If you’ve got a successful website, you probably have some bilingual or multilingual users. About 20.6% of the U.S. population is bilingual; in Europe, that percentage is about 56%.
Realistically, those people may not have the same level of literacy across their languages. For example, if you’re learning Spanish, you probably can’t sit down with a Gabriel García Márquez novel right away. Even if you understand the vocabulary, you might not understand the context.
But when you’re building a website, you’re not trying to write a Gabriel García Márquez novel. You want it to appeal to as many people as possible, including people who may have limited literacy or language comprehension.
When you can communicate effectively to all of those users, you’re in a great position for success. Here’s how the best practices of web accessibility can help you create that type of content.
Accessible content is text based, so its easy to translate
These days, most web browsers can translate text to the user’s preferred language. Automatic translations aren’t perfect, but they’re still helpful — particularly for second-language learners who don’t need a full translation.
Of course, automatic translation is only possible if your content is actual text. If your website uses audio, video, or pre-rendered images of text, those elements won’t translate.
The international rulebook for digital accessibility is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and it addresses non-text content in its very first accessibility requirement (or success criterion):
“All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose [with limited exceptions].”
Following this rule benefits second-language learners, but it’s also essential for people who use screen readers (software that converts text to audio or braille) and other assistive technologies. When all content has a text-based alternative, it can be changed to match the needs of the user.
The classic example of a text-based alternative is the HTML alternative text (also called alt text) attribute for images, graphs, and other visual content. Video captions and transcripts are also text alternatives, and they’re especially helpful for people with low literacy skills and second-language learners — those users may have trouble understanding dialogue, and captions & transcripts give them another way to engage with your website.
Incidentally, text-based content is easier for search engines to crawl. That’s one of the primary reasons that accessibility benefits search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Related: Examples of Text Alternatives to Non-Text Content
Well-structured content is easier to read, understand, and navigate
Let’s say that your users want to read your website, but they don’t want to use automatic translation right away. They want to at least attempt to read the content as you’ve presented it without using other tools or technologies.
You can provide those users with a better experience by structuring your content in a way that makes sense. That means:
- Using descriptive subheadings to break up long paragraphs of text.
- Writing title tags that describe the contents of each page.
- Using ordered and unordered lists (like this list that you’re reading) to get points across quickly.
- Placing your website’s navigation controls (such as header menus) in the same place from page to page.
By providing structure, you’re making your website more “scannable:” You’re helping people find the information they need quickly, which can keep them engaged with your content.
You’re also making your website more robust. In WCAG terminology, “robust" means that the content works with a wider range of technologies — including technologies that haven’t been invented yet.
Related: What Are the Four Major Categories of Accessibility?
Focusing on accessibility helps you communicate
Various other WCAG success criteria can benefit second-language learners. Declaring the language of each web page via HTML, for example, helps user agents translate text. Keeping language simple and avoiding jargon can make content easier to read, regardless of the user’s level of literacy.
To create truly inclusive content, you’ll need to test your website against WCAG regularly. Here's the good news: That work pays off. When you follow the best practices, your content is easier to understand and more robust — which helps you get your message across to every user, regardless of their abilities.
For more guidance, view our free digital accessibility resources or send us a message to connect with a subject matter expert.
