Picture a customer trying to read your website, but the text is too faint to see clearly, or they can’t navigate past the menu using just a keyboard. They give up and go elsewhere. That’s what happens when accessibility gets overlooked, and it happens more often than most business owners realise.
Website accessibility means making sure everyone can use your site, including people with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive impairments. It’s not a niche concern. A meaningful share of your visitors will benefit from accessible design, whether or not they think of themselves as having a disability.
Why this matters for your business, not just your conscience
There’s a moral case for accessibility, and it’s a good one. But there’s a business case too. Every visitor who can’t use your site properly is a potential customer walking away before they’ve even had the chance to consider what you offer. On top of that, accessibility laws are becoming more common, and small businesses are increasingly expected to show they’ve made a reasonable effort.
The good news is that most of the basics are straightforward and don’t require a technical background to understand.
Simple things to check on your own site
Colour contrast. Text needs to stand out clearly from its background. Pale grey text on a white background might look modern, but it’s hard to read for a lot of people. We’ve put together a guide on checking your website for contrast mistakes if you want to run through this yourself.
Alt text on images. Every image should have a short written description behind the scenes, so that screen readers can explain what’s on the page to someone who can’t see it.
Keyboard navigation. Try tabbing through your website using only your keyboard, no mouse. If you can’t reach your menu, forms, or buttons this way, some of your visitors can’t either.
Clear, readable text. Short sentences, sensible font sizes, and plenty of space between lines all make a website easier to use, for people with cognitive differences and for everyone else too.
Writing an accessibility statement
Once you’ve made improvements, it’s worth putting them in writing. An accessibility statement tells visitors what standard you’re aiming for and where you know there’s still work to do. It’s also a good discipline for your own business, because it forces you to actually check rather than assume. We’ve written a full walkthrough on creating an accessibility statement for your business if you’d like to put one together.
You don’t need to fix everything overnight
Accessibility isn’t a single project with a finish line. It’s an ongoing part of looking after your website, the same way security updates and backups are. Start with the basics, be honest about where you’re not quite there yet, and keep improving.
If you’d like a proper look at how accessible your website currently is, our web design and development service includes accessibility reviews as part of building and maintaining sites properly. Get in touch and we’ll talk through where to start.
