Dyslexia Awareness Week: Ensuring website inclusivity in the retail sector

As Dyslexia Awareness Week (07-13 October 2024) arrives next week, digital transformation specialists Sherwen Studios are advocating for retailers to reconsider how accessible their website is for users affected by dyslexia.

Dyslexia, a learning disability that primarily affects reading and writing, impacts over 6 million people in the UK. Many people are unaware that dyslexia can impact information processing – and can have a significant effect on coordination, organisation and memory. This impacts the way that individuals can use websites and apps. Therefore it is crucial that retailers take the time to continually reassess how accessible their websites, apps and ecommerce platforms are for those affected by dyslexia.

Small changes can make a big impact.

Matt Sherwen, owner of Sherwen Studios says; “Dyslexia Awareness Week is the perfect opportunity to really think about whether your website is set up to offer a dynamic experience to those affected by the condition. Digital accessibility should always be an essential part of your website strategy, and it’s important to understand that this brings in cognitive and learning abilities as well as physical capabilities.”

“The good news is that you can make relatively small changes which will have a significant impact on improving dyslexia accessibility. For example, switching to fonts such as Ariel or Verdana, increasing the font size or adding in bullets and headings can significantly aid readability. Similarly, clearly labelling forms eases information processing. These changes can make a huge difference in customer experience and transaction completion.”

Sherwen Studios has investigated dyslexia in detail as part of their latest white paper, titled Rethinking Accessibility for an Inclusive Digital Experience. Within their research, the firm have outlined a number of practical tips that retailers can follow to improve dyslexia accessibility.

The firm has broken these down into three distinct areas.

Focus on clear and readable text:

• Use high-contrast colour schemes and easily readable fonts like Arial and Verdana.
• Opt for font sizes between 12-14pt, with 1.5 line spacing. Also consider inter-letter and inter-word spacing.
• Avoid all caps, italics or underlying for emphasis. Instead, use bold text, clear headings and bullet points to simplify your text.
• Improving readability scores to simplify messaging, making the most of short sentence structures.
• Clearly label any contact forms (including payment checkouts and newsletter sign ups) so users know what details they need to submit – including mandatory information.

Make the most of adjustable settings:

• Offer users the options to adjust font size, colour contrast, and cursor appearance.
• Use single colour backgrounds rather than patterned imagery which could cause visual ‘noise’.
• Where possible, avoid using white backgrounds – instead, enable personalisation settings which allow users to switch to pale creams or pastel colours.
• Extended time limits on any time-sensitive forms (such as payment checkouts).

Publish detailed Accessibility Guides:

• Sherwen Studios’ user led research* discovered that 88% of users expressed a desire for more websites to offer clear instructions on how to adjust accessibility features, including text and background colour options and even mouse pointer visibility.

Matt Sherwen concludes, "We want the internet to be open to everyone. That’s why we’re constantly challenging retailers to look at how they can continue to adopt best practice guidelines to match the individual needs of every customer.”

“One in ten people are affected by dyslexia in the UK - that is a substantial customer base that retailers can’t afford to neglect. Making these changes and focusing on improving your overall digital accessibility could be crucial to your bottom line.”

Download the White Paper

To learn more about how to improve your digital accessibility, you can download a free copy of "Rethinking Accessibility for an Inclusive Digital Experience" straight to your inbox.

To sign up, please visit https://www.sherwen.com/download-rethinking-accessibility-whitepaper