How to make your website accessible is essential for creating a digital space everyone can use. Imagine opening a website and realizing you can’t read the content, navigate the menu, or submit a form—simply because the site wasn’t designed with you in mind.
For over a billion people worldwide living with disabilities, this is an everyday reality.
Website accessibility isn’t just about ticking compliance checkboxes; it’s about dignity, equality, and ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can fully participate in the digital world. Your website should be a place where everyone feels welcome. Accessibility fosters an inclusive, empathetic digital space for people with various abilities, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor disabilities.
At ENEXXUS, we believe accessible design is powerful design. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to make your website accessible, step by step, by adhering to website accessibility guidelines and meeting accessibility standards to ensure inclusivity for all users.
How to Make Your Website Accessible
Making your website accessible isn’t as complex as it seems—if you follow the right process. Below are clear and actionable steps you can implement:
Conduct an Accessibility Audit
Start by assessing your website’s current state. Use tools like WAVE, Axe, or Lighthouse to identify issues such as missing alt text, poor color contrast, and inaccessible forms.
Add Alt Text and Improve Keyboard Navigation
Provide descriptive alt text for all images so screen readers can convey their meaning to visually impaired users. Also, ensure your site can be fully navigated using a keyboard, allowing users to access links, buttons, and forms easily.
Ensure Sufficient Color Contrast
Check that text stands out clearly from backgrounds to assist users with visual impairments like color blindness. Tools like Color Contrast Analyzer can help verify this.
Use Clear Headings and Descriptive Links
Organize content with properly structured headings (H1, H2, H3) to help users navigate your site. Also, make links and buttons descriptive—avoid vague terms like “click here” and instead say what the link does.
Provide Accessible Multimedia Content
Offer captions and transcripts for videos and audio so users who are deaf or hard of hearing can access your content effectively.
Test with Assistive Technologies and Monitor Regularly
Test your site using screen readers like JAWS or VoiceOver to understand user experience. Accessibility is ongoing, so regularly update and monitor your website to stay compliant with guidelines.
Why Accessibility Matters
Accessibility is not just the right thing to do—it’s also smart for your brand. Here’s why it matters:
Legal Considerations
Web accessibility is becoming a critical issue globally. With the growing number of lawsuits regarding inaccessible websites, businesses must take proactive steps to ensure compliance with digital accessibility laws. In many countries, laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) mandate that websites be accessible to people with disabilities.
Failing to comply with accessibility standards can lead to costly legal consequences, not to mention damage to your brand’s reputation. Businesses must meet specific legal guidelines to avoid litigation and ensure they’re serving all customers equally.
Business Benefits: Inclusivity, Broader Reach, and SEO Impact
Website accessibility isn’t just a legal or moral obligation—it’s also a business opportunity. Accessible websites can reach a much larger audience. People with disabilities make up a significant portion of the global population, and they represent a potential market your business might be missing.
In addition to broader reach, accessible websites improve SEO. Search engines like Google value clear, structured content and HTML markup. Many accessibility practices, such as using proper header tags, descriptive alt text for images, and semantic HTML, directly align with SEO best practices.
User Experience Enhancement
Accessibility improvements often lead to a better user experience for all users, not just those with disabilities. A well-structured website with clear navigation, readable fonts, and properly labeled forms benefits everyone—whether they have a disability or not.
By prioritizing accessibility, you’re building trust with your users and enhancing their experience on your website. A site that is easy to navigate, with clear content and functional design, reflects positively on your brand’s reputation and helps foster long-term customer loyalty.
Accessibility Requirements for Website Compliance
Meeting the website accessibility guidelines starts with understanding the accessibility standards established by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The WCAG lays out four key principles of accessibility that your website must follow, known as the POUR principles.
1. Perceivable
Your website’s content should be accessible in ways that can be perceived by all users, including those with visual and auditory impairments. This includes providing text alternatives for images, videos, and other non-text content. For example, providing alt text for all images ensures users with visual impairments can understand the content of your images via screen readers.
2. Operable
All users, including those with mobility impairments, should be able to navigate and interact with your website. This includes providing alternatives for mouse actions, such as allowing keyboard navigation, ensuring that interactive elements like buttons are easy to focus on, and not requiring quick or complex movements.
3. Understandable
Content should be presented in a clear and understandable manner. This includes making text content readable and ensuring forms are easy to fill out, providing clear instructions and error messages, and offering content in a language that users can understand.
4. Robust
Your website should work across different browsers, devices, and assistive technologies. By using semantic HTML and following best practices for code structure, you can ensure that your website is compatible with a wide range of tools and technologies.
How ENEXXUS Can Help
At ENEXXUS, we provide expert audits and consultation services to help you ensure compliance with these accessibility standards. We assist businesses in aligning with WCAG guidelines, and our team of experts will guide you every step of the way.
Website Accessibility Guidelines to Follow
Key WCAG 2.2 Guidelines
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) are the standard for ensuring web accessibility. Here’s a brief overview of the core guidelines:
- Text Alternatives: Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
- Keyboard Accessible: Ensure all functionality is available via keyboard.
- Clear and Simple Language: Present content in a clear, simple, and easy-to-understand manner.
- Compatibility: Ensure your website works with various assistive technologies and browsers.
Common Accessibility Mistakes to Avoid
- Missing Labels or Alt Text: Always use descriptive alt text for all images and form elements.
- Relying Only on Visual Cues: Don’t use visual cues (e.g., color) alone to convey important information.
- Inaccessible Forms or Buttons: Ensure all forms are properly labeled, and buttons are clearly defined.
- No Keyboard Navigation: Ensure all interactive elements are accessible via the keyboard.
- Overcomplicating ARIA Usage: Use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) only when necessary.
Conclusion: Create with Care, Build with Purpose
Digital accessibility is a human right. By building an inclusive website, you’re not just complying with laws—you’re honoring people.
Whether you’re updating an old site or building a new one, every step toward accessibility is a step toward kindness, inclusion, and progress.
Need help making your site accessible? ENEXXUS offers audits, strategy, and expert implementation. Contact us today and let’s make digital equality a reality—together.
FAQs
Q1: What is the first step to improving website accessibility?
Start with a basic audit using WAVE or Lighthouse to identify quick wins.
Q2: What does WCAG stand for?
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines—an internationally accepted standard for accessible web design.
Q3: How often should I test accessibility?
Test during every major design or content update and do quarterly reviews.
Q4: Do accessible websites improve SEO?
Yes. Accessibility features like alt text and structured HTML improve both usability and search engine ranking.
Q5: Can ENEXXUS help with accessibility compliance?
Absolutely. We offer full-service audits, consulting, and implementation to meet WCAG standards.
