Accessible website design helps people understand information, operate controls, and complete important tasks. It matters when a customer uses a keyboard, enlarges text, reads through assistive technology, or simply visits your website on a small screen in difficult conditions.
For a business website, accessibility should be part of design and development from the beginning. This practical checklist explains what to review and how to turn findings into improvements, using WCAG 2.2 as a reference rather than treating an automated score as proof of a finished job.
Start with the journeys customers need
List the tasks your website supports: exploring services, viewing work, finding contact details, booking a call, or buying a product. Select representative pages and write a short test journey for each task.
A service enquiry journey might include opening the mobile menu, navigating to a service, following a contact link, completing the form, and reading its confirmation. Test the complete path. A well-labelled input is not enough if the button cannot be reached or the result is never announced.
Record issues in terms of the affected task. “Cannot select a service using the keyboard” gives a team a clearer starting point than “accessibility needs improvement.”
Give every page a sensible structure
Use meaningful headings that reflect the organisation of the content. The page title should introduce the subject, while subsequent headings divide the explanation into understandable sections. Do not choose heading levels merely because their default font sizes look attractive.
Use actual links for navigation and buttons for actions. Label navigation regions and provide a route past repetitive page content. Make link wording describe the destination when the surrounding context does not make it clear.
Keep the reading and focus order aligned with the visual presentation. A layout that moves sections around on mobile needs careful checking so the experience still makes sense without its decorative arrangement.
Test the website without a mouse
Use the keyboard to move through navigation, cards, forms, and dialogs. Check that focus is visible, controls can be operated, and there are no traps that prevent moving onward or returning to the page.
Pay particular attention to sticky headers, cookie panels, and floating widgets. W3C’s Focus Not Obscured guidance addresses situations where author-created content entirely hides a focused component.
For a portfolio preview, opening the image should not leave the visitor stranded. The close control needs a clear name, keyboard operation, and sensible focus behaviour when the preview closes.
Make text and controls readable
Check text against its actual background, including gradients and photographs. W3C specifies a minimum text contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for qualifying large text, with defined exceptions. Read the contrast guidance when assessing a particular component.
Do not communicate a required field, selected state, or error through colour alone. Add text or another clear indicator. Keep important information readable when text is enlarged and when the viewport narrows.
A branded dark background can remain distinctive while supporting readable content. The practical design task is choosing appropriate foreground colours and maintaining enough space around information, not abandoning the brand identity.
Provide useful image alternatives
An image alternative should reflect the image’s purpose in context. A project screenshot may identify the website and the relevant interface. A decorative flourish can be hidden from assistive technology rather than described as if it conveyed information.
If an image contains essential instructions, supply those instructions as text too. Avoid placing a long article introduction inside a graphic. Text on the page is easier to resize, search, translate, and navigate.
For charts or complex visuals, explain the key conclusion and provide the necessary underlying information. A filename or a collection of keywords is not a useful alternative.
Help people recover from form errors
Give fields persistent labels, mark required inputs clearly, and explain unusual formats before submission. Place specific error messages near the affected fields and retain information the customer already entered.
If several fields fail, provide a useful summary that helps the visitor find them. Distinguish a validation problem from a delivery failure. “Your email address needs checking” and “The server could not send your enquiry” require different recovery actions.
Show success only after the submission has actually been accepted. Include a direct contact route for customers who need another option. Our lead tracking guide explains why accurate success states also matter for measurement.
Keep motion under the visitor’s control
Use animation to clarify an interaction or draw attention to useful content. Provide pause controls for automatically changing showcases and respect reduced-motion preferences. Ensure important information remains available when motion is paused.
Check that a carousel or animated component can be understood without relying on movement. A project should remain inspectable; a headline should remain readable. Avoid effects that make customers chase controls or repeatedly lose their reading position.
Accessibility and performance often need coordinated work. Read our website performance guide when animation or heavy components are affecting responsiveness.
Combine tools with human testing
Automated tools can flag some issues, but manual keyboard, zoom, screen-reader, and task testing remain necessary. Where possible, include people with relevant access needs in evaluation and make feedback part of the improvement process.
Use the W3C WCAG overview to understand the wider standard. A short checklist or plugin cannot establish complete conformance, and accessibility requirements may depend on your organisation and audience.
Prioritise barriers that prevent essential tasks, assign owners, and retest fixes. Ali Dev Solutions can support this work through UI/UX and visual design and practical website development.