Website Accessibility Basics: Making Your Site Usable for Everyone
Website accessibility means building your site so that as many people as possible can use it, including people who are blind or have low vision, who cannot use a mouse, who are colour blind, or who have hearing difficulties. Many of the same improvements also help people on small screens, in bright sunlight or on slow connections. It is good design, not a special extra.
Make text easy to read
Use a comfortable font size and enough contrast between text and background. Light grey text on white, or text over a busy image, is hard for many people to read. Keep paragraphs short and use clear headings so visitors can scan the page.
Don't rely on colour alone
If an error is shown only in red, someone who is colour blind may miss it. Pair colour with a text message or an icon so the meaning is clear however it is seen.
Describe your images
Screen readers read out alternative text for images, so a meaningful image needs a short description of what it shows. Decorative images can be left with empty alternative text so they are skipped. Descriptions also give search engines helpful context.
Make everything work with a keyboard
Some visitors navigate using only the Tab and Enter keys, or assistive devices that behave like a keyboard. Menus, buttons, forms and pop-ups should all be usable this way, and the element currently selected should be clearly visible. Try putting your mouse aside and moving through your own site.
Build forms people can complete
Every form field needs a visible label, not just placeholder text that disappears when typing. Error messages should say what went wrong and how to fix it. Clear forms help your conversion rate as much as they help accessibility.
Use proper structure
Headings in a logical order, real buttons and links, and meaningful page titles let assistive software describe the page accurately. This structure also tends to help search engines understand your content.
Handle video and audio thoughtfully
Add captions or a transcript to videos, and avoid playing sound automatically. Moving or flashing content should be avoidable, since it can be distracting or uncomfortable for some visitors.
Simple checks you can do today
Zoom your browser in to see whether the page still works, navigate with the keyboard only, and view the site on a phone. Free automated checkers can also flag common issues such as low contrast or missing image descriptions, though they cannot catch everything, so a manual look still matters.
How we approach it
When we build or redesign a website, we use semantic structure, sensible contrast, labelled forms and keyboard-friendly navigation as part of normal good practice. If you already have a site, we can review it for these common issues and suggest practical fixes.
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