Making Your Website Accessible to Everyone
Web accessibility means ensuring your website can be used by people with disabilities — including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments. It's not just the right thing to do; it's increasingly a legal requirement and a smart business decision.
The Legal Landscape
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires businesses to make reasonable adjustments for disabled users. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA is the widely accepted standard.
Non-compliance puts you at risk of discrimination claims and legal action.
The Business Case
Beyond legal requirements, accessibility is good business:
- Wider audience — 1 in 5 people in the UK has a disability
- Better SEO — many accessibility practices align with SEO best practices
- Improved UX for everyone — accessible design benefits all users
- Brand reputation — inclusive businesses are viewed more favourably
Key Accessibility Requirements
Visual
- Sufficient colour contrast (4.5:1 minimum for text)
- Alt text on all meaningful images
- Resizable text without breaking layout
- Don't rely on colour alone to convey information
Navigation
- Full keyboard navigation support
- Visible focus indicators
- Skip navigation links
- Logical tab order
Content
- Clear headings and structure
- Descriptive link text (not "click here")
- Captions for video content
- Plain language where possible
Technical
- Valid HTML semantics
- ARIA labels where needed
- Screen reader compatibility
- Reduced motion options
Testing Your Site
Free tools to check accessibility:
- WAVE — wave.webaim.org
- axe DevTools — browser extension
- Lighthouse — built into Chrome DevTools
- Screen readers — test with VoiceOver (Mac) or NVDA (Windows)
Accessibility is built into every website we design. Learn about our approach or get in touch to discuss an accessibility audit for your existing site.