Website accessibility compliance isn’t just about ticking boxes – it’s about ensuring everyone can use your site, regardless of ability.
For many business owners, website accessibility feels like a technical minefield. Terms like WCAG, screen readers, and alt text get thrown around, but what does it actually mean for your business website? More importantly, what happens if you ignore it?
This guide breaks down website accessibility compliance into practical steps you can actually implement:
What is Website Accessibility and Why Does It Matter?
Website accessibility means designing and building websites that people with disabilities can use effectively. This includes people who are blind or have low vision, those who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with motor impairments, and those with cognitive disabilities.
In the UK alone, approximately 16 million people have some form of disability[1]. That’s a significant portion of your potential customer base who may struggle to use your website if it’s not built with accessibility in mind.
Beyond the moral imperative, there’s a strong business case. Accessible websites typically perform better in search rankings, work more effectively on mobile devices, and provide a better experience for all users—not just those with disabilities.
Understanding WCAG: The Standards Behind Accessible Websites
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the internationally recognised standards for web accessibility. Currently at version 2.1, these guidelines are organised into three conformance levels:
Level A (Minimum)
The basic requirements that all websites should meet. Without these, some users will find it impossible to access your content. Examples include providing text alternatives for images and ensuring all functionality is available via keyboard.
Level AA (Recommended)
The standard most businesses should aim for and the level referenced in most legal requirements. This includes sufficient colour contrast (at least 4.5:1 for normal text), resizable text up to 200% without loss of functionality, and consistent navigation across pages.
Level AAA (Enhanced)
The highest level of accessibility is not always achievable for all content types. This is typically required for specialist accessibility-focused services rather than general business websites.
For most UK businesses, Level AA compliance should be your target.
The Four WCAG Principles
WCAG is built around four core principles, often remembered by the acronym POUR:
Perceivable
Users must be able to perceive the information presented. This means providing text alternatives for non-text content, captions for videos, and ensuring content can be presented in different ways without losing meaning. If you’re using multiple fonts on your website, consider how this affects readability for users with dyslexia or visual impairments.
Operable
Users must be able to operate the interface. All functionality should work with a keyboard alone, users need enough time to read content, and nothing should cause seizures. Navigation should be consistent and predictable—this connects directly with good UX design principles.
Understandable
Content must be readable and predictable. Use clear language, provide instructions where needed, and help users avoid and correct mistakes. Forms should have clear labels and helpful error messages.
Robust
Content must be robust enough to work with current and future technologies, including assistive technologies like screen readers. This means using valid HTML and following coding standards.
Common Accessibility Barriers on Business Websites
Through years of auditing WordPress sites, certain accessibility issues appear repeatedly:
Missing or poor alt text on images – Screen readers rely on alt text to describe images. Without it, blind users miss crucial information.
Insufficient colour contrast – Light grey text on white backgrounds might look elegant, but it’s unreadable for many users with low vision.
Keyboard navigation failures-If users can’t tab through your navigation and forms using only a keyboard, you’re excluding people who can’t use a mouse.
Missing form labels-– Screen readers need properly associated labels to announce what each form field is for.
Auto-playing media, such as videos or audio that play automatically, can be disorienting and problematic for screen reader users.
Poor heading structure – Screen reader users navigate by headings. If your H1, H2, and H3 tags don’t follow a logical hierarchy, navigation becomes confusing.
Many of these issues also affect responsive design performance, as good accessibility practices and mobile-friendliness often go hand in hand.
How to Audit Your Website for Accessibility Issues
Before you can fix problems, you need to identify them. Here’s a practical approach:
Automated Testing Tools
Start with free tools like WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) or the Lighthouse audit built into Chrome DevTools. These catch obvious issues like missing alt text and contrast problems. However, automated tools only catch about 30% of accessibility issues.
Manual Testing
Try navigating your entire website using only your keyboard. Can you reach every link and button? Can you see where you are on the page? Try using your site with a screen reader—VoiceOver on Mac and NVDA on Windows are free options.
Professional Audits
For business-critical websites, consider a professional accessibility audit. This combines automated testing with expert manual review and often includes testing by people who actually use assistive technologies daily.
Making WordPress Websites Accessible
WordPress has made significant strides in accessibility, but the platform is only as accessible as the themes and plugins you use.
Choose an accessible theme – Look for themes that explicitly mention WCAG compliance. Better yet, work with a developer who builds custom WordPress themes with accessibility baked in from the start.
Use accessible plugins-Not all plugins are created equal. Form plugins, sliders, and navigation plugins are common culprits for accessibility failures.
Configure properly-Even good themes need proper configuration. Ensure your reading settings, permalink structures, and media settings support accessibility.
Train your content editors – The most accessible theme in the world won’t help if content editors upload images without alt text or create content with poor heading structures.
This is one area where investing in proper website improvements pays dividends across multiple areas—accessibility, SEO, and user experience all benefit from the same foundational work.
Legal Requirements for Website Accessibility in the UK
The Equality Act 2010 requires businesses to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people can access their services[2]. Courts have increasingly interpreted this to include websites.
Public sector organisations have explicit requirements under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which mandate WCAG 2.1 AA compliance.
Private businesses don’t have such explicit regulations, but the Equality Act still applies. Several high-profile legal cases internationally have resulted in significant settlements for inaccessible websites, and UK businesses are not immune to similar action.
The direction of travel is clear: accessibility requirements are becoming more stringent, not less. Addressing accessibility now protects your business from future regulatory risk.
The Business Benefits of an Accessible Website
Compliance aside, accessible websites deliver tangible business benefits:
Expanded market reach-You’re opening your business to millions of potential customers who might otherwise go elsewhere.
Improved SEO-Many accessibility best practices (proper headings, alt text, clear structure) directly improve search engine optimisation.
Better mobile experience – Accessible sites typically work better on mobile devices, where many accessibility features overlap with responsive design requirements.
Enhanced reputation – Demonstrating commitment to accessibility builds trust and positive brand perception.
Reduced maintenance costs – Well-structured, accessible code is easier to maintain and update than hacky, inaccessible alternatives.
Taking Action on Website Accessibility Compliance
Website accessibility compliance might seem overwhelming, but it’s manageable when approached systematically. Start with an audit to understand your current position, prioritise fixes based on impact and effort, and build accessibility into your ongoing content and development processes.
The goal isn’t perfection on day one—it’s continuous improvement towards a website that works for everyone. Given that accessible websites also tend to be faster, more usable, and better for SEO, the investment pays off across multiple dimensions of your online presence.
References
David Foreman
Dave is the MD at Toast and has been working on branding, creative and web development projects for over 25 years. He's a founding member of Toast and enjoys a good rant.
