I DON’T UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY
I've heard this phrase lots of times, in fact, I have used this phrase lots more.
Every time I saw my parents struggling with websites or apps they blame themselves using the well known phrase “I don’t understand technology” or “I’m not made for technology”. Not being able to use the web is frustrating and makes you feel inadequate and isolated, and I know this because I use to feel like that (and sometimes I still do).
This feeling made me try to avoid technology as much as I could until one day a very wise man told me that I wasn’t the problem. If I don’t understand technology, it is because it was poorly designed, and when I have the feeling that I wasn’t made for technology it was because most of my experiences were related to inaccessible technology.
This information blew my mind, and made me realise that it is not just me. Out there are hundreds of thousands of people of all ages that feel the same way, but they still don’t know that it's not their fault. Technology should be accessible to everyone.
After this revelation, I wanted to know more, so my next question was: How can we make technology accessible for everyone? And that is how I was introduced to the concept of web accessibility and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which aims to make online content more inclusive by ensuring that websites and apps are usable and understandable by people of all abilities.
To give you an example, a button should look like a button (and be coded as such) and all your buttons should look like the others on your website. This helps users easily navigate your website or follow your purchase process.
There are more examples I could give you but all I want you to know is that by implementing these accessibility standards and features, websites and apps can become more inclusive, providing a better user experience, enabling us all to access information, services, and engage with digital content more effectively.
If you're a businessperson, remember, the more people use and understand your website or app, the more money you will make. I’ll be discussing more how to make your website, blog and social media more accessible next month. Stay tuned.