Website Accessibility Part 1: Compliance And Why Your Website Needs It

This is a big topic with several solutions so we’ll just be scraping the surface here but we’ll continue to share more information and insight in future posts about this topic too.  

As a web development agency, website accessibility is a paramount ethos for us. We completely uphold Tim Berners-Lee’s (inventor of the internet) stance that, “the internet should be a fundamental human right and a tool for everyone to use, empowering people and fostering knowledge and connection.”

Approximately 5.56 billion people use the internet, representing 67.9% of the global population as of early 2025, but not everyone can use websites the same way. 20% of internet users have difficulty seeing, hearing, or navigating websites, so making sure your site is accessible is very important.

Accessibility isn’t just something that’s nice to have—it’s also the law in many countries. Making your website accessible can help you avoid potential legal problems. As of 2025, there was a 300% year-over-year increase in ADA legal action. According to forbes.com, 250k+ demand letters are sent to businesses each year.

 

What Is Web Accessibility?

Web accessibility means creating a website that can be viewed/used by everyone, regardless of their limitations. This includes people with physical disabilities (vision, hearing, ADHD, etc.) or people who have trouble using a mouse or keyboard. Web accessibility ensures that people with these challenges can still access your website. It means your website interacts well with specialized browsers like WebbIE (a text-only interface for blind users) or built-in ADA tools on major browsers like Chrome and Firefox.

There are specific legal standards for website development outlined by the WCAG (Website Content Accessibility Guidelines) that we as web developer must abide by during any project build. WCAG is a little like tax law, quite in depth, but it’s something every web developer should rely on and every client should inquire about.

 

Why Accessibility Matters

1. It’s the Right Thing to Do

Everyone should be able to use the internet equally. By making your website accessible, you’re helping make sure everyone has the same opportunity to access your content.

2. It Increases Your Audience

About 1 in 7 people worldwide have some form of disability. If your website isn’t accessible, you’re excluding a large group of people. Making your site accessible means more people can visit and use it.

3. It Improves Your SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Many of the things that make your website accessible—like using clear language, adding alt text to images, and optimizing for mobile—also help your website rank better in search engines like Google. This can help more people find your site.

4. It’s the Law

Laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S. and the Web Accessibility Directive in the EU require websites to be accessible. If your website doesn’t meet these laws, you could face fines or legal action. And we’re not talking big government action, we’re talking being susceptible to every legit to ambulance chasing lawyer/law firm in the land.

Basic Principles of Web Accessibility

Here are four basic principles that make a website accessible:

1. Perceivable: Information and content should be available to users in a way that they can understand. This includes things like adding text descriptions for images or providing captions for videos.
2. Operable: Your website should be easy to use, including for people who can’t use a mouse. This means making sure your website can be navigated using just a keyboard and that buttons or links are easy to click.
3. Understandable: The content on your website should be easy to read and understand. This includes using clear language, making sure the layout is logical, and providing helpful error messages when something goes wrong.
4. Robust: Your website should work well across different devices and browsers, as well as with assistive technologies like screen readers, which help people with disabilities use the web.

 

How to Make Your Website Accessible

Making your website accessible doesn’t have to be hard. Here are some steps you can take to improve accessibility:

1. Use Accessibility Tools

Businesses like Equal Web and AccessiBe are paid for services that add an “overlay widget” to your website and provide the user very simple options to  automatically adjust a website to make it more accessible. Such widgets are non-intrusive to your website code or framework and can be easily added to any website.

2. Use Alt Text for Images

This is a must for ADA compliance and SEO and it’s the easiest. “Alt text” is a short description of an image that helps people who can’t see it understand what it’s about. For example, if you have a picture of a dog, the alt text might say “A brown dog running in the grass.”

3. Make Your Website Work with a Keyboard

Some people can’t use a mouse, so it’s important that your website can be fully navigated using just a keyboard. This means making sure that every button, link, and form can be accessed using the Tab key or arrow keys.

4. Add Captions and Transcripts to Videos

If you use videos on your website, adding captions or subtitles can help people who are deaf or hard of hearing. A transcript (a written version of what’s said in the video) is also helpful.

5. Use Clear, Readable Fonts

Choose simple fonts and make sure your text is big enough to read. High contrast, like black text on a white background, is easier for people with vision problems.

 

Tools to Help You Check Accessibility

There are several tools you can use to test your website for accessibility:

1. AccessScan: A tool (free) created by accessiBe, a company focused on ADA compliance for websites.
2. Lighthouse: A Google tool (free) that checks the overall accessibility of your site and provides suggestions for improvement.
3. AccessibilityChecker.Org: A tool (free) to find out if your website is accessible and compliant

 

Conclusion

Making your website accessible is important for more than just following the law. It’s about ensuring that everyone, no matter their abilities, can use your website. By making small changes like adding alt text to images, improving keyboard navigation, and using clear fonts, you can make your website better for everyone.