In today’s fast-paced, digital-first world, the internet is more than a convenience—it’s a necessity. People use websites to shop, learn, bank, communicate, and access essential services. With so much of modern life moving online, businesses have a responsibility to ensure that everyone can access their websites, regardless of ability. That’s where website accessibility comes in. Making your website accessible is not only the right thing to do from an ethical standpoint—it’s a legal requirement in many countries, including under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States. More importantly, it’s good business. An accessible website opens your brand to a larger audience, provides a better user experience for everyone, and protects you from legal and reputational risks. This guide will take you through how to test and improve your business website’s accessibility. We’ll explain what website accessibility really means, why it matters, which tools you can use to test for compliance, and practical steps you can take to improve your site for all users.
Understanding Website Accessibility
Website accessibility refers to the practice of designing, developing, and maintaining websites so that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with them effectively. This includes people who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, have motor or mobility impairments that make using a mouse difficult, or have cognitive or learning disabilities that affect comprehension or interaction. An accessible website removes barriers that might otherwise prevent someone from using it effectively. Some common accessibility practices include providing alt text for images so screen readers can describe them, using clear, consistent headings to structure information logically, ensuring forms are keyboard-navigable and properly labelled, providing captions and transcripts for audio and video content, and designing with sufficient colour contrast for readability.
Why Website Accessibility Matters
Making your website accessible isn’t optional—it’s fundamental.
1. Legal Compliance
Laws such as the ADA, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (in the U.S.), and similar legislation globally require digital accessibility. Businesses that fail to comply risk lawsuits, penalties, and reputational damage. High-profile cases in recent years have shown that courts are willing to hold businesses accountable for inaccessible websites.
2. Better User Experience for Everyone
Accessibility features often benefit more than just users with disabilities. For example, clear headings help all users scan content quickly, captions are helpful not just for deaf users but for anyone watching videos in noisy or quiet environments, and high-contrast text is easier to read on mobile devices outdoors. Accessible design often overlaps with good UX design—and everyone benefits.
3. Expanded Market Reach
Roughly 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability. By making your website accessible, you’re not excluding this large group of potential customers. In addition, accessible websites often rank better in search engines, perform better on mobile, and serve diverse audiences, including ageing populations.
4. Competitive Advantage
Accessibility can differentiate your brand. Companies that priorities inclusivity earn trust and loyalty, while those that ignore it risk losing customers to more user-friendly competitors.
How to Test Your Website’s Accessibility
Before making improvements, you need to assess where your website stands. Accessibility testing involves a combination of automated tools and manual review. Here are some of the best approaches:
Automated Testing Tools
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WebAIM’s WAVE Tool: A free, web-based tool that visually highlights accessibility issues directly on your pages. It identifies missing alt text, colour contrast errors, structural problems, and more.
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AChecker: An open-source accessibility checker that scans pages against multiple accessibility standards, including WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
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Lighthouse (by Google): Available as a Chrome DevTools feature, Lighthouse audits performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices. It provides a numerical accessibility score and detailed improvement suggestions.
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Axe Browser Extension: Popular among developers, Axe provides in-browser accessibility testing with clear explanations and code-level guidance for fixing issues.
Manual Testing
Automated tools can detect many technical issues, but they can’t evaluate everything. Manual testing fills the gaps, such as checking how well content makes sense in context, whether keyboard navigation is smooth, how effectively screen readers interpret page elements, and whether dynamic or interactive elements (e.g., modals, dropdowns) are truly accessible. Techniques for manual testing include navigating the site without a mouse (keyboard-only), testing with popular screen readers like NVDA or VoiceOver, reviewing forms, menus, and multimedia for usability, and having real users with disabilities provide feedback—this is invaluable and often reveals issues missed by automated tools.
Steps to Improve Your Website’s Accessibility
Once you’ve identified issues, the next step is to fix and prevent them. Improving accessibility is an ongoing process, not a one-time task. Below are actionable steps to get started:
1. Use Descriptive Alt Text
Every image on your website should have meaningful alternative text. This helps users who rely on screen readers understand what the image conveys. Avoid generic phrases like “image of” and focus on context—for example, instead of “photo,” use “Product photo of blue running shoes.”
2. Structure Content with Clear Headings
Use heading tags (<h1>, <h2>, <h3> etc.) to create a logical hierarchy. Screen readers rely on these tags for navigation. Well-structured content improves usability for everyone, including users skimming on mobile.
3. Provide Captions and Transcripts for Multimedia
Videos should include closed captions. Podcasts or other audio-only content should include transcripts. These benefits extend beyond accessibility—captions improve SEO and user engagement.
4. Ensure Accessible Forms
Forms should have properly labelled fields, clear instructions and error messages, logical tab order for keyboard navigation, and sufficient time for users to complete them.
5. Maintain Colour Contrast
Text must stand out clearly against its background. WCAG recommends a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text. Use online contrast checkers to verify.
6. Make Keyboard Navigation Seamless
Many users cannot use a mouse and rely on keyboard navigation. All interactive elements, such as menus, buttons, and forms, should be fully operable with a keyboard. Test your site by tabbing through every element to ensure logical, visible focus indicators.
7. Avoid Relying Solely on Colour
Do not use colour alone to convey important information, such as form errors or required fields. Provide additional indicators like text labels or icons.
8. Use ARIA Landmarks When Necessary
Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) roles and landmarks help screen readers interpret dynamic content. Use them carefully to enhance accessibility without introducing complexity or redundancy.
9. Regularly Update and Retest
Websites evolve. New content, features, or design changes may unintentionally introduce accessibility barriers. Build accessibility checks into your development and QA processes. Retest regularly to maintain compliance.
10. Train Your Team
Accessibility is a team effort. Designers, developers, content creators, and marketers should all understand accessibility principles. Regular training helps prevent mistakes and fosters a culture of inclusion.
Conclusion
Website accessibility is essential for businesses in today’s digital age. By making your website accessible, you can reach a wider audience, improve user experience, strengthen brand loyalty, and comply with legal standards. There are powerful tools available to help you test your website’s accessibility, and once you’ve identified issues, there are practical steps you can take to make improvements. Remember, accessibility isn’t just good practice—it’s a reflection of your company’s values and a competitive advantage in a customer-centric world. By committing to accessibility now, you’re investing in a future where everyone, regardless of ability, can engage with your brand seamlessly and confidently.
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