Thursday 15 May marks Accessibility Awareness Day 2025, and it’s prompted us to share some thoughts on a subject we’ve been increasingly focused on: website accessibility.
Accessibility Awareness Day is a global initiative to spotlight the importance of digital inclusion. It’s an opportunity for organisations to reflect on how accessible their websites and digital services really are, and ultimately to begin or continue their accessibility journey.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve taken real steps to build our knowledge of website accessibility, both in theory and through updating and creating accessible websites. We know how to improve accessibility in a practical, manageable way and can guide others through getting started. Where more advanced support is needed, we’re happy to work with accessibility specialist partners to make sure every requirement is covered.
Even small updates can have a real impact, whether it’s making your site easier to navigate with a keyboard, improving colour contrast, or adding proper descriptions to images.
This blog is a simple guide to what website accessibility is, who it benefits, the current UK standards, and a few manageable changes that small to medium businesses can do to get things moving in the right direction.
What is Website Accessibility?
Website accessibility is about making sure your website works for the widest possible audience. This includes people with disabilities, different devices, or alternative ways of browsing the web.
That might mean:
- A blind user browsing with a screen reader
- A person navigating entirely with a keyboard
- Someone with colour blindness who needs strong visual contrast
- A user with dyslexia needing clarity and structure
- Or someone using their phone one-handed while multitasking
Website accessibility ensures your content is Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. These are the four principles that underpin the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, a globally recognised standard.
While the WCAG guidelines might seem technical, the core idea is simple: remove unnecessary barriers so everyone can use and enjoy your website.
Who is Affected by Website Accessibility?
Website accessibility isn’t about catering to a small group of people, it’s about designing with real people in mind, across a broad range of needs and situations.
That includes:
- People with visual impairments, from colour blindness to total vision loss
- Deaf and hard of hearing users
- People with mobility or motor conditions who may not use a mouse
- Neurodiverse users with conditions like ADHD, dyslexia, or autism
- And people in temporary or situational circumstances, like recovering from injury or using a device in bright sunlight
Improving website accessibility not only benefits users with disabilities, it improves the experience for all users.
What are the Rules for Website Accessibility in the UK?
In the UK, accessibility is backed by law. The Equality Act 2010 requires organisations to make "reasonable adjustments" to ensure disabled users are not at a disadvantage, which includes digital services like websites.
Public sector bodies are also bound by the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which require compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
At the time of writing this, for small private businesses WCAG is not a legal obligation, but it is widely recognised as the standard to follow.
If you’d like to explore the guidelines in more detail, start here: https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/
How do I Start to Make my Website More Accessible?
If you’re starting to consider accessibility on your website, the good news is you don’t have to do everything at once! Any accessibility changes you make to your website are a great step forward. Website accessibility is a journey! However, there are several simple, high-impact changes that you can do to improve your website accessibility and usability for a wide range of users straight away.
Here are a few areas we’ve focused on:
Header Hierarchy
To help screen readers and to make content easier to scan, make sure pages use structured headings (h1, h2, h3, etc.) in a logical order.
There should only be one h1 for the main page title, with h2 for key sections, and h3 for sub-sections beneath those.
Focus States
When tabbing through the site, users should see a clear outline or highlight showing where they are on the page. This helps users to know where they are on the page when navigating without a mouse. It’s a small thing that makes a big difference.
Alt Tags
All meaningful images should have appropriate alt text, so users relying on screen readers can understand what’s being shown. Decorative images should be marked with empty alt text (alt="").
Colour Contrast
Ensure your text has strong contrast against the background. Poor contrast makes content difficult to read, especially for those with visual impairments or in bright conditions.
Forms
Every form field should have a clear label associated to it. Instructions and error messages should be screen-reader friendly and easy to understand.
These aren’t the only things to look at, but they’re a great place to start, and they all support a smoother, more inclusive user experience.
The Importance of Getting Qualified Help
We’ve gained a strong understanding by reviewing our own websites, using accessibility tools, and getting to grips with the guidelines, but we also recognise when it’s time to bring in specialist support.
Some aspects of website accessibility, particularly when it comes to aria roles or testing with assistive technologies, benefit from expert input. Bringing in a specialist, whether it’s for an audit, consultation, or advanced user testing, helps ensure nothing important is missed.
It also gives you a clear, prioritised view of what needs to change, and how best to do it.
Final Thoughts
Website accessibility doesn’t have to be daunting, and it certainly doesn’t need to be perfect from day one. What matters is making accessibility part of how you approach your website, something you keep in mind as things evolve, not just a one-off task.
We’re still learning too, and we’re always happy to share what we’ve found helpful so far. Whether you're making a few early improvements or planning a more in-depth review, small, thoughtful steps can make a big difference to how people experience your website.
Thinking about accessibility for your website?
Whether you are starting out, refining what you already have, or looking for the right support to take things further, we can help you make important improvements!