You might work in a small team managing your website or you may be flying solo as a freelancer. Either way, it adhering to web standards and accessibility standards can be a tough sell with either your client or your manager. So how do you go about selling the super sexy idea of web standards?
Connect Standards to Other Goals
Web standards are amazing things – coding with good web standards looks eerily similar to coding with good accessibility standards, so you’re already solving two challenges in one. But to make your client or boss care about them, you need to find a problem they are having that will be solved by web standard coding. Coincidentally, this is also a great approach when you’re writing cover letters. Think about job postings as a list of problems the hiring manager is having – how can the skills you have make their lives easier?
Web standards can help in a number of ways, but a few heavy-hitting reasons you can use are:
- Allowing users of all sight and motor control abilities to read your content.
- Allowing users on any platform or device to use your site.
- Allowing users on any internet connection speed to see your products.
Remember to pitch your standards project as future-proofing – clearly coded content will be much easier to integrate onto other platforms in the future. Think about digital signage or audio-based platforms like Google Glass, and likely platforms we haven’t even dreamed of yet. The cost of letting your code stay as is will just get higher the longer you wait.
Start Small
Once you learn about web and accessibility standards, the task at hand can seem daunting. But the truth is, you can start small. Make a checklist of everything you want to do with every new piece of content you build and, if time allows, apply the same list to every older piece you go in and modify. Set a goal of a small section per day or per week and track your overall progress to see how far you’ve come. This is also a great method for selling your boss or client; the project doesn’t have to come with a big upfront cost if you stretch it out over time.
Come Armed with Data
This could be audience analysis data (how many users aren’t able to get to your content because of accessibility concerns or an older device?) or a demonstration of how your small changes are making a big difference. Bringing data to the table is like having an impartial, third-party judge; it can help keep egos out of the conversation.
Don’t give up – even if you’re a one-person team, your work can make a world of difference to your users.