Insights and Trends – Web Design: Accessibility

Five future technology and internet trends surrounding accessibility that are predicted to impact web design in the next three to five years are: Minimalism, Website Performance and Screen Readers, Progressive Web Apps, Keyboard and Voice Operation and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

1. Minimalism

• Minimalist web designs are those which have only the “most necessary elements for functionality.” This includes a more limited use of “style, color palettes and typography.”
• Minimalism was selected as one of three “2018 Trends in Website Design” for accessibility by Unity consulting.
• Additionally, while highlighting website accessibility as the first of “4 Must-Try Website Design Trends” for 2018, MindScape digital marketing consultancy flagged “effective use of color” as a key feature in making websites more accessible.
• More simple website designs, particularly those with high color contrast, facilitate easier reading by those with some forms of visual impairment, while also being “easier to navigate” and converting more readily into a “responsive format” that translates well onto devices of different sizes, according to Unity consulting.
• Overall, minimalism is expected to help address the “significant concern” of perceivability, represented by the 4.5% of individuals worldwide who experience colorblindness, the 4% who experience low vision and the 0.6% who are blind.

2. Website Performance and Screen Readers

• Enhancing website performance encompasses a variety of factors, including load times, page transitions and image stability.
• Improved website performance, particularly in the form of faster load times, can improve the experience for those who use screen readers, a form of assisted technology which translates the code on a web page to present visual information through sound.
• Website performance was selected as one of three “2018 Trends in Website Design” for accessibility by Unity consulting.
• Additionally, while highlighting website accessibility as the first of “4 Must-Try Website Design Trends” for 2018, MindScape digital marketing consultancy flagged a website’s ability to work with “screen readers” as a key feature in improving accessibility.
• Improving the efficiency and speed with which screen readers can be used in conjunction with websites has the potential to assist those with visual impairments, low literacy and learning disabilities.

3. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

• Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are applications that appear similar to native mobile applications when in use, but are “coded as Web pages or websites.”
• PWAs were selected as one of three “2018 Trends in Website Design” for accessibility by Unity consulting, which added that Google Lighthouse, a Google tool that assesses websites on user accessibility, “encourages the creation” of PWAs to improve website accessibility.
• Additionally, web and software development consultancy Studio Labs highlighted website accessibility and PWAs as “Top Web Development Trends” for 2019, adding that ensuring websites are operable is key to website accessibility, as well as that PWAs “work for every visitor” regardless of their “device or browser.”
• The use of PWAs improves the comparative “operability” of Web tool for those with accessibility needs.

4. Keyboard and Voice Operation

• Keyboard and voice operation refers to the use and navigation of a website with keyboard and voice functionality.
• Digital consultancy CommonPlaces selected keyboard and voice functionality as a “best practice” for accessibility in website design, while discussing accessibility as one of “4 Top Web Trends to Watch” in website design and development.
• Additionally, while highlighting website accessibility as the first of “4 Must-Try Website Design Trends” for 2018, MindScape digital marketing consultancy flagged “effective use of color” as a key feature in making websites more accessible.
• Keyboard and voice operation would provide a more “optimal user experience” for some of the 15% of the global population whose disability affects their “ability to experience the digital world.”

5. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are documentation that make websites “more consistent.“
• While highlighting website accessibility as one of “9 Web Design Trends for 2019, iMPACT consulting added that WCAGs are expected to become “more commonly enforced.”
• Additionally, school website consultancy Campus Suite selected accessibility as one of “5 School Website Design Trends” for this year, adding that schools are “required to feature” web designs that are ADA compliant, according to WCAG.
• The greater focus on documenting and enforcing standards for accessibility on the Web will make it a more “accessible environment for everybody.”

Insights and Trends – Web Design: Compliance

Future trends in web design will center around accessibility and privacy for website users. Web designers will need to be aware of current and future regulations and standards regarding these future trends to make sure that they are in compliance with them.

1. Accessibility For Visitors With Disabilities

• Web designs that are accessible for everyone make it possible for anyone to access products, information, and services regardless of disability.
• Increased accessibility is a predicted future trend, according to experts in web design, because it will increasingly be required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• More accessibility will impact future web designs with features that are compatible with assistive technologies like screen readers and is predicted to become “a real priority”.

2. User Data Collection and Stricter Data Protection Regulations

• The data that is collected from website users may include information such as your location, what ads you have clicked on, what device you are using, and more.
• Increased user data collection is a predicted future trend by web design experts because this data is becoming more valuable, and the need to comply with stricter data protection regulations will require web designers to make technical updates in areas like privacy policies, ease of requesting information, and backend designs in order to adhere to these regulations.
• User data collection and leverage will “shape the world of web design“, and the future will be focused on bringing design and user data together, according to web design experts.

3. SSL Certificates

•  Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates authenticate a website’s identity and encrypt transmitted data.
• An increase in required SSL certificates is a predicted future trend by web design industry experts because of the need to comply with stricter privacy and data protection regulations and greater public awareness of the need for secure website access.
• Compliance with required SSL certificates is predicted to impact web design by building more trust and security assurance with online users.

4. Blockchain and Future Government Regulations

•  A blockchain is linked encrypted data with added protection features.
• An increase in the use of blockchain in web design is a predicted future trend by web design experts because of its ability to create a “high standard of transparency and incorruptibility“, and the need for web designers to comply with anticipated future government regulations regarding the use of block chain will necessitate them staying aware of current regulatory topics of discussion as outlined in publications such as The Roadmap for Blockchain Standards Report.
• More blockchain use is predicted by web design experts to have a positive impact on web design, particularly in the area of instant messaging applications.

5. AI and Algorithmic Fairness

•  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the development of technology that is based on machine intelligence.
• More sophisticated features in AI for web design is a predicted future trend by web design experts because of the ability to enhance the website user experience, and complying with anticipated algorithmic fairness standards will require web designers to develop more unbiased algorithms and include feedback from diverse populations.
• The increased sophistication of AI features like chat bots in web design is predicted to make websites more conversational and positively impact web design with real benefits in the future.

Research Strategy

We first researched future trends in web design from multiple credible sources like SiteJet, Thee Digital, and IntelliThought. We then researched compliance issues that directly impacted these future trends in web design that we identified. We then researched any further data that was available of these future trends and compliance issues to complete our findings.