An accessible website can be used by everyone, including people who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, or rely on a keyboard or voice control. The standard to follow is WCAG 2.2 Level AA: readable contrast, alt text, captions, clear structure, keyboard access and usable forms. Accessibility reduces legal risk under the ADA, helps SEO and makes the site easier for every visitor.
Updated October 2026: this guide has been broadened from visual impairments to overall website accessibility and updated for WCAG 2.2.
Why Does Website Accessibility Matter?
- Customers: millions of people live with disabilities that affect how they use the web, and many more have temporary or age-related needs.
- Legal risk: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers businesses open to the public, the U.S. Department of Justice has said their websites should be accessible, and thousands of website accessibility lawsuits are filed every year. Businesses selling into the EU also face the European Accessibility Act, which took effect in June 2025.
- SEO: many accessibility practices, such as descriptive headings, alt text, captions and clear link text, also help search engines and AI tools understand your content.
- Usability: clear, well-structured pages are easier for everyone to use.
What Is WCAG 2.2?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the international standard for web accessibility, published by the W3C. Version 2.2, released in 2023, builds on 2.1 with new requirements for things like visible keyboard focus, larger touch targets and forms that do not make people re-enter information. Most organizations aim for Level AA, the level referenced by most laws and settlements.
How Do You Make a Website Accessible for People With Visual Impairments?
- Use strong color contrast between text and background: at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text.
- Use readable fonts and sizes, and make sure the page still works when visitors zoom to 200%.
- Do not put important text inside images; screen readers cannot read it and it blurs when zoomed.
- Write descriptive alt text for meaningful images, and leave decorative images with empty alt text.
- Do not rely on color alone to show meaning, such as red for errors.
- Structure pages with real headings in order, so screen reader users can navigate by heading.
What About Other Disabilities?
- Hearing: add captions to videos and transcripts to audio.
- Mobility: make every menu, button and form usable with a keyboard, with a visible focus outline, and keep touch targets large enough to tap easily.
- Cognitive: use plain language, consistent navigation, clear instructions and enough time to complete tasks.
- Seizures and motion sensitivity: avoid flashing content and let visitors pause animations and carousels.
How Do You Make Forms Accessible?
Give every field a visible label, explain errors clearly in text next to the field, do not rely on placeholder text as the only label, avoid CAPTCHAs that cannot be completed without sight or hearing, and do not ask visitors to re-enter information they already provided.
How Do You Test Your Website’s Accessibility?
- Run automated checks with free tools such as WAVE or Lighthouse in Chrome.
- Navigate your key pages using only the Tab, Enter and arrow keys.
- Try a screen reader such as NVDA on Windows or VoiceOver on Mac and iPhone.
- Zoom to 200% and check that nothing breaks or overlaps.
- Fix the most-used pages first: home page, service pages, lead-generation forms and checkout.
Automated tools catch only some problems, so manual testing matters. Accessibility overlay widgets do not make a site compliant on their own. If your site has many issues, it may be time to redesign your website with accessibility built in.
Want an accessible website? Our web design team builds and updates sites with accessibility in mind. See our accessibility statement for how we approach our own site.
