Did you know that today, an estimated 1.5 Million Canadians identify themselves as having a sight loss. Almost 3% of Canadians aged 15 years and older, or about 750,000 people, reported having a seeing disability that limited their daily activities.
The goal of inclusive online communications and design should be to provide the best user experience for as broad a range of people as possible including low vision users. Here are 5 easy to implement suggestions to improve the experience of your low vision visitors online.
1 Font size matters. Use minimum size 12 font and ideally 14 – 16
2 Use fonts that are easy to read like Arial. NEVER use script, outlined, shadowed or fancy fonts.
3 Ensure text color boldly contrast with background and avoid faded or light color text.
4 Always use graphic that clearly represent the topic and keep graphics uncluttered – example – A mother holding a child versus a room full of mothers holding children. Avoid motion elements.
5 Ensure hyper-links are working and are a bold color and contrast with regular text and background.
These 5 basic considerations can go a long way in terms of helping low vision folks engage with your content!
