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Written by Neha Banka, Edited by Explained Desk | Kolkata | Updated: June 6, 2020 7:02:19 pm In 2020, BTSs addition to this list is no surprise.

When it became clear that coronavirus concerns and rising infection numbers around the world would bring a stop to large gatherings, among other things, it meant that students would be unable to attend conventional graduation ceremonies. To counter this, in May, YouTube announced that it would be hosting a virtual graduation ceremony for students around the world, despite the unusual and challenging circumstances that were brought on due to the pandemic. The commencement speakers for this virtual Dear Class of 2020 event include former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Googles Sundar Pichai, Malala Yousafzai and Korean pop group BTS.

In 2020, BTSs addition to this list is no surprise. On the contrary, it would have come as a surprise to many, especially their global fandom, had the group not been included. In the seven years since their K-pop debut in 2013, BTS has achieved the prominence and recognition that artistes in the Korean entertainment industry aspire to but seldom attain.

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The K-pop groups achievements are many, from forging new world records because of their music to winning multiple music and entertainment awards in South Korea and elsewhere. To cap this rather long list, they became the first South Korean group to perform at the Grammys in January 2020.

Although Korean pop-music as it exists in its present form emerged in the 1990s, its origins can be traced to the Second World War when foreign troops stationed in the Korean Peninsula, particularly American soldiers, brought pop music from their home countries and introduced it to their Korean counterparts. Radio broadcasts also helped in popularising and in the spread of the works of American singers like Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong, as well as international groups like The Beatles. By the 1990s, Korean pop music began taking its own unique form and shape, and was heavily influenced by American and European pop music styles, especially, hip hop, rap, rock and jazz.

K-pop was revolutionised by Seo Taiji & Boys. In 1992, the trio of Yang Hyun-suk, Lee Juno and Seo Taiji took South Korea by storm with their hit song Nan Arayo. Yang Hyun-suk went on to establish YG Entertainment, one of the biggest Korean pop music companies. For close to two decades, YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment were the biggest players in the K-pop industry, producing the most prominent K-pop stars and chart-topping numbers. So much so, they came to be called the Big Three of the Korean entertainment industry.

In 2005, Bang Si-hyuk established Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd, which launched BTS, a seven-man group comprising Jungkook, V, Jimin, Suga, Jin, Nam-joon (RM) and J-Hope in 2013. The success and popularity was also because Big Hit was different from the Big Three. Big Hit is an IT company producing K-pop. This is where Bang Si-hyuk comes in, says Byung Kee-suh, a writer based in Seoul who has written extensively about K-pop for over 30 years. According to Byung, who has spent years researching BTS successes and has written an entire book on the subject, Bang has been trying to combine the world of BTSs K-pop and the 13 trillion won (approximately $11.7 billion) Korean gaming industry. Over the years, several BTS-themed online games have been developed by Netmarble, a company said to be owned by Bangs cousin.

Bangs attempts to diversify K-pop and the ways in which it is consumed have paid off. The value of SM Entertainment is a fraction of BTSs entire market, says Byung.

According to Byung, Bangs focus has always been different from the other big entertainment companies in K-pop, with a goal to capture the international market. That has in part, contributed to the successes of BTS. The domestic market in Korea is very small, so the desperation is driving them abroad, explains Bang. After the US, South Korean entertainment companies target Japan the most. But there is China too, though increasing geo-political challenges make the business complicated.

It is not just clever planning and marketing by the parent company and good music that has contributed to the groups meteoric rise. It is also the groups worldwide fandom that calls itself BTSs ARMY an acronym for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth, though the longer version is rarely used.

Byung recalls an incident that occurred when BTS was scheduled to appear on the US talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The first plan was to hold a live broadcast with BTS for four to five minutes. The staff asked which of the members spoke English and they decided that RM would answer one or two questions. Kim Nam-joon, 25, also known as RM, is the leader of the group, although the members have emphasised that they are equal in the group. The plans of the broadcast changed a day before and the broadcast time was extended to 11 to 12 minutes. That happened because ARMYs had gathered outside the studio and the lines were so long, that it was in the news. Some fans had pitched tents to wait outside the studio. The staff of The Ellen Show were so surprised because this had never happened with American artistes. So they were stupefied by this mysterious boy group. So ARMYs have made BTS famous, explains Byung.

In Korean pop music, every artist or group has their own fandom, along with unique colours and symbols used for various kinds of merchandise. Each fandom has their own unique characteristics, with one factor in common they will fiercely fight for their idols. This is called spontaneous fandom. Nobody paid you to do it. Can you wait in line in a tent if you dont like them? asks Byung.

BTSs influence over young people around the world has only grown, especially post 2015, and international organisations like UNICEF began to take notice. In 2018, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the group traded their stage costumes for formal wear to address a UN session titled Youth 2030 to launch Generation Unlimited, an initiative by UNICEF. If you have heard the speech that RM, Kim Nam-joon, made at this event, representing all BTS members, it will perhaps be easier to understand why the group resonates with so many young people around the world today.

In an intro to one of our early albums, there is a line that says, My heart stopped when I was maybe 9 or 10. Looking back, I think thats when I began to worry about what other people thought of me and started seeing myself through their eyes, said Kim Nam-joon in his speech at the UN. I stopped looking up at the night sky, the stars. I stopped daydreaming. Kim added: Instead, I tried to jam myself into the other molds that other people made. Soon, I began to shut out my own voice and started to listen to the voices of others. No one called out my name and neither did I.

Like Kims speech on the sidelines of the UNGA, the groups songs also focus on similar themes that adolescents and young adults are able to relate to.

Researchers of Korean pop music whom indianexpress.com spoke to said many BTS fans tend to be very young or young adults transitioning to and discovering the vagaries of adulthood. One thing Ive noticed often with BTS fans is that they can be so BTS-centric, and relatively unaware of what other artistes either present or in the past have done that they consume BTS as some sort of mythic eventlike a virgin birth. BTS is amazing, but BTS is a product of their contextKorean culture, Korean society, Korean history, and deeply influenced by other Korean artistes, both contemporary hit-makers and artists from 50 years ago that their grandparents may have still been listening to when they grew up, explains CedarBough T. Saeji, Visiting Assistant Professor in Asian Languages and Cultures, Indiana University, Bloomington, who has conducted extensive research on K-pop.

According to Saeji, over the years, BTS members have at different points in their career and due to different qualities demonstrated they have attracted fans for diverse reasons. The group speaks about and shares concerns of young people, as demonstrated in Kims speech on the sidelines of the UNGA, not only through their music, but also during events in which they participate. They have been approachable and humble through their career, and have not positioned themselves as somehow above their fans. Through their constant mediatisation, fans feel they enter into a parasocial relationship with the septet. In particular, among the issues they have spoken about, their emphasis by BTS on mental health and self-love struck a powerful chord with young people, adds Saeji.

But BTS has also been exceptionally fortunate, and some part of their successes can also be chalked down to simply great timing and the solid foundation and working models their predecessors in Korean pop music had established over more than two decades. Many of todays most popular K-pop acts have capitalised on the popularity of Hallyu, the Korean Wave, a cultural phenomenon that involved the rising popularity of Korean pop music and entertainment that surfaced in the late 1990s in East Asia, and slowly spread around the world.

Saeji points to Korean pop groups like Girls Generation (SNSD) and Big Bang, that were among the first K-pop groups that gained popularity outside East Asia. BTS has a David/Goliath story vis-a-vis the Korean entertainment industry, and many young people also feel disempowered and disadvantaged from the start. Therefore supporting BTS, because they were handicapped by the lack of funds and power of Big Hit, was very attractive to early fans, she explains. Even fans who discover them today are encouraged by the story of success despite the difficulties that BTS represents.

It hasnt been very long since Anasuya Thomas, 17, and her twin sister Gayatri discovered BTS. Their songs helped me. They are really honest and true about the hardships that they went through, says Anasuya. Since the twins discovered the group in January, they have been sucked into the fandom in ways they themselves never expected.

Like many other fans, the Thomas sisters in New Delhi soon discovered how much BTSs songs resonated with them and the One Direction fans soon found themselves members of a new fandom, a revelation that occurred just months prior to their Class XII examinations. In our teens, do we love ourselves? asks Anasuya, referencing the groups 2018 album Love Yourself. It is really helpful to hear about someone else going through the same things.

For observers of socio-cultural trends, BTSs development and outreach has made for an interesting watch. For many upcoming artistes and entertainment companies in South Korea, it has also laid down a new and redeveloped the blueprint on how Korean pop groups and stars can aim for international success. In many ways, the success is largely dependent on the group or stars relationship with fans. BTS has done an amazing job speaking directly to fans. Unlike major acts with most other Korean agencies, they really reached out to fans through social media, and that is part of the reason their fans are so engaged they dont just interact with other fans, they actually feel they are interacting with the members, says Saeji.

BTS fans, inspired by the messages the group gives out through their music and speeches, have also gotten together to make charitable contributions for various causes in their idols names and have also used social media platforms to further these initiatives. Although BTS has spoken on several causes over the years, most recently, the group used their social media platforms to highlight the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd, an African-African who was recently killed in an incident of police brutality.

On any given day, one may see various terms in Korean or terms associated with K-pop trending on social media platforms. A decade ago, it was challenging for fans to connect with others around the world to discuss their favourite groups, new releases by artistes, K-pop concerts etc. in the way it is now possible. These social media platforms have impacted the large universe of Korean pop music in some interesting ways. On the flipside of this is online behaviour in the extended K-pop universe.

While groups and celebrities can have die-hard fans or stans who will go to excessive lengths to defend their idols, there are other online users who are not necessarily well-meaning. Last October, Sulli, one of the biggest K-pop stars, was found dead in her home near Seoul with local police suggesting the star may have taken her own life.

Sulli was one of the few Korean pop stars who had found the courage to break out from the confines of traditional roles for female artistes in Korean pop music and had actively spoken on issues she felt strongly about, especially feminism and womens rights and equality. For her courage, Sulli faced online abuse, often touching on her personal life. The harassment got so severe that Sulli went on hiatus in 2014-15. She was openly critical of cyberbullying in South Korea and faced a barrage of abuse online for her stand.

Celebrities in the Korean entertainment industry are scrutinised for every action, their looks and their conduct in public and private. Some fans, called stalker fans, go to extreme lengths to follow, harass, cyberstalk and physically stalk artistes in a bid to know every detail about their lives, including intruding into their personal lives. Social media users routinely gang up on celebrities and even bloggers, critics, writers and journalists with whom they do not agree. Online platforms are used to urge and recruit other social media users to engage in similar behaviour, that involve directing a wave of abuse against their targets.

Byung links this behaviour to the easy access to cell phones, computers and internet connectivity in the country. We have an immature online culture (in South Korea) and it is based on smartphones, computers and social networking sites.

This toxicity is hardly new. It is not just BTS fans. This culture existed long before BTS, like in the 90s, says one Seoul-based entertainment journalist.

Last November, British journalist Chris Stokel-Walkers article for UKs The Telegraph newspaper, titled BTS star Jungkook has been in a car accident why are his fans trying to cover it up?, led to a flood of abuse directed towards the writer and the publication. The fans were unhappy with the article that implied that BTS fans were attempting to clear social media searches concerning a news report that they interpreted to be critical and inaccurate. The writer declined to be interviewed for this article.

But this online behaviour is hardly limited to one specific K-pop group; most fandoms react in similar ways. According to V, an 18-year-old Indian-Canadian fan of BTS, who requested anonymity, BTS fans react the way they do due to criticism or news reports that they perceive to be critical of their idols, because of the admiration they have for the group. The reason why some BTS fans tend to attack those who they think are being critical to BTS is because that band has helped all of us in some way or the other. BTSs main motto is to love yourself and when many people werent able to, BTS helped them, explains V. She adds: BTS was there for people when they had no one beside them. The fans cried with them, laughed with them and were with them every step of the way. Even when BTS went through tough times, many fans stayed by their side. Overall BTS became their source of happiness.

Sadly this sort of extreme fan behavior is designed to protect the artistes, but I think it fuels negative and sensational social media posts, v-logs, and even news stories more than it helps the artistes. At this point there are many people willing to endure some fan backlash to get the clout that massive interactions and response can bring them, explains Saeji.

But fans are not entirely at fault. From an international perspective, as Korean pop music became more mainstream over the past five years, it has forced people to take notice. Some people criticise K-pop artistes to draw more attention to themselves.

According to Saeji, this kind of fan behaviour is not limited to the world of K-pop. When it happens with some other artistes the negative response is, by comparison, so much smaller, and probably closer to the sort of response seen for writing a story on controversial topics of any type, she explains. I think with BTS there are small subsections of the fandom that have legitimised and celebrated mass actions against anyone who dares say something unacceptable about BTS. The rise of cancel culture more generally has combined with the irresponsible leadership of some larger accounts, and the desire to protect the artists they love to create a real embarrassing mess.

Gayatri Thomas agrees this kind of online behaviour does give the fandom a bad name and some fans can be unreasonable. A fan once commented on a live video where V (BTS member) was texting someone. The fan took a screenshot of the video and jokingly posted on the Instagram account that V was texting her. The account admin immediately threatened to block her for saying that V was texting this Instagram user, even though it was clear it was a joke.

Thomas believes the fandom reacts in these extreme ways in part to the struggles that BTS went through to establish themselves. They dont deserve the hate they get. BTS dedicates everything to fans and fans justify their behaviour by saying that they are defending the people whom they love, care and respect.

For some BTS fans, the prospect of the group having to enroll in South Koreas compulsory military conscription is a difficult subject of discussion. According to South Koreas laws, all able-bodied men are required to enroll in compulsory military service by the age of 28 . Over the past few years, fans have called for special treatment to be afforded to the group that would allow them to avoid enrolling in this compulsory service, owing to the groups contributions to and achievements in music. In November last year however, the South Korean government announced that the group would have to enroll as required. In the case of BTS, I personally wish I could allow exemptions for them under certain conditions, South Koreas culture minister Park Yang-woo, had said.

Many long term researchers and writers of K-pop believe military conscription will not have any major effect on the groups international popularity. But according to some, it is impossible that a two-year break will have no impact. I think it will have a dampening effect because news fans cannot be drawn in and some current fans will lose passion, but I am equally sure military service will not be able to kill the BTS movement, says Saeji.

I am fairly sure that someone like RM will figure out how to relate military service to the fans in a way that lets them see the parallels with their own lives, how they also have to put their lives on hold to take care of responsibilities to others, or practical concerns. Relatability with people around the world and translating those feelings into their music, has been one of the many reasons for BTSs many successes.

I am sure the members have their own struggles. Im sure that happens. But (the members) speak the same language, says Kim Nam-joon, attributing this understanding among members as one factor that has helped them come this far.

In one episode of the groups docu-series, Break The Silence: Speak Yourself, that gives a behind-the-scenes look of the group at the peak of their careers, touring the world, filmed in April last year, Jimin, 24, the lead vocalist of group is seen preparing for a concert in Los Angeles. Am I nervous? I am more anxious than nervous, he laughs. We have to do a good job but we havent had much time to rehearse. I am a little worried, he says in the documentary.

Just before the members walk out onto the stage in Los Angeles, the screams of fans can be heard backstage, surprising the BTS members despite the years of success that they have seen. It is this earnestness and humility that fans and K-pop researchers say endears the group to their fans around the world.

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As BTS come on YouTubes Dear Class of 2020, explaining the K-pop groups global success - The Indian Express

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Want to thrive as a freelancer? This online guide is 98% off. - Mashable

From internet marketer to creating one of the hottest and biggest CBD brands in the UK , Vithurs (also known as V) is making all the right moves.

How so? The business leader cultivated deep internet marketing skills from a young age. Combined with his tireless work ethic and unparalleled knowledge of the CBD industry, it comes as no surprise his brand Blessed CBD has become a massive success winning best CBD oil awards by various leading publications and magazines.

Vithurs (pictured left) and the Blessed CBD team.

From Digital Marketing to SEO: At the age of 13, V would skip school and instead spend his days at the library. It was there hed burrow deep in the archives, scouring books and the internet to learn everything there was to know about launching an online company.

From there, V focused on expanding his search engine optimisation (SEO) skills. After successfully selling his own SEO services on digital marketing forums, he later launched Rankfluence; a boutique marketing agency with offices in Canada.

And so began Vs journey as an entrepreneur. The entrepreneurs SEO expertise and digital marketing experience propelled him towards his next company: Blessed CBD.

Cannabis and Blessed CBD: In 2017, V considered the booming cannabis sector. What if he were to launch a brand in the UK that proved as successful as CBD companies in the United States?

He began to explore medicinal research on cannabis and CBD. Since US brands offered a higher-quality product than their UK competitors, V sought to emulate them. And by adopting the best practices upon which they reliedfrom selecting the right suppliers to implementing the correct manufacturing processeshe did just that.

Readers Digest, Discover Magazine, Observer, Daily Record, Venture Beat, Express, HerbMighty and other publications tout Blessed CBD as the best CBD company in the UK. If you arent yet familiar with the brand, were confident you will be soon.

Vs Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs: CBD gummies, creams, oils and so much more Blessed CBD offers it all.

Today the company has a valuation of over 10 million, and although V is pleased with the success of his business, more importantly, hes grateful to those consumers who believe in him and his product. Blessed CBD touts hundreds of positive reviews lauding the ecommerce model, expansive product line and the brand in general.

Above all else, V set out to improve peoples lives. Rather than chasing the money, he wanted to help people. This, he believes, is at the core of his business success; and he encourages other entrepreneurs to adopt this same mind-set.

Moving Forward in 2020 & Beyond: The UK-based entrepreneur currently spends his days running Blessed CBD, Rankfluence and several other online companies; including the technology news and review site TechEye, among other businesses. He keeps quite busy, but V tells us he wouldnt have it any other way. For most of his life, digital marketing has been central to his identity. Online business is a true passion of his.

Admittedly, Vs digital marketing experience has factored into his success. In the future, the entrepreneur plans to continue exploring ecommerce and its great potential. Meanwhile, consumers are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled as Blessed CBD overtakes the UK and global CBD markets (Europe, New Zealand and Australia); a proven model that keeps the public coming back for more.

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The Rise and Rise of CBD: Vithurs & Blessed CBD - We Heart

SALT LAKE CITY Despite the significant challenges posed by the coronavirus and mandated shutdowns in metro areas nationwide, a new study shows the majority of small business enterprises are managing to remain solvent through access to digital tools and services.

A report titled Digitally Empowered: How Digital Tools Power Small Businesses Amid COVID-19, was released Wednesday by the Connected Commerce Council or 3C, a nonprofit membership organization representing digitally empowered small businesses. The study noted that 76% of small businesses it looked at are relying more on digital tools than previously, and 74% expect to return to business as usual within six months of local restrictions being lifted.

This report shows that in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic and economic crisis, digitally empowered small businesses are weathering the storm and optimistic about the future, said 3C President Jake Ward. Access to affordable, scalable and secure tools is critical now, more than ever. Small businesses drive the American economy, and they will drive the American recovery with the support of their communities and digital tools.

According to a news release, digital tools are defined as enterprise-quality tools that serve small businesses, including marketing and advertising tools such as Instagram, YouTube, Google Ads and analytics; customer relationship management instruments from companies like Salesforce and Constant Contact; operations platforms from Quickbooks; and online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay or Shopify.

While many enterprises have been able to persevere, others have not been so fortunate.

Unquestionably, this is a complex, difficult time for small businesses. Ive seen numbers anywhere to a third of all U.S. businesses have either closed their doors or will close their doors in the next couple of weeks as a result of the crisis, Ward said during a virtual press conference. Much of that is attributed to lack of revenue or lack of funding to bridge them from today to tomorrow and they dont necessarily see a future forward.

He noted that locales like northern Utah, where recreation and hospitality are major industries, have been impacted greatly particularly in the small-business realm.

Those small businesses are being hit incredibly hard and theres no question about it. Theres no way to virtually ski, theres only so many things that youre able to do, he said. But we are seeing an increase in investment for marketing from those industries that are regionally dependent and physically specific.

Were seeing an investment in online marketing and customer relationship management, whereas a ski resort in Utah, for example, to be able to say to customers that have registered for your newsletter, Heres whats going on. Heres what well be back in business. Wed really like if you come, you can prepay and buy your seasonal ski pass for next year, he explained.

He said resorts and hotels can use digital tools to offer discounts to attract visitors for the upcoming ski season and try to generate advanced revenue as they deal with the current COVID-19 crisis.

I dont think theres any time in our industrial history that we were more prepared to deal with something like this, Ward said. The nature of doing communications, of remote learning for our kids, for working, for employers, employees, and the ability to move transactions around on the internet has made this more feasible than at any other time in human history. That is a bit of silver lining, all things considered.

Meanwhile, last week a cadre of Utah business owners penned a letter to Gov. Gary Herbert imploring him and state policymakers to preserve access to critical digital tools and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter was signed by over 60 Utah-based leaders from a wide range of small business enterprises.

In the letter, local advocates also warned against poorly conceived regulatory and legal challenges that could preclude the use of vital technology options that have proven useful during the shutdown.

Were lucky to have access to so many free and low-cost digital platforms and tools to stay in business, maintain our workforce, and serve our community, said James Greaves, CEO of Spanish Fork-based Brand Makers. As we work toward reopening the economy, its important that elected leaders understand the role technology is now playing and avoid policy mistakes that could slow our recovery.

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Study shows small businesses surviving thanks to digital access - Deseret News

Sometimes it takes a sudden spike in bounce rates to illustrate a problem with the accessibility and usability of a website.

The increased demand for website accessibility revealed how many businesses were unprepared.

When people around the world were ordered to stay home, their dependence on the web for basic necessities increased.

Many websites and apps were unprepared to handle the increased load or demands for their services and products.

The more interesting development from the crush was discovering how inaccessible websites are.

Suddenly more people were walking in the shoes of those who already knew from personal experience.

For example, many people suddenly found themselves crash course learning Zoom to join employee meetings or helping patients and customers by appointment.

Zoom does not provide closed captioning for video webinars with the free version.

People with poor vision and deaf users have to pay a fee for captions, which is discrimination.

This was quickly called out by the accessibility community. Closed captions should be available at no extra charge to users.

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Blunders like this one provide insight into where human biases and inexperience affect digital product development.

Closed captions help all sorts of people understand audio, especially if speakers have an accent or mumble.

The words on the screen help viewers stay focused and less distracted.

In some use cases, audio must be turned off so as not to annoy someone nearby. Closed captioning allows people to follow along quietly.

Bounce rates are a signal that there are barriers to task completion.

The missing piece during the design and development phases is user testing with people in their normal environment using the computer devices they rely on.

There are no accessibility automated tools capable of providing the test feedback required to meet all the requirements for building an online business, app, or website.

However, newer accessibility testing software in beta stages are becoming smarter, which will be helpful in the future.

For the present, the pressure to improve website accessibility is urgent.

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While the coronavirus and court closures may have temporarily slowed the trend of digital accessibility lawsuits, increased online use during the pandemic make for a ripe accessibility lawsuit atmosphere. Indeed, COVID-19 related digital accessibility lawsuits are already beginning to emerge. Amihai Miron, CEO User1st

If your website data is like reading a mystery thriller novel with unpredictable characters leaving bounce rates and poor conversions with no clues to follow, you are not alone.

According to the World Health Organization, 2.2 billion people are visually impaired.

In a study published by Diamond, of the top 100 websites ranked by Alexa in February 2020 a whopping 98.1% of home pages had at least one detectable WCAG 2 failure and 97.8% on interior pages.

Overall, an average of 60.9 errors were detected per home page and 53 errors on average were found on interior pages.

These are the top 100 ranked websites. Are you wondering where your website stands?

Understanding what your online visitors are doing, plus how, where, and why they are doing it is as fun as figuring out how to traverse a corn maze.

There is no avoiding the details if you want to make improvements and certainly if building from scratch.

Without a plan, your developers are unguided.

Creating user personas is not always an effective method for understanding your target market because large segments of people with unique behaviors are left out.

It is too easy to create composite users.

The result is learning what is missed after a website or app is released to the public.

Regardless of whether you work for a global corporation or a small business, success is directly traceable to planning, procedures, guidelines, dedication to excellence, and a desire to explore new opportunities.

Look at all bounce rates, (not just super high ones), low conversions, and web site abandonment.

Keep testing forms, do user testing within your target market, and learn how to use at least one screen reader. Safari Voice Over is free on a Mac.

Several studies on accessibility indicate a decline in meeting WCAG guidelines by websites.

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In addition to declining revenue, as more countries enforce their digital accessibility laws, an accessibility lawsuit is a real concern.

I hope to inspire you to think outside your comfort zone because for millions of website users, discomfort is what they have come to expect from our websites.

A red alert sounded with COVID-19 and the stay-at-home response by governments around the world.

Employees, teachers, students, and the general public forced to stay home and use the web for basic survival needs like going to work or buying food quickly realized they could do neither painlessly.

Businesses sent their employees home without considering their home setups.

Staff without high-speed internet or newer computers are struggling to efficiently do their jobs.

Students and parents faced with online lessons, homework, and correspondence with teachers felt the brunt of badly built educational websites.

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In the U.S. alone, 13,600 public school districts care for 7.5 million students with special needs.

Closing the schools created enormous hurdles for online accessibility for these students.

The shocking discovery was the sheer number of websites that are neither accessible nor user-friendly.

They are not designed for people in distress, who may have disabilities, or special needs (whether permanent or temporary), and those who depend on assistive computer devices to use the web at all.

None of this is news to the accessibility community who have been designing, testing, developing, training, and advocating for inclusion for years.

Deque published the results of a recent survey among the accessibility community and found that 83% of all respondents said that, COVID-19 has raised the profile and importance of digital channels for their organization.

Before this, it was the threat of an ADA accessibility lawsuit that raised concern.

The CDC released interesting data, too.

A new CDC studyestimates that autism affects roughly 5.4 million people in the U.S. aged 18 and older. This would be a prevalence of 2.21% of U.S. adults, or roughly 1 in 45.

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Website survival in todays global economy depends on a willingness to invest in understanding and designing for new challenges.

Agencies providing digital services such as website design, software development, or online marketing need procedures and planning that adapt to frequent changes in technology and guidelines.

Some ideas:

If the long-term goal is to put a business on the web, it has to prove it will work for everyone wishing to interact with it.

Discoveries begin in-house.

Developers build better products when they are given the time and resources to properly understand what they are asked to design.

They need continuous education and training to keep up with the required skills.

Provide them with access to user behavior research, computers, mobile devices, operating systems, browsers and the freedom to include these with their planning, test plans, user testing, and long-term maintenance.

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Each generation of people uses the web differently.

This is critically important if you are building apps that target different age groups.

Break up your development and designers into teams and let the senior level mentor junior level.

Then, reverse that to give the junior level staff the opportunity to introduce fresh ideas to seasoned staff who may be stuck using the same procedures.

A common mistake is making assumptions about who will use your website or app.

For example, it is assumed that everyone has a mobile phone.

It is assumed everyone has the latest operating system, browser, and fast internet.

It is assumed that everyone can see, hear, has a computer mouse, and recalls content.

It may be assumed that all CMS themes and plugins work properly and are designed to meet current design W3C and WCAG requirements.

There is simply no way your company can develop and market digital products without an intimate knowledge about who will use them.

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Bounce rates alert you that someone could not or did not finish a task.

At the first hint that a new website, software, or mobile app is on deck, gather and document every detail and track it.

Here are less commonly implemented best practices for accessibility and usability.

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Accessibility testing is sometimes ignored because people say it is too hard to learn.

Ignoring WCAG and Section 508 guidelines can result in a website or app that is not only difficult to learn but impossible to use.

Countless millions of people need for us to be encouraged to learn how to build accessible, usable, and inclusive websites and apps.

Companies are encouraged to hire people with the passion to learn, even if their skills are not perfect or they lack certification in accessibility.

Employers need to examine hiring practices that exclude:

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These are the people able to help developers because they know what it is like to be excluded.

Here are additional resources to help you now.

More Resources:

The rest is here:
How to Meet the Increased Demand for Website Accessibility - Search Engine Journal