing user experience. One often overlooked aspect of web design is the choice of fonts.

The Importance of Font Selection

Fonts are not just about aesthetics; they also play a significant role in enhancing readability and conveying the right message to your audience. The right font can evoke emotions, establish brand identity, and make your content more memorable.

However, not all fonts are created equal. Some fonts may look great on your computer, but they may not be compatible with all devices and browsers. This is where web safe fonts come into play.

What Are Web Safe Fonts?

Web safe fonts are a set of fonts that are widely supported across different operating systems and web browsers. These fonts are pre-installed on most devices, ensuring that your website will display correctly regardless of the user’s device or browser.

Using web safe fonts eliminates the risk of your carefully chosen font not rendering properly on certain devices. It ensures consistency and allows your website to be accessible to a wider audience.

Benefits of Using Web Safe Fonts

1. Compatibility: Web safe fonts are supported by all major operating systems and browsers, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. This ensures that your website will look the same for all users, regardless of the device they are using.

2. Faster Loading Times: Web safe fonts are usually smaller in file size compared to custom fonts. This means that your website will load faster, improving user experience and reducing bounce rates.

3. Accessibility: By using web safe fonts, you make your website more accessible to users with disabilities. Some assistive technologies rely on web safe fonts to properly render text, ensuring that your content is accessible to all.

4. Consistency: Web safe fonts provide a consistent experience across different devices and browsers. You can be confident that your headers and body text will display as intended, maintaining the visual harmony of your website.

Best Practices for Using Web Safe Fonts

1. Choose a font that matches your brand: While web safe fonts offer a wide range of options, it’s essential to select a font that aligns with your brand identity. Consider the tone and personality of your brand and choose a font that reflects these qualities.

2. Use different font styles for headers and body text: Different font styles can help create visual hierarchy and make your content more scannable. Use a bold or italicized font for headers to grab attention, and a more legible font for body text to ensure readability.

3. Consider font pairing: Pairing fonts can add visual interest and variety to your website. Choose fonts that complement each other and create a harmonious balance. Avoid using too many different fonts, as it can make your website appear cluttered and unprofessional.

4. Test your website on different devices and browsers: Even with web safe fonts, it’s crucial to test your website on various devices and browsers to ensure consistent rendering. This will help you identify any potential issues and make necessary adjustments.

So, What Fonts Should I Use For My Website?

In our own experience at 360 Web Firm, along with a lot of time researching and reading about what fonts to use, we came up with the best top 10 Web Safe Fonts in our opinion based on Accessibility, Website Speed and performance, Compatibility and Consistency.

Here is a list of the Top 10 Web Safe Fonts you can use.

  1. Helvetica (sans-serif)
  2. Arial (sans-serif)
  3. Arial Black (sans-serif)
  4. Verdana (sans-serif)
  5. Tahoma (sans-serif)
  6. Trebuchet MS (sans-serif)
  7. Impact (sans-serif)
  8. Gill Sans (sans-serif)
  9. Times New Roman (serif)
  10. Georgia (serif)

Conclusion

Choosing the right font for your headers and body text is an essential part of web design. By using web safe fonts, you ensure compatibility, accessibility, and consistency across different devices and browsers. So, next time you’re designing a website, don’t overlook the importance of font selection. Your users will thank you!

Why Make Your Website Accessible for Everyone

Why Make Your Website Accessible for Everyone

by | Jan 7, 2024 | Best Practices, Website Accessibility

Having an accessible website is crucial in today’s digital age. It ensures that people of all abilities can access and navigate your site, regardless of any physical or cognitive limitations they may have. Making your website accessible not only benefits individuals with disabilities, but it also enhances the user experience for everyone who visits your site. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of website accessibility and why you should prioritize it.

1. Inclusivity

By making your website accessible, you are promoting inclusivity and equal access for all users. People with disabilities should have the same opportunities to engage with your content, products, and services as anyone else. When you prioritize accessibility, you send a message that you value diversity and are committed to providing a welcoming online environment for everyone.

2. Reach a Larger Audience

Creating an accessible website allows you to reach a larger audience. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability. By ensuring your website is accessible, you open your business or organization to a significant portion of the population that may have otherwise been excluded. This can lead to increased traffic, engagement, and potential customers or clients.

3. Legal Compliance

Website accessibility is not just a moral obligation but also a legal requirement in many countries. Laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States and the Equality Act in the United Kingdom mandate that websites must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in legal consequences and damage to your reputation. By proactively making your website accessible, you ensure compliance and avoid any potential legal issues.

4. Improved SEO

Did you know that website accessibility can also improve your search engine optimization (SEO)? Search engines like Google prioritize websites that are user-friendly and provide a positive user experience. By implementing accessible design practices, such as proper heading structure, alt text for images, and descriptive link text, you not only make your site accessible but also enhance its overall SEO. This can lead to higher search engine rankings, increased organic traffic, and improved visibility for your website.

5. Enhanced Usability

An accessible website is a usable website. When you design with accessibility in mind, you create a site that is easy to navigate, understand, and interact with. This benefits all users, regardless of their abilities. By providing clear and concise content, intuitive navigation, and logical page layouts, you ensure that everyone can find the information they need quickly and efficiently. This positive user experience can result in increased user engagement, longer visit durations, and higher conversion rates.

6. Future-Proofing

Investing in website accessibility now can future-proof your online presence. As technology continues to evolve, accessibility standards and guidelines will also evolve. By staying ahead of the curve and implementing accessible design practices, you ensure that your website remains compliant with future accessibility requirements. This saves you time and resources in the long run and allows you to adapt to any changes in accessibility regulations without having to overhaul your entire website.

Test your websites Accessibility by going to this link by Google. This will give you a score for Accessibility, speed, performance and SEO. https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights

In conclusion, making your website accessible for everyone is not only the right thing to do but also a strategic business decision. It promotes inclusivity, expands your audience reach, ensures legal compliance, improves SEO, enhances usability, and future-proofs your online presence. By prioritizing website accessibility, you create a positive user experience for all users and demonstrate your commitment to equal access and diversity.

Contact 360 Web Firm to Get Help with Your Speed, Performance, Accessibility and SEO on your Website.

360 Web Firm can help you get better scores with all the perimeters above.  Please contact us anytime for a free quote.

Accessibility And Best Practices For Your Website

Accessibility And Best Practices For Your Website

by | May 1, 2022 | Best Practices

SEO, Best Practices and Accessibility Packages

Best practices for your website, errors, broken links and much more. Proper initial SEO for your website, meta tags, keywords and more.

Accessibility is the practice of making your websites usable by as many people as possible. We traditionally think of this as being about people with disabilities.

When websites and web tools are properly designed and coded, people with disabilities can use them. However, currently many sites and tools are developed with accessibility barriers that make them difficult or impossible for some people to use.

Making the web accessible benefits individuals, businesses, and society. International web standards define what is needed for accessibility. This just increases your chances at better sales, better search engines results and all around better service.

WHAT FACTORS COULD BE CONSIDERED BEST PRACTICES?

There are a number of factors that are taken into consideration from search engines that require you to use best practices on your websites.  Below is a few of those:

  • Select a text that is easy to read.
  • Choose a color scheme that suits your brand.
  • Use white space to break up text and other elements.
  • Make your navigation simple and easy to use.
  • Make text simple and short and easy to understand.
  • Show using images instead of just telling.
  • Allow users to paste in passwords.

WHAT FACTORS COULD BE CONSIDERED FOR ACCESSIBILITY?

Accessibility is the practice of making your websites usable by as many people as possible. Below is a few of those that should be taken into consideration. these could be older people, Compatible with screen readers, people with low bandwidth connections or using older technologies, people with visual impairment: 

  • Ability to enlarge your website content such as text while using a desktop down to a to a mobile device such as in pinch zoom up to 5x.
  • Images with alt tags for people with visual impairment.
  • Clear and precise text, not fancy or hard to read text. The most accessible fonts are Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman.
  • Compatible with screen readers.
  • Images with high resolution.
  • No popups or anything that is moving on site that cannot be read or understood.
  • Colour scheme used on the website which may be difficult to see buttons and text.
  • Links and button names are simple and descriptive to understand.

An accessible created website is key to creating a great user experience for all your site’s visitors.  Taking the extra time to make sure you are making your site accessible for everyone, will benefit everyone, including the website owner.