Websites designed for a diverse consumer audience may cater to several target age groups or demographics. Businesses that desire to attract a wide range of consumers may find that older adults are part of their intended audience. When a target demographic includes older individuals, universal design and accessible design standards can provide equal access to content through adaptive tools or modified settings.
Disabilities can affect anyone of any age, but aging may result in acquiring a disability or the progression of an existing one. A properly-coded website following WCAG or Section 508 standards will meet requirements for accessibility regardless of a consumer’s age. For websites whose target audience includes older adults, there are additional design choices that can improve access.
The most common concerns related to website design and associated with aging include hearing loss, vision loss, decreased reaction time, and the loss of dexterity or mobility. This article will examine the effects of these health conditions and suggest design choices that may help make a website more usable for more consumers.
Hearing loss
Individuals with age-related hearing loss may experience communication challenges or have trouble interpreting audio content. Hearing loss may impact understanding of conversations, recordings, or live presentations. There is no known way to prevent age-related hearing loss. Common adaptations for age-related hearing loss include hearing aids, amplification devices, and telephone relay services.
For a website providing access to a service or engaging in commerce, most information is usually conveyed through text and images. Therefore, design choices should consider consumers who may prefer visual communication methods, including text-based chat or email. For multimedia, acceptable accommodations include closed captions and transcripts. Ensure that closed captions are correctly implemented to satisfy accessibility requirements. Accurate transcripts can help individuals who may miss certain words or concepts due to hearing difficulty.
Low vision
Common age-related vision impairments include macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma. These and other conditions can result in partial vision degradation or near-total vision loss. A gradual onset of vision degeneration may affect how someone interprets or navigates a website. Web browsers provide tools to adjust zoom levels, and color contrast may be controlled by other system settings.
Websites primarily rely on text and images to facilitate navigation or provide information. Ensure navigation and content have intuitive, uncluttered layouts. Sites should be responsive, with elements identified regardless of screen size. Users can adjust colors and contrast to some extent. However, a better option is to have multiple indicators that distinguish an item, such as a number associated with a color selection. However, including image and media alternatives, such as large-print or high-contrast versions may be helpful if needed or desired by your target audience. Content that plays automatically is best avoided, but any such multimedia content should have controls to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and play the video.
Dexterity
A website’s design should account for the range of devices used to access and navigate content, including touch-based devices. Test and maintain navigability with devices other than a mouse, since consumers may use alternative devices based on their needs. This can include keyboards, touch interfaces, and other mouse alternatives.
Accessible design choices include using ample contrast and space between text and hyperlink selections, designing websites and forms that reflow text when zoomed to resize correctly, and providing large content selection areas. Spacing out text buttons, hyperlinks, and selection field areas can help avoid issues associated with clicking the wrong link or being redirected from a page, especially on mobile devices. Avoid using countdown timers for transactions so that they're not canceled out due to slow reaction time.
Conclusion
Web design best practices for older adults are similar to those for other audiences. Most design issues older users may encounter are addressed by existing accessibility guidelines. Intuitive, well-designed websites are useful for all ages, and designing for an older audience may mean providing additional options or alternatives when appropriate. Accessible, navigable websites ultimately provide a better experience for users of any age.
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