Accessibility in Web Design: Building for Everyone

About 1 in 4 adults in the US have some kind of disability. Many of them use the internet. If your website isn’t accessible, you’re making it harder for them to find you.

That’s a problem for them. It’s also a problem for your business.

What Accessibility Means

Accessibility means a person with a disability can navigate your site and accomplish what they came to do.

• A blind person can use a screen reader to understand your content.
• A deaf person can understand videos because they’re captioned.
• A person with limited mobility can use your site with a keyboard or voice control.
• A person with color blindness can read your text.

Most of these things don’t require fancy technology. They require intentional design choices.

Why It Matters for Business

You have customers with disabilities. You have users with temporary disabilities (broken arm, post-surgery). You have users in noisy environments where they can’t hear audio. You have older users with presbyopia (hard to see small text).

Making your site accessible helps all of them.

It also helps Google. Accessible sites are better structured. Clear headings, proper semantic markup, alt text on images. All of that helps search engines understand your site better.

The Basics

Use Proper Heading Structure

H1 for the page title, H2 for sections, H3 for subsections. Don’t skip levels. A screen reader user relies on this structure to navigate.

Write Descriptive Alt Text for Images

“Image” isn’t helpful. “Scout Media team at annual retreat” is. Describe what’s in the image and why it matters.

Make Links Descriptive

“Click here” doesn’t work for people using screen readers. Links should make sense out of context. “How to set up your Google Business Profile” is good. “Read more” is bad.

Use Color Plus Something Else

Don’t communicate information only with color. Use color plus shape, plus pattern, plus text. Color-blind users won’t miss the message.

Make Forms Accessible

Labels on form fields. Error messages that make sense. Fields that can be navigated with a keyboard.

Caption Videos

People watch videos without sound. Caption them.

Standards to Follow

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the standard. Aim for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. It’s the sweet spot between being genuinely accessible and not requiring crazy complexity.

You don’t need to be perfect. You need to be intentional.

The Business Case

Beyond being the right thing to do, accessible sites:

• Rank better in search engines
• Work better for everyone, disabled or not
• Expand your potential customer base
• Reduce legal risk (accessibility lawsuits are increasing)
• Show your company values inclusion

We build every site with accessibility in mind. It’s not an afterthought. It’s part of the foundation.

If your site needs an accessibility audit, let’s talk.