Around one in five people has a disability affecting how they use the web. Some use screen readers, some navigate by keyboard, many have reduced vision or colour perception. Others have motor conditions making precise clicking difficult.
Website accessibility is about not excluding those people. It is also increasingly a legal requirement, and it happens to improve the experience for everyone else too.
The good news: a small number of fixes address most real barriers.
The standard, briefly
WCAG — the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines — is the reference everyone uses. It has three levels: A is the minimum, AA is the usual legal and practical target, AAA is rarely required in full.
Aim for AA. That is what most regulations reference and what most organisations mean by "accessible".
The fixes that cover most of it
1. Colour contrast
Light grey text on white is the most common accessibility failure on the web, and it comes from designers optimising for a nice look on a good screen in good light.
Body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. Large text needs 3:1. Free checking tools give you the number in seconds.
This one fix helps far more people than it sounds — including anyone reading on a phone in sunlight.
2. Alt text on images
Describes an image for people using screen readers. Two rules that resolve most confusion:
If the image conveys information, describe that information. If it is purely decorative, give it an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip it rather than announcing a filename.
Do not write "image of" — the screen reader already says that. Describe what matters about it.
3. Keyboard navigation
Some people cannot use a mouse. Everything clickable must be reachable and operable with a keyboard alone.
Test it yourself in two minutes: put the mouse aside, press Tab repeatedly, and try to use your site. Can you reach the navigation, open the menu, complete the contact form, and get through checkout?
Crucially, can you see where you are? Focus indicators — the outline showing which element is selected — are frequently removed by designers who dislike how they look. Removing them makes keyboard navigation nearly impossible.
4. Proper headings
Headings should describe document structure, not be chosen for size. One H1 per page, then H2 for sections, H3 for subsections, without skipping levels.
Screen reader users navigate by heading, much as sighted users scan a page. Headings applied for visual size produce a nonsensical outline.
5. Form labels
Every field needs a real label, properly associated with its input. Placeholder text is not a label — it disappears when typing begins, and screen readers handle it inconsistently.
Error messages should say what is wrong and how to fix it, and be associated with the relevant field rather than only appearing as colour.
6. Do not rely on colour alone
If the only indication that a field has an error is that it turned red, colour-blind users miss it. Pair colour with text or an icon.
7. Descriptive links
Screen reader users often navigate by pulling up a list of links. A page full of "click here" and "read more" is unusable that way. Make link text describe the destination.
Why accessibility overlays are not the answer
You will be offered widgets promising instant compliance from a single line of JavaScript. It is worth knowing why the accessibility community is broadly opposed to them.
They cannot fix the underlying problems — an overlay cannot know what an image depicts or invent a proper heading structure. They frequently interfere with the assistive technology people already use and have configured. And they have not prevented lawsuits; sites using them have been sued regardless.
An overlay is a claim of accessibility layered over an inaccessible site. The people it is meant to help are generally the ones complaining loudest about them.
Spend the money on fixing the actual issues instead.
Testing without specialist knowledge
- Run an automated checker — free browser extensions catch contrast, missing alt text and label problems. These find perhaps a third of issues, which is a useful third
- Do the keyboard test described above
- Zoom to 200% and check nothing breaks or gets cut off
- Turn on a screen reader — both macOS and Windows include one — and try your homepage. Uncomfortable, and very informative
- Check on mobile, where touch targets often turn out too small or too close together
Automated tools cannot judge whether alt text is meaningful or whether headings make sense. Those need a person.
The legal position
Requirements vary by jurisdiction and this is not legal advice. Broadly: public sector bodies in most countries have explicit obligations, and equality legislation increasingly applies to private businesses providing services online.
Litigation has grown substantially, particularly for ecommerce. The realistic risk for a small business is a complaint rather than a headline case — but complaints consume time and goodwill.
Meeting AA on the basics above puts you in a defensible position.
The commercial argument
Setting the legal side aside, accessibility work tends to pay for itself.
You stop excluding a fifth of potential customers. Proper headings and descriptive links help search engines as well as screen readers. Clear labels and good contrast reduce form abandonment for everyone. And most accessibility fixes are simply better design — the sites that fail are usually the ones optimised for appearance over use.
Where to start
You do not need a rebuild. Run an automated check, fix contrast, add alt text to meaningful images, restore focus indicators, and sort out your heading structure.
That is a day of work on most sites and it removes the majority of real barriers. Then address remaining issues as you touch each part of the site.
If you would rather it was handled
Accessibility is the kind of improvement that gets agreed in principle and never scheduled, because nothing breaks when it is skipped.
Our managed website plans include ongoing improvements alongside updates, backups and performance work — so this gets done incrementally rather than remaining permanently on a list.
Send us your web address and we will tell you what an automated check finds, and which of it actually matters.
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