Web accessibility: what is it and where do you start?

Your website looks great, loads quickly, and works perfectly on your own laptop. But have you ever stopped to think about whether everyone can use it just as easily? That's exactly what web accessibility is about.

What is web accessibility?

Web accessibility means making your website usable for as many people as possible, including people with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities. Think of someone who uses a screen reader because they're visually impaired, or someone who can't use a mouse and navigates entirely by keyboard.

The global standard for this is the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), which defines three levels of compliance: A, AA, and AAA. For most websites, reaching level AA is a realistic and worthwhile goal.

Why does it matter?

The most obvious reason is fairness. Around 1 in 6 people worldwide lives with some form of disability. If your website doesn't work for them, you're turning away a significant portion of your potential audience.

But there are other compelling reasons too:

• SEO benefits: Many accessibility improvements, like proper heading structures, image alt text, and clear link labels — also help search engines understand your content better. An accessible site is often a more discoverable one.
• Legal requirements: In the EU, public sector websites are already required to meet accessibility standards. Regulations for private businesses are expected to expand, so building accessible sites now puts you ahead of the curve.
• Better experience for everyone: Subtitles on videos help deaf users, but also people watching in a quiet office. Good colour contrast helps those with colour blindness, and also makes text easier to read on a sunny day outside.

Where do you start?

Making a website fully accessible can feel overwhelming, but you don't need to fix everything at once. Start with the fundamentals that have the biggest impact:

1. Use a clear heading structure

Make sure each page has one H1, followed by H2s and H3s in a logical order. Screen readers use this structure to navigate a page, much like a table of contents.

3. Add alt text to images

Every image that conveys meaning needs a descriptive alt text. If an image is purely decorative, use an empty alt attribute (alt="") so screen readers skip it entirely.

3. Check your colour contrast

Free tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker let you verify whether your text and background colours meet the required ratio. For normal body text, the minimum contrast ratio at AA level is 4.5:1.

4. Make sure everything works with a keyboard

Try navigating your entire website using only the Tab key. Can you reach every link, button, and form field? Is it always clear which element is currently focused? If not, there's work to be done.

5. Run an automated audit

Tools like axe DevTools (a browser extension) or Google Lighthouse give you a quick overview of common accessibility issues. They don't catch everything, but they're an excellent starting point.

Accessibility is an ongoing practice

Accessibility isn't a one-time checklist, it's something you build into every new page, every new component, and every content update. If you're just starting out with your website, it's much easier to get it right from the beginning than to go back and fix a fully built site later.

Curious how your current website holds up on accessibility? Feel free to reach out for a no-obligation review.