Accessibility means building a site that works for people using a keyboard, a screen reader, voice control, a magnifier, or simply a small phone in bright sunlight. It overlaps almost entirely with good design and good SEO. You do not need to solve everything at once — start with the changes that affect the most people.
Text you can actually read
- Body text with enough contrast against its background. Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
- Text that can be resized to 200% without breaking the layout.
- Real text instead of text baked into images.
A page that works without a mouse
Try to use the site with the Tab key only. Every link and control should be reachable, in a logical order, with a visible focus outline so you can see where you are. Dropdowns, modals and menus that only respond to hover or click leave keyboard and screen-reader users stuck.
Structure that a screen reader can navigate
- One
<h1>, then headings in order — screen reader users jump between them like a table of contents. - Landmarks:
<header>,<nav>,<main>,<footer>. - Descriptive link text — "read our pricing guide", not "click here".
alttext that describes meaningful images; emptyaltfor decoration.
Forms people can complete
Every field needs a visible, associated <label>. Errors should be described in text, not just colour, and placed next to the field they refer to. Do not rely on a red border alone to signal a problem.
Motion and media
- Respect the "reduce motion" setting for large animations.
- Do not auto-play audio.
- Provide captions for video that carries information.
Why it is also a business decision
An accessible site reaches more customers, is more robust on old devices and slow connections, tends to rank better because the structure is clean, and reduces legal exposure in markets where accessibility is regulated. The work is mostly discipline applied during design and build, not an expensive add-on.
In short
Start with contrast, keyboard access, heading structure and labelled forms — that covers most of the impact. It is built into every site we deliver; send us your current site and we will point out the quickest wins.