How to Eliminate Bias in Web Design

A common assumption among businesses is ‘people with disabilities don’t visit my website’. This type of biased thinking inadvertently leads to web designs that are inaccessible to many people with disabilities. The design may look visually stunning, sure. Yet it excludes a large population of users from accessing or interacting with digital content.

The above is just one example of one type of bias. There are dozens of other biased web examples that permeate digital design and exclude users from content. That exclusion isn’t just harmful for users, but your business as well.

Here’s the good news: recognizing biases, in whatever form they take, is the first step towards eliminating them and creating inclusive web designs. 

Below, we’ll delve into the different types of biases that can work their way into designs and how they impact the user experience. We’ll also discuss six steps you can take to eliminate bias before the process begins.

What is Bias in Web Design?

In web design, bias can manifest in several ways (typically unconsciously) that can inadvertently exclude or marginalize certain groups. 

For example, a common form of design bias is personal ableism, which refers to abelist attitudes, assumptions, or behaviors held or expressed by an individual. 

This can result in actions or thoughts such as:

• Thinking that all disabilities are visible or that all individuals with disabilities have identified their disability.

• Not accommodating a disabled person’s needs or making presumptions about an individual’s needs without asking them.

• Treating an individual with a disability as “lesser than” or similar to a child (i.e., congratulating someone with a disability for completing a simple task).

Ableism can be harmful in web design as it can create products and services that are inaccessible to individuals with disabilities. 

When bias does permeate web designs, it can have far-reaching consequences. As we’ve mentioned, bias negatively impacts the user experience by creating feelings of exclusion. But bias can also continue harmful stereotypes, societal divisions, and inequality — all of which are detrimental to creating inclusive online spaces.

What are Common Types of Bias in Web Design?

There are dozens of biases that can creep into web design. Recognizing some of the most common types is the first step to blocking them from infiltrating the user experience (UX). We’ll review different types of design bias, examples of each, and how they impact a user’s experience.

Cognitive Bias

Cognitive biases are inherent tendencies in human thinking that influence an individual’s decision-making and judgment. This can affect how information is presented and organized in web design, leading to confusion for users. 

For example, a government benefits website presents a long paragraph explaining eligibility rules instead of step-by-step prompts, causing users with cognitive disabilities or ADHD to miss key requirements.

Confirmation Bias

This type of bias occurs when users seek out information that confirms their preconceptions or beliefs. Confirmation bias can result in designers prioritizing information, features, or design choices that align with their own perspective. 

When designing a new web page, for instance, a designer may ignore feedback about confusing navigation because analytics show most users eventually complete the task, reinforcing their belief that the design works.

Implicit Bias

Also known as unconscious bias, implicit bias is a set of attitudes or stereotypes that we associate with groups of people without conscious knowledge. The example we mentioned at the beginning of this article — ‘people with disabilities don’t visit my website — is an example of implicit bias. 

An error message that assumes a user can easily “just click above an icon” overlooks the fact that users who navigate via keyboard or voice commands are unable to do so is an example of implicit bias.

Visual Bias

While the aesthetic of a web page should be considered, it should not be prioritized over usability. This is a type of bias called visual bias, in which too much focus is placed on visual appeal rather than on function. For users with disabilities, this can create usability issues, particularly for those using assistive technologies to access content. 

An example would be a pricing page that places a small crown icon next to the “Pro” plan to indicate it’s the recommended option, but the icon has no alt text or label, so screen reader users don’t know it’s highlighted as the preferred plan.

Mouse Bias

Mouse bias occurs under the assumption that all users interact with digital content via a mouse or similar device. This can result in a lack of keyboard accessibility, making it difficult for keyboard users or assistive technologies to navigate digital content effectively.

For example, a carousel that is only operable when a mouse hovers over it prevents users who interact with keyboards only from accessing it.

Overlooking Focus State

Focus state is a property of a web element that indicates which element currently has keyboard focus. Designers may overlook focus state styling in favor of visual consistency or aesthetics. That oversight can create accessibility barriers for keyboard users, as they may be unable to identify which web element is currently in focus.

A website removes the default browser focus outline for aesthetic reasons, for example. This leaves keyboard users unable to see where they are on the page.

A stylized web browser with a number of accessibility issues highlighted by red exclamation points, next to icons of a wrench and some gears

6 Ways to Eliminate Bias in Web Design

The first step to creating bias-free web designs is to recognize and accept the fact that a certain type of bias exists. We all hold biases — it’s part of being human — but it’s critical to identify and address biases. By doing so, designers and developers can move past limiting and usually damaging perspectives to create inclusive content.

Let’s delve into a few ways you can help eliminate bias in web design.

Step 1: Identify Your Biases

The first step to eliminating bias is recognizing it exists in the first place. 

Acknowledging your bias and recognizing its influence on design choices gives you the awareness to actually address it. Identifying and acknowledging our own biases may be difficult, but tools such as the Gender Equity Toolkit(opens in a new tab) or Project Implicit(opens in a new tab) can help individuals challenge their unconscious biases.

Step 2: Expand the Definition of Your Target Audience

It’s natural when designing digital content to create something that meets your target audience's needs. However, to ensure you’re catering to the needs of your entire audience, you need to expand the definition of who your audience is.

A perfect example is the disabled community. 

Unconsciously, you may exclude users with disabilities from your target audience or think that only a handful of people with disabilities use the web. In reality, billions of people worldwide have a disability(opens in a new tab). Whether it’s a situational disability (i.e., being in a brightly lit or noisy area and not being able to see or hear digital content) or a permanent one, people with disabilities frequently interact with digital content. 

And if web designs aren’t designed with these users in mind, a huge audience (one with trillions in spending power(opens in a new tab)) is being left behind.

Step 3: Conduct User Research

Once you’ve expanded your target audience definition, conduct user research. Digging into the diverse behaviors, preferences, and perspectives of your audience can help you identify unconscious biases and take more proactive steps to address them. 

For example, involving individuals with disabilities in your user testing process can highlight accessibility issues with certain web elements. Screen reader users, for instance, can identify where navigation can be improved or how specific web elements aren’t operable or perceivable by assistive technologies. 

With these insights, you can adjust web designs to be more accessible (while still maintaining visual appeal).

Step 4: Diversify Your Teams

To create inclusive experiences for a wide range of users, you need a diverse team of designers. While investing in accessibility training for your designers is extremely beneficial, so is bringing in people from various backgrounds and viewpoints that can help counter unconscious bias that sneaks into web designs. 

For example, involving people with disabilities during the design process can help to resolve accessibility issues before they go to development, saving your team valuable time. These individuals may also call attention to accessibility issues in your web designs that you weren’t aware of. 

With these insights, you can build more accessible designs from the very beginning.

Step 5: Use Empathy

Empathy is one of the most powerful tools you can use in the design process. Immersing yourself in the world of your audience can help you better understand their needs and preferences and create inclusive designs that meet these needs.

When designing for individuals with disabilities, for example, consider what it would be like if you weren’t able to hear or if you couldn’t use your mouse. What solutions would you employ to ensure individuals with disabilities can still interact with audio content or navigate through a web page?

Step 6: Get Continuous Feedback

Web design shouldn’t be a “one-and-done” process — it should be an ongoing process that addresses the new or emerging needs of your audience. By implementing a continuous feedback cycle, you can identify improvement opportunities in your designs and help you create a more inclusive design process.

These feedback loops can also help to identify biases that may have crept in when you updated or changed designs. Remember to document your findings so you can implement improvements or best practices in future projects.

Stylized web browser with a magnifying glass over the accessibility symbol.

Benefits of Inclusive Design

Eliminating bias in web design brings a number of benefits for you, your organization, and your users. These benefits range from complying with legal standards to improved user engagement and loyalty. 

Some of these benefits include:

Compliance with Legal Requirements

Inclusive design best practices can help you comply with laws and regulations. For example, most countries have laws in place that prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities in public spaces. By eliminating bias and ensuring accessibility, you reduce the risk of legal action. 

Better User Experience

Bias-free web designs are typically more intuitive, user-friendly, and accessible to a diverse range of users. Keeping the needs and preferences of all users in mind enables you to create a more user-friendly design. This results in greater customer satisfaction and engagement, leading to higher revenue and more growth opportunities. 

Attract More Users

Designing with inclusivity in mind enables your designs to resonate with a broader audience, including individuals from marginalized groups or underrepresented groups. Eliminating bias can expand your addressable market to the 1.3 billion people with disabilities.

Increase Engagement

By expanding the reach of your audience (and catering to diverse demographics and preferences) you create a sense of belonging and acceptance among your users, leading to increased traffic and engagement.

Boost loyalty

Showcasing a commitment to inclusivity and diversity in your web designs enhances your reputation and builds trust with customers. By demonstrating your commitment to inclusivity in your digital designs, you differentiate yourself from competitors and foster stronger connections with customers. 

Here’s the bottom line: By eliminating bias in web design, you attract more users, increase engagement and loyalty, and position yourself (and your company) as someone who values inclusivity. Having an accessible web design can help set you apart from your competitors and foster stronger connections with your users.

Embrace Inclusive, Bias-Free Designs with AudioEye

It’s all too easy for bias to work its way into web designs and perpetuate inequality and exclusion. To eliminate bias, you need to address it before the design process starts. Be aware of the types of bias currently present and take proactive steps to eliminate them, creating inclusive, accessible, and welcoming designs for all users. 

At AudioEye, we help teams identify design choices that may unintentionally exclude people with disabilities. Use our free Web Accessibility Checker to uncover accessibility barriers caused by common design biases.

We also offer accessibility training that helps designers and developers learn practical ways to build inclusive digital experiences. For deeper insight, AudioEye’s Expert Audits provide a detailed review of key pages and workflows, where our accessibility specialists evaluate your designs for patterns that may introduce bias.