Over the years, the web industry has undergone many changes. Two of them are particularly relevant here:
- Today, almost anyone can build a website without any coding knowledge;
- Accessibility regulations enacted in recent years require that business, institutional, and organizational websites be available and accessible to all users, including people with disabilities.
Why bring up both of these together? Because the ability to build a website without coding skills has opened the door for many people to offer web development services — but not every web builder is also an accessibility expert. So whether you've built a site for a business or organization yourself, you're responsible for making sure it meets accessibility requirements before it goes live.
With that foundation in place, let's get to the heart of it: how do you actually build an accessible website?
There's a long list of details involved — honestly too many to cover in a single article. But there are several key areas that will help you build with accessibility in mind and take some very important steps for your users.
Why Does Accessibility Law Matter So Much?
Let's set aside the legal liability for a moment and talk about something more human — about people who want and deserve equal access to information online.
When we build a website, it's important to remember that our audience includes people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. Everyone's browsing experience should be as comfortable and accessible as possible.
For example, someone with ADHD may struggle to focus on dense blocks of text and visual information. A person with low vision may find it hard to read content. A blind user may not be able to read it at all. These are just a few examples from a broad spectrum of disabilities that affect people just like you and me.
Accessibility law exists to fulfill a basic human right: to allow everyone to visit a website, receive information, understand a service, and simply enjoy a seamless browsing experience — regardless of any limitations.
The law requires that websites and apps be made accessible to people with disabilities. Organizations covered by these requirements include public bodies, private companies offering services to the general public, nonprofits, and more. Website owners who fail to comply may face fines and legal action. That's why, as web builders, it's important to understand at least the fundamentals of accessibility.
Alright, let's dive in.
Alternative Text Descriptions for Images
One of the most well-known aspects of web accessibility is providing alternative text descriptions for images (alt text).
Alt text allows people with visual impairments who use screen readers to understand what an image depicts.
As a web builder, you can include this as part of your service: for every image you upload during the design and development phase, make sure an alt tag is added as well.
Consistently adding descriptive, accurate alt tags to every image moves your website one step closer to full accessibility.
Color Contrast and Readable Text
Text readability is a central element of web accessibility.
One of the most effective ways to ensure readability is by using appropriate color contrast between text and background. For example, dark text on a light background — or light text on a dark background — ensures that important information doesn't get lost, especially for users with various visual impairments.
Here are some tools to help you check color contrast and text readability:
- WebAIM Contrast Checker – a user-friendly tool that lets you check the contrast ratio between text and background colors;
- Color Contrast Analyser – a downloadable app for running contrast checks;
- Accessible Colors – another site that checks color contrast and even suggests improvements. Always handy to get actionable tips!
- Tanaguru Contrast Finder – an advanced contrast-checking tool with options to adjust colors for better compliance;
Accessible Video and Multimedia Content
When adding multimedia content like video to a website, you need to ensure that content is accessible too. One way to do this is by adding captions to videos, so that users with hearing impairments can follow along. You can also provide audio descriptions for important visual content to make sure nothing gets missed.
There are many tools available today that make it easy to add captions to any video — this is a great value-added service you can offer your clients. The AutoCap app is one excellent option, and a quick search online will turn up plenty of other tools as well.
Accessible Forms and Input Fields
When building forms, it's essential to make them accessible to users with disabilities.
What does that look like in practice? For starters, every input field should have a clear label so screen readers can identify the field and its purpose. It's also important to include clear instructions for filling out the form and to ensure that error messages are communicated in a clear, accessible way.
Keyboard Navigation (and There's a Catch Here)
For people who can't use a mouse — such as blind users — it's crucial that your website can be fully navigated using only a keyboard.
Can a typical web builder handle this on their own? Not really — but there are a variety of accessibility widgets (also known as accessibility plugins) that can be installed for free and include this feature.
So what's the catch? The catch is that a free accessibility plugin you download from the web hasn't been tested against your specific website — it provides the same generic service to every site that uses it. This is where it's worth understanding the difference between an accessibility widget from a professional accessibility company (like ours) and a free downloadable plugin like those available in WordPress.
Free accessibility widgets do bring useful features to your site. But accessibility widgets that come bundled with a professional accessibility service do something more: they connect your website to the service provider's platform.
At User A, once our accessibility widget is embedded in your site, it's linked to our systems — and your site undergoes both automated accessibility processing and a manual review and completion by our development team, including testing and optimizing keyboard navigation for your specific site.
This allows us to identify every single detail that needs to be made accessible. We also continuously update and improve our accessibility widget to reflect changes and updates in accessibility regulations.
Accessibility Statement and Ongoing Updates
Finally, every accessible website needs to include an accessibility statement. Don't have one? You're exposed to legal risk — it's important to publish one on your site.
In this statement, you outline the accessibility efforts made on the site, describe the accessibility features available in your business, and give visitors a way to contact you if they encounter an accessibility issue.
This statement matters because it details everything done on the site for users with disabilities, while also honestly acknowledging that some gaps may still exist — and letting visitors know they can reach out so you can review and fix any issues promptly.
In principle, anyone can write an accessibility statement (covering accessibility efforts, the standards and regulations the site is committed to, known limitations, contact details, and the date of the last update).
However, to ensure the statement is accurate, compliant, and meets all requirements, it's strongly recommended that it be drafted by a web accessibility expert.
A web accessibility expert knows the relevant standards and requirements, and can make sure the statement includes everything it needs to.
Inaccuracies, missing information, or failure to meet standards can undermine the effectiveness of your accessibility statement and leave your site open to complaints and legal claims.
Building a Legally Accessible Website: Ask Us Anything
Building websites and looking for effective, high-quality accessibility solutions? Welcome to User A.
Our company works with a wide range of service providers in the web and app development industry, offering fair, flexible pricing that allows small business owners to access a professional accessibility solution that meets regulatory requirements.
We'd love to welcome you to our partner program and help create a web experience that's open and accessible to everyone.
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