Website accessibility means designing your site so everyone can use it, including people who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, have motor impairments, or have cognitive disabilities. Many people with disabilities rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation, captions, or zoom to use the web.
For small businesses, accessibility is good for customers, good for business, and increasingly important legally.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Talk to an attorney about your specific obligations.
Why Accessibility Matters
- More customers: A significant share of adults live with some form of disability. An inaccessible website turns them away.
- Better experience for everyone: Clear layouts, readable text, and good contrast help every visitor, especially on phones.
- SEO benefits: Many accessibility practices, like descriptive headings, alt text, and clear link text, also help search engines understand your pages.
- Legal risk: The U.S. Department of Justice has stated that the ADA applies to the websites of businesses open to the public, and website accessibility lawsuits against businesses of all sizes are common.
The Standard: WCAG
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the widely used technical standard. Most businesses aim for WCAG 2.1 or 2.2, Level AA. The guidelines are organized around four principles: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
12 Practical Accessibility Improvements
1. Add alt text to images
Describe meaningful images in a short phrase. Decorative images can have empty alt text so screen readers skip them.
2. Use proper heading structure
Use one H1 per page, then H2s and H3s in order. Don’t choose heading levels just for their size.
3. Ensure sufficient color contrast
Text should stand out clearly from its background. Light gray text on white, or white text on bright colors, often fails contrast checks.
4. Make everything work with a keyboard
Visitors should be able to navigate menus, forms, and buttons using the Tab key, with a visible focus indicator.
5. Write descriptive link text
“Read our pricing guide” is better than “click here.” Icon-only links, like social media icons, need accessible labels.
6. Label form fields
Every form input needs a visible, programmatically connected label, not just placeholder text. Error messages should explain how to fix the problem.
7. Add captions and transcripts
Videos need captions, and audio content benefits from transcripts.
8. Don’t rely on color alone
If a required field is only marked in red, some users will miss it. Add text or icons as well.
9. Make text resizable
Pages should remain usable when zoomed to 200%. Avoid text embedded in images.
10. Use landmarks and skip links
Proper page regions (header, main, footer) and a “skip to content” link help screen reader and keyboard users navigate efficiently.
11. Avoid auto-playing media and flashing content
Give users control over motion, audio, and video.
12. Set the page language
The HTML language attribute helps screen readers pronounce content correctly.
How to Test Your Website
- Automated tools: Google Lighthouse (built into Chrome) and free accessibility checkers catch many common issues.
- Keyboard test: Try using your site with only the Tab, Enter, and arrow keys.
- Screen reader test: Try NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (Mac/iPhone) on your key pages.
- Zoom test: Zoom to 200% and check that nothing breaks.
Automated tools can’t catch everything, so combine them with manual testing.
A Note on Accessibility Overlays
Some products promise instant compliance by adding a script or widget to your site. These tools can’t fix underlying code problems on their own and don’t guarantee compliance. Fixing issues in the website itself is the more reliable approach.
Make Accessibility Part of Maintenance
Accessibility isn’t a one-time project. New content, images, and plugins can introduce issues. Add accessibility checks to your website maintenance checklist, and consider accessibility when choosing a web design company.
Build an Accessible Website
CDD Services builds fast, accessible WordPress websites with proper structure, contrast, and navigation from the start. Explore our website design services or book a free consultation.
