Website Accessibility Basics

Website Accessibility Basics

Web accessibility ensures that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with your website. It’s not only a legal requirement in many jurisdictions but also improves the experience for all users.

Why Accessibility Matters

• Legal compliance: Laws like the ADA (US), EAA (EU), and AODA (Canada) require accessible websites.
• Wider audience: Approximately 15% of the global population lives with some form of disability.
• Better SEO: Many accessibility practices align with SEO best practices.
• Improved usability: Accessible sites are generally easier for everyone to use.

WCAG Guidelines

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the international standard for web accessibility. They’re organized around four principles — POUR:

1. Perceivable: Information must be presented in ways users can perceive.
2. Operable: Interface components must be operable by all users.
3. Understandable: Content and controls must be understandable.
4. Robust: Content must work with current and future assistive technologies.

Essential Accessibility Practices

Images and Media

• Add descriptive alt attributes to all images:

  <img src="chart.png" alt="Bar chart showing monthly sales from January to June 2025">
  

• Provide captions and transcripts for video and audio content.

Color and Contrast

• Maintain a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
• Never use color alone to convey information — add labels or patterns.

Keyboard Navigation

• Ensure all interactive elements (links, buttons, forms) are reachable via keyboard.
• Use visible focus indicators so users can see where they are on the page.
• Maintain a logical tab order that follows the visual layout.

Forms

• Associate every input with a <label> element.
• Provide clear error messages that explain what went wrong and how to fix it.
• Use aria-required="true" for mandatory fields.

Headings and Structure

• Use headings (<h1> through <h6>) in a logical hierarchy.
• Use semantic HTML elements: <nav>, <main>, <article>, <aside>, <footer>.
• Add ARIA landmarks only when native HTML semantics aren’t sufficient.

Links

• Write descriptive link text: “Read our hosting guide” instead of “Click here.”
• Indicate when links open in a new window.

Testing Your Site’s Accessibility

• WAVE (wave.webaim.org): Browser-based accessibility evaluation tool.
• axe DevTools: Chrome extension for automated accessibility testing.
• Lighthouse: Built into Chrome DevTools, includes an accessibility audit.
• Screen readers: Test with NVDA (free, Windows), VoiceOver (Mac/iOS), or TalkBack (Android).

Quick Wins

1. Add alt text to all images.
2. Ensure all form fields have labels.
3. Check color contrast ratios.
4. Add a “Skip to main content” link at the top of each page.
5. Use semantic HTML for page structure.

Start with WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance as your target — it covers the most impactful accessibility requirements.