How to Design Websites for Seniors

A well-designed website is easy for seniors to use.

Seniors 65 and older often turn to the Internet for information on health, travel, hobbies and communication with friends and family. The National Institute on Aging

and the National Library of Medicine, agencies of the National Institutes of Health, note that deteriorating vision and age-related decline in cognitive abilities can adversely affect how seniors use the Internet. For those reasons, you should design websites that cater to seniors with these concerns in mind. A properly designed website can not only help seniors find the information they are looking for, but also help increase your traffic and search engine scoring. Recommendations from the NIA and NLM follow.

Instructions

1. Provide a consistent layout for all pages on the website. Too many variations in the layout between pages can confuse senior viewers. Keep the layout and navigation tools as simple and uncluttered as possible.

2. Create navigation buttons that are carefully marked, easy to use and uncomplicated in their operation. Provide step-by-step instructions that show senior users how to navigate through the website.

3. Employ large sans-serif fonts that are clearly legible. Sans-serif fonts use clearly defined letters that lack the "tails" found on serif fonts, making them easier for seniors to read. For enhanced legibility, use 12-point or 14-point fonts as the standard font size. When creating paragraphs, make sure they are aligned evenly to the left margins of the screen for easier readability.

4. Do not use novelty or display fonts unless these fonts can be easily read by seniors. Age-related vision problems make it harder for most seniors to read these fonts.

5. Employ soothing, contrasting background and text colors that make it easier for viewers to read. Avoid using background colors that cause foreground text to blend in. Patterned backgrounds can not only make it harder to read text, but can also disorient some elderly viewers.

6. Make accommodations for seniors using older computers and/or slower Internet connections. When presenting audio and video content, make sure to break the footage up in short segments. This will allow for easier downloading and fewer required resources. Employ commonly used audio and video formats (WAV and WMV) that can be viewed on any computer. Provide static text versions of all audio and video for audiences that cannot access the media.

7. Employ photographic images that relate to the text and subject matter at hand. Images that appear to be off-topic or unrelated to the website can confuse some senior viewers.

8. Provide contact information such as a physical mailing address and telephone number for those who would rather contact the website's representatives by U.S. mail or telephone.

References

• U.S. National Library of Medicine: Making Your Web Site Senior Friendly