Creating Accessible Websites: Why It Matters and How to Get Started

In today’s digital world, accessibility is not just a best practice—it’s essential. Building accessible websites ensures that everyone, including individuals with disabilities, can navigate and interact with your content. Beyond being a moral and legal obligation (with guidelines like WCAG and laws such as ADA), accessibility improves the overall user experience, enhances SEO, and broadens your audience reach.

Why Accessibility Matters

• Inclusivity: Over 1 billion people worldwide have some form of disability. An accessible site allows them to engage fully with your content.
• Legal Compliance: Many countries enforce web accessibility laws. Non-compliance can lead to lawsuits and damage brand reputation.
• Better User Experience: Accessibility improvements (clear navigation, alt text, proper contrast) benefit everyone, including users with temporary impairments such as a broken arm or lost glasses.
• SEO Benefits: Search engines favor sites with clean, semantic HTML and descriptive content. Accessibility features like alt text also provide additional content for search engines to index.

Key Principles of Web Accessibility (WCAG Guidelines)

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the global standard for accessibility. They focus on four key principles:

• Perceivable: Content must be presented in ways users can perceive (e.g., text alternatives for images).
• Operable: Users must be able to navigate and interact with the site (e.g., keyboard navigation, no time-based interactions).
• Understandable: Information and operation must be easy to understand (e.g., clear instructions, readable fonts).
• Robust: Content must work with various assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers).

Steps to Building an Accessible Website

1. Use Semantic HTML

Proper use of headings (<h1> to <h6>), lists, and landmarks (<nav>, <main>, <footer>) helps assistive technologies understand content structure.

Example:

HTML

<header>
  <h1>Website Title</h1>
</header>
<main>
  <section>
    <h2>Section Title</h2>
    <p>Content goes here...</p>
  </section>
</main>
<footer>
  <p>© 2025 Company Name</p>
</footer>

Advanced Tip: Use the <article> tag for self-contained content that could be distributed outside the main page, like blog posts or news articles.

2. Keyboard Navigation

Ensure all interactive elements (links, buttons) are reachable and operable via keyboard (e.g., Tab, Enter).

Example:

HTML

button onclick="doSomething()">Click me</button>
<a href="example.html">Example Link</a>

Advanced Tip: Test your site by navigating using only the keyboard. Make sure that focus outlines are visible so users know where they are on the page.

3. Provide Alt Text for Images

Descriptive alt text enables screen readers to convey the meaning of images.

Example:

HTML

<img src="image.jpg" alt="A scenic view of mountains during sunset.">

Advanced Tip: If the image is purely decorative, use an empty alt attribute (alt=””) to inform screen readers to skip the image.

4. Maintain Sufficient Color Contrast

Text should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. Use tools like WebAIM to check contrast.

Example:

CSS

body {
  color: #333333;
  background-color: #ffffff;
}

Advanced Tip: Ensure that interactive elements like buttons also have sufficient contrast, both in their default and focus states.

5. ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Roles

Use ARIA attributes (role, aria-label) to enhance accessibility for complex UI components.

Example:

HTML

<div role="dialog" aria-labelledby="dialogTitle" aria-describedby="dialogDesc">
  <h2 id="dialogTitle">Dialog Title</h2>
  <p id="dialogDesc">Description of the dialog content.</p>
</div>

Advanced Tip: Use ARIA live regions (e.g., aria-live=”polite”) to announce dynamic content updates without disturbing the user’s current task.

6. Form Accessibility

Associate labels with form inputs (<label for=”id”>). Use aria-describedby for additional instructions.

Example:

HTML

<label for="username">Username:</label>
<input type="text" id="username" name="username" aria-describedby="usernameDesc">
<small id="usernameDesc">Enter your unique username.</small>

Advanced Tip: Group related form elements using the <fieldset> and <legend> tags to provide additional context.

7. Test with Screen Readers

Tools like NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (Mac) help evaluate screen reader compatibility.

Example of Testing Process:

1. Turn on the screen reader.
2. Navigate through your site using the keyboard.
3. Listen for appropriate announcements and ensure all content is accessible. Advanced Tip: Use the screen reader to interact with all form elements, ensuring that labels, instructions, and error messages are announced correctly.

Advanced Techniques and Best Practices for Web Accessibility

1. Implement Focus Management

Ensure that keyboard users can easily navigate through your site. Use JavaScript to manage focus, especially when dealing with dynamic content or modals.

Example:

JavaScript

document.getElementById('myButton').focus();

Tip: Always return focus to the triggering element when a modal is closed.

2. Accessible Media

Provide captions and transcripts for video and audio content. Ensure that media players are keyboard accessible.

Example:

HTML

<video controls>
  <source src="movie.mp4" type="video/mp4">
  <track kind="captions" src="captions.vtt" srclang="en" label="English">
</video>

Tip: Use a media player that supports keyboard navigation and screen reader accessibility.

3. Accessible Navigation

Ensure that your navigation menus are accessible. Use ARIA roles and properties to enhance the navigation experience.

Example:

HTML

<nav aria-label="Primary">
  <ul>
    <li><a href="/home" aria-current="page">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="/about">About</a></li>
    <li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li>
  </ul>
</nav>

Tip: Ensure that dropdown menus are accessible by keyboard and screen readers.

4. Consistent and Predictable Layouts

Ensure that the layout is consistent across pages to provide a predictable experience for users.

Tip: Use a logical order for interactive elements, and avoid placing elements in unexpected locations.

5. Accessible Tables

Use tables for tabular data, and ensure they are accessible by using appropriate headers and summaries.

Example:

HTML

<table>
  <caption>Monthly Sales Report</caption>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Month</th>
      <th>Sales</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>January</td>
      <td>$1000</td>
    </tr>
    <!-- More rows -->
  </tbody>
</table>

Tip: Use the <th> element to define table headers and the scope attribute to indicate the relationship between header cells and data cells.

Tools and Resources

• Testing Tools: Lighthouse, Axe, WAVE
• Color Contrast Checkers: WebAIM, Contrast Checker
• Browser DevTools: Accessibility tabs in Chrome and Firefox
• Learning Resources: MDN Web Docs, WebAIM, A11y Project

Advanced Resources:

• Automated Testing Tools: Cypress with axe-core integration
• Accessibility Validators: Pa11y, Tenon.io
• User Testing Services: AccessWorks, Fable

Conclusion

Making your website accessible benefits everyone. It enhances usability, improves SEO, and ensures compliance with global standards. Start with small improvements—semantic HTML, alt text, and keyboard navigation—and build accessibility into your development process from the ground up.

By considering these detailed steps and examples, you’ll be well on your way to creating a more inclusive and accessible web experience for all users.

Advanced Conclusion: Remember that accessibility is an ongoing process. Regularly audit your website using both automated tools and manual testing to ensure compliance. Incorporate accessibility into your design and development sprints, and engage with users with disabilities for feedback and insights. Ultimately, an accessible website is a win-win for your audience and your business.