Website accessibility means building your site so that as many people as possible can use it, including people who are blind, have low vision, cannot use a mouse, or find small text and busy layouts hard to follow. It is also good business, because a site that is easy for everyone to use is easier for every customer to use.
Why accessibility matters for a business
Many people use a website in ways you might not picture. Some rely on a screen reader that speaks the page aloud. Others navigate with only a keyboard, zoom the text up, or simply read on a phone in bright sunlight. A page that works for all of these situations loses fewer visitors.
There is also a practical overlap with search. Clear headings, descriptive image text and logical structure help assistive tools and search engines understand your pages. Accessibility rules and legal requirements differ from country to country, so check what applies where you operate. The widely used reference for good practice is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, usually shortened to WCAG.
Color contrast and readable text
Low contrast is one of the most common problems. Light grey text on a white background may look elegant, but many people cannot read it comfortably. WCAG suggests a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 for normal body text and 3 to 1 for large text. Free contrast checkers let you paste in two colors and see the result in seconds.
- Do not rely on color alone. If an error message is only red, someone who cannot distinguish red will miss it. Add words or an icon too.
- Keep body text a comfortable size. Around 16 pixels is a common starting point, and the page should still work when visitors zoom in.
- Make links obvious. Underlines or clear styling help people spot what can be clicked.
Alt text for images
Alt text is a short written description of an image, read aloud by screen readers and shown if the image fails to load. Describe what the image shows and why it matters on that page, in a sentence or less.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Photo of your team at work | Describe it briefly, such as "Two designers reviewing a homepage layout on a monitor" |
| Image that is only decoration | Leave the alt text empty so screen readers skip it |
| Logo that links home | Use your business name, so the link makes sense |
| Text inside an image | Repeat that text in the alt, or better, use real text on the page |
Avoid starting with "image of" or stuffing in keywords. Write for a person who cannot see the picture. Our guide to title tags and meta descriptions follows the same plain-language approach.
Keyboard use, headings and forms
Some visitors never touch a mouse. Try this test on your own site: press the Tab key repeatedly and watch what happens.
- Check you can reach everything. Menus, buttons and forms should all be reachable with Tab and activated with Enter or Space.
- Look for a visible focus marker. You should always see which item is currently selected, such as an outline around a button.
- Check the order makes sense. Focus should move through the page in a logical order, usually top to bottom.
- Review your headings. Use one main heading, then subheadings in order, so screen reader users can skim the page by its outline.
- Label every form field. Each field needs a visible label, not just grey placeholder text that disappears when someone starts typing.
Quick tipUse words that describe the destination in links and buttons. "Get a free quote" tells everyone more than "Click here" does.
A simple accessibility check you can do today
You do not need special software to find the biggest problems. Spend half an hour going through this list on your most important pages.
- Zoom your browser to 200 percent and confirm nothing breaks or hides.
- Run the keyboard test described above on your menu and contact form.
- Check text contrast on buttons, banners and footers.
- Make sure every meaningful image has useful alt text.
- Add captions or a written summary to any video you publish.
Automated checkers can catch some issues, but they cannot judge everything, so a quick manual pass is worth the time. Accessibility is also part of overall site health, which we cover in our post on website maintenance.
If you would like a site that is built with clear structure and readable design from the start, take a look at our website packages, or request a free quote and tell us what you need.