Author: Victoria

Many common accessibility issues begin long before any code is written. At each stage of the process, understanding the accessibility concerns that sit within your role can prevent a lot of extra work and expense later on. This will also mean that compromises between accessibility concerns and the visual coherence of a design are made by the person best placed to do this – the designer.

1 Colour Contrast

To give people with visual impairments the best experience, ensure all the text on your website contrasts sufficiently with the background, to make it easy to read (aim for a 4.5:1 contrast ratio).

If using text over an image or video, be aware that at different screen sizes and different default font sizes the text may overlap different parts of the image, and check that you will still be able to read the text clearly wherever it is positioned. Consider tinting the image or adding a background behind the text to make sure the contrast is high.

For important non-text elements, such as the border around form fields, look for a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 against the background.

2 Fonts

Choose clear, easy to read fonts, especially for the body content. The default font size you use should be large enough that it’s easy to read. Since website visitors can change the default font size in their browser, remember that the amount of space each piece of text takes up could increase significantly, so make sure any areas of your design containing text have room to grow.

3 Use of Images

Images and icons can help break up blocks of content on a page, providing a visual break for users, and can help support meaning and aid scanning of the page, plus make it easier for users to find a piece of information again later as they can offer visual landmarks. These help everyone, but are especially useful for users with dyslexia and other cognitive differences, who may rely more on visual structure. Images may also benefit users with ADHD, who might struggle to focus on long uninterrupted block of text.

Since it is often the role of the designer to choose images and icons for a site, at least initially, it’s worth considering at this stage what the purpose of an image is, to make sure visually impaired users can get the same information and experience. For instance, if a stock photo is used just to break up a page and add some visual interest, there is a fair chance it’s not adding any concrete information itself, so this is an image that could be marked as purely decorative.

However, if you have photos taken of the actual people, places or products you are looking at, consider if there is anything you can get from looking at an image that you might not get from the surrounding text. For example, there could be a lot you could learn from looking at a photo of team members, beyond what you would get from just their name and job description. If you make the design decision to add team photos, you could consider also asking those staff members for a visual description of themselves in the photo to use in the alt text.

4 Highlights for Keyboard Users

Some people have difficulty using a mouse, for example if they have tremors or pain in their hands, and may prefer to navigate through a website using the keyboard. Keyboard users often move through interactive element (links, buttons, form fields etc) using the tab key.

To make it clear where you are in the page, every interactive element should have a focus style, which clearly highlights that item, so keyboard users don’t get lost. Considering this focus style at the design stage means it can best complement the look of the site, rather than leaving it to default styles at the development stage.

The focus style is often a ring or border around an element which clearly shows it is highlighted. Make sure that any focus style you design is clear and contrasts well against the background (at least 3:1 contrast ratio).

5 Avoiding Conveying Information Only Through Colour

Check that you aren’t relying only on colour to give information, as this will be difficult for colour-blind users. The most common place this occurs is with links – just changing the colour of the text isn’t enough to show it can be clicked. The most widely recognised option is to add an underline to your links, so colour-blind users can easily pick them out of the text on the page. Be careful not to use underline for anything else, such as headings that are not links, as this could create confusion for users.

Making Accessibility Part of the Design Process

Visual design decisions shape how accessible a website can be from the start, and addressing tis early makes it easier to balance usability, aesthetics, and compliance throughout the project.

If you’d like support reviewing designs with accessibility in mind, or guidance on where accessibility responsibilities sit across your design and content processes, feel free to get in touch.

1 – Increase Profits

At least 1 in 7^[i] people in the UK have access needs when visiting websites. The true figure is likely higher^[ii]. Since 7 in 10 disabled customers^[iii] will click away from a website they find difficult to use, businesses in the UK are losing at least £17.1 billion a year due to poor web accessibility.

Real-world examples can show the business benefit of having a website which works well for your disabled audience:

• NHS Digital: traffic up 73% after the website was made more accessible.^[iv]
• Legal & General: 50% more visitors from search after an accessible rebuild. iv

2 – Benefit Non-Disabled People

A lot of people can benefit from an accessible website, even if they are not disabled:

• Improved SEO: Semantic HTML, alt text for images, transcripts, captions and clearly structured headings and content all help boost your site’s Search Engine Optimisation.
• AI and voice assistants: These improvements also benefit AI and assistants like Siri, which rely on clean, well-ordered and clearly labelled content with predictable interfaces.
• Better mobile experience: An accessible site needs to work well on a range of devices, and with more than half^[v] of users accessing sites on their phones, extra focus on your mobile site can benefit most of your users.
• Translations: Accessible content can be much easier for users to auto translate into their native language, adding an extra potential group of users.
• Convenience: Simple, easy to skim content is great if you are tired, distracted or in a hurry. Higher contrast helps people use the site in bright sunlight. Being able to use a site with one hand can be great if you are holding a coffee. Subtitles are handy in noisy environments. Transcripts can be searched through if you want to find something quickly without watching a whole video.
• Temporary conditions: If you have a short-term injury or illness, you may suddenly find yourself in need of accessible websites.
• Reduced customer service enquiries: If people can get what they need from your website, they are less likely to call up for information, potentially reducing your overheads.

3 – Avoid Legal Problems

For a private business owner, the law makes it clear that you have to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to make sure your services are accessible to people with disabilities, under The Equality Act 2010. It’s also not enough to wait until a disabled person makes a complaint about your website to start thinking about accessibility. According to the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) any organisation that provides a service online has an ‘anticipatory’ duty to make reasonable adjustments. Any disabled website visitor who feels they have been discriminated against by a company online can make a claim in court.

Public sector organisations

All public sector organisations, including government departments, NHS organisations, colleges and universities, and some charities, are subject to extra laws, in addition to the ones mentioned above.

The Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (PSBRA) states that any public sector website offering a service must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) level AA. These rules can be enforced by the EHRC.

European Accessibility Act (EAA)

Since June 2025, any organisation providing products and services to consumers in the EU needs an accessible website, if they have at least 10 employees and a turnover of €2 million. Failure to comply can result in fines and legal proceedings.

4 – It’s the Right Thing to Do

It’s not easy to be a disabled person in a world that hasn’t been built for you. Facing the same barriers day in and day out can really take its toll. According to Scope, 49% of working-age adults feel excluded from society because of their condition or impairment, and 41% working-age disabled people do not feel valued by society.

While there can sometimes be substantial challenges to making services accessible in physical environments, it is much easier to make these changes online. And because the physical world is often much harder for disabled people to access, they have an even greater need for online services.

Despite this, disabled people are 50% more likely to face barriers accessing digital and online services compared to non-disabled people^[vi], and accessibility errors are slowly increasing^[vii]. 

How to make your website more accessible

Getting an accessible website doesn’t have to cost more money – all you need is to work with someone who knows how to meet the guidelines, and to learn a few techniques yourself to make sure the content you add will work for people with disabilities too.

All the websites I create are built to the WCAG 2.2 AA standards. I can meet the AAA standards on request. Or I can review your current website and offer detailed remediation advice to fix any access issues, and write accessibility statements when required.

Contact me

What is web accessibility?

Website accessibility means your content and interactions can be used effectively by people of all abilities, including those with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive differences. At present, disabled people are 50% more likely to face barriers accessing digital and online services compared to non-disabled people^[1], and accessibility errors are slowly going up^[2].

In the UK, at least 1 in 7 people people have additional access needs when visiting websites, and 71% of users with disabilities say they will leave a website if it is not accessible^[3]. So making sure your website is accessible can help you reach as many people as possible.

Here are a few examples of how disabilities can affect how people use a website:

• People with visual impairments may need the following:
  • The ability to increase the size of the text on the website to make it easier to read
  • To be able to access text descriptions of any visual information such as pictures
  • To have a high level of contrast between foreground and background colours
  • To be able to use a screen magnifier
  • To be able to use a screen reader to read out the text on the website
• For colour-blind users it is important that information isn’t conveyed only using colour
• People who have difficulties with their hands may need:
  • Larger areas to click on for links and buttons
  • To be able to navigate around the website using the keyboard instead of the mouse
  • To be able to use speech recognition software to interact with the website
• People with hearing loss may need captions or text transcripts for videos or other audio content
• People with dyslexia, learning difficulties or lower literacy levels may need:
  • Content written using the simplest wording possible
  • Clearly laid out content optimised for skim reading
  • Consistent use of design elements and visual clues to help them find their way through the site

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of standards that help website developers and content writers to make sure the sites they create are accessible to people with disabilities.

How can I test for accessibility?

There are various tools online that can test some elements of accessibility on a website, but many other areas will need to be check manually.

Checking your accessibility score

You can enter the address of your website on Google page speed to see a range of metrics, including an accessibility score. This can tell you how well your website performs on a subset of accessibility issues, and highlight which areas have problems. Please note that this only tests a single page of your website, so it is best to test multiple pages from your website to get a more comprehensive view of how accessible your website is.

Testing your wording

You can test how easy to read your text is by using www.webfx.com/tools/read-able/, which will give you a reading age for the text on a page. Again, make sure to test multiple pages from your website to get a clearer view of how easy to read your text is. Microsoft word also give a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, which you can interpret using this conversion table.

Testing your colours

If you are choosing colours for your website or branding, you can check if they will meet accessibility guidelines with a checker such as Web Aim – aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 to make sure your website is accessible to most visitors.

Testing for screen readers

The best way to do this is to have a go with a screen reader and see how easy it is to use your website. You can see a range of tools available for testing here.

Manual checks

• Try increasing the size of the font in your browser by 200% and looking through your website to see if everything still looks OK.
• Navigate around your website without using the mouse. Use the tab button on your keyboard to move between links and buttons on your page. Can you get to all the links? Can you tell which link is currently highlighted? Does pressing enter or space activate interactive elements?

This list is not comprehensive, but should give you a good sense of how well your website works for disabled visitors.

Final Thoughts

A website can meet technical standards while still causing frustration or exclusion, if content and interaction patterns are unclear or hard to navigate. Good accessibility improves usability for everyone, not just people with disabilities, and checking your site regularly helps you find the issues that matter most.

If you need practical guidance on assessing or improving your website’s accessibility, I’m happy to help.

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[1]https://business.scope.org.uk/article/accessibility-and-disability-facts-and-figures
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[2]The WebAIM annual accessibility analysis of the top 1 million homepages
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[3]https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/culture-and-community/digital/internet-use/latest/downloads/internet-users-in-the-uk.csv (total internet users in 2019). https://www.clickawaypound.com/downloads/cap19final0502.pdf (number of users with additional access needs in 2019). https://webaim.org/projects/million/ (number clicking away from inaccessible sites)
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