How to Build an Accessible Website: A Step-by-Step Guide

Dec 4

Written By Naomi .

In today's digital world, accessibility is more than just a buzzword—it’s a necessity. An accessible website ensures that everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can easily navigate and interact with your content. Whether you're designing a site for a business, a nonprofit, or personal use, ensuring your website is accessible is crucial not only for inclusivity but also for SEO, user experience, and legal compliance.

In this blog post, we will walk you through the essential steps to build an accessible website. From color contrast to keyboard navigation, we’ll cover the key principles and practical techniques you can implement to ensure your site is usable by all visitors, including those with disabilities.

Introduction: Why Website Accessibility Matters

Website accessibility refers to the practice of making your website usable by all people, regardless of their disabilities or impairments. This includes individuals who are blind or have low vision, those with motor impairments, people with learning disabilities, and those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Making your website accessible is not only the right thing to do, but it also has business benefits. According to the World Health Organization, around 15% of the global population lives with some form of disability. That’s a substantial portion of potential users who could be excluded if your website isn’t accessible.

Moreover, accessibility improves user experience for everyone. Features like easy-to-read fonts, clear navigation, and alternative text help all users, not just those with disabilities, find information and navigate your site with ease. In addition, accessible websites tend to rank better in search engines, as search engines prioritize sites that offer a good user experience.

Let’s dive into the actionable steps you can take to create a fully accessible website.

1. Use Semantic HTML

One of the fundamental principles of website accessibility is using semantic HTML, which ensures that your web content is properly structured and understandable by assistive technologies like screen readers.

Why Semantic HTML Matters:

Screen Readers: Semantic elements (such as <header>, <nav>, <main>, and <footer>) help screen readers interpret the page’s structure, making it easier for visually impaired users to navigate.
Search Engines: Search engines like Google also appreciate semantic HTML because it helps them understand the context of your content, which can improve your SEO rankings.
Keyboard Navigation: Proper HTML structure makes it easier for users to navigate your site using only the keyboard.

How to Implement:

Use HTML5 elements to define sections of your page (e.g., <article>, <section>, <header>).
Avoid relying solely on <div> and <span> for layout. These elements provide no context to assistive technologies.
Always use <h1> to <h6> tags in proper order to indicate the hierarchy of headings on your page.

Actionable Tip: Always test your HTML structure with a screen reader to ensure the content is announced logically and meaningfully.

2. Ensure Sufficient Colour Contrast

For users with visual impairments, having proper colour contrast is crucial for readability. Poor contrast between text and background colours can make it difficult for users to read the content, especially for people with colour blindness or low vision.

How to Ensure Good Colour Contrast:

Use High Contrast Colours: Ensure there is a clear contrast between text and its background. A ratio of at least 4.5:1 is recommended for body text and 3:1 for large text (18pt or 14pt bold).
Test for Colourblind Accessibility: Tools like Colour Safe or Contrast Checker help ensure that your colour palette meets accessibility standards, especially for users with colour blindness.

Actionable Tip: Avoid using color as the only means of conveying important information. For example, use text labels alongside red and green colors in forms or error messages to ensure accessibility for colorblind users.

3. Make Your Website Keyboard-Navigable

Not all users can use a mouse or touchpad to interact with websites. For individuals with motor disabilities, or those using screen readers, keyboard navigation is essential. Ensuring that your site is fully navigable using only the keyboard provides a better experience for all users.

Steps for Keyboard Navigation:

Tab Indexing: Ensure that all interactive elements like buttons, links, and form fields can be accessed in a logical order using the “Tab” key. Elements should follow a sequential flow that makes sense to the user.
Focus Indicators: Make sure that when a user navigates through the website using the keyboard, focus indicators (such as a visible outline or border) appear on the active elements so users can see where they are on the page.
Skip Links: Provide "skip to content" links at the top of your pages so that users can bypass repetitive navigation elements and go straight to the main content.

Actionable Tip: Test your site’s keyboard navigation by disabling the mouse and trying to navigate the site using only the keyboard. Ensure that all links, forms, and buttons are accessible without the use of a pointing device.

4. Provide Alternative Text for Images

Images play a significant role in web design, but for users who are blind or have low vision, it's important to provide alternative text (alt text) that describes the content and purpose of the image. Alt text helps users understand the context of the image when it cannot be viewed directly.

Best Practices for Alt Text:

Describe the Image: Write a brief description of what’s in the image. For example, “A group of professionals brainstorming around a conference table” works better than “photo1.jpg.”
Keep it Concise: Alt text should be brief but descriptive. Aim for one or two sentences that convey the meaning or purpose of the image.
Decorative Images: If the image is purely decorative (e.g., a background image or a decorative icon), use an empty alt attribute (alt="") so screen readers can skip it.

Actionable Tip: Don’t skip alt text for important images like infographics, product images, or charts. For more complex images, you can provide a longer description in the surrounding content.

5. Use Descriptive Links and Buttons

Links and buttons are essential interactive elements of any website. To make your site more accessible, make sure all links and buttons are descriptive and clearly indicate their purpose.

Best Practices for Links and Buttons:

Descriptive Anchor Text: Instead of using generic terms like “Click here” or “Read more,” use descriptive text that tells users what to expect when they click, e.g., “Download our free eBook” or “Contact us for a free consultation.”
Button Accessibility: Ensure that buttons have sufficient size and clear, readable labels. For example, a button that says “Submit” should be paired with a label that provides more context, such as “Submit your order” or “Submit your contact information.”
Focusable Links: Make sure that links and buttons are focusable and can be activated by keyboard users (via the "Enter" key).

Actionable Tip: When creating a button or link, always ask yourself: “If a screen reader user encounters this, will they know what this button/link does?” If the answer is no, revise the text to be more descriptive.

6. Ensure Proper Form Accessibility

Forms are a common feature on many websites, from contact forms to checkout pages. It’s essential to make forms accessible to users with disabilities. This involves labeling each form field clearly and providing guidance when necessary.

How to Make Forms Accessible:

Use <label> Tags: Each form field should be associated with a <label> tag. This ensures that screen readers can read the label associated with the input field, making it easier for visually impaired users to fill out forms.
Input Instructions: Provide clear instructions or error messages if the user fills out a field incorrectly. For example, if an email address is required, include a message like “Please enter a valid email address.”
Use Correct Field Types: For example, use <input type="email"> for email fields, which automatically prompts the user’s device to display the appropriate keyboard.

Actionable Tip: Test your forms with assistive technologies like screen readers to ensure that all fields are properly labeled and that users can complete the form easily.

7. Test Your Website’s Accessibility

To ensure your website is truly accessible, you need to test it with real users and tools. There are many free and paid accessibility testing tools available that can help you identify potential issues and areas for improvement.

Tools for Testing Website Accessibility:

WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool): A free tool that helps identify accessibility errors and provides detailed feedback.
Axe Accessibility Checker: A popular browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that allows you to run accessibility audits on your website.
Screen Readers: Test your website with screen readers like NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (Mac) to see how it sounds when read aloud.
Manual Testing: It’s also important to manually test your site by navigating it with a keyboard or checking contrast and font sizes to ensure usability.

Actionable Tip: Conduct accessibility audits on a regular basis. Accessibility is an ongoing process, and it’s important to stay up-to-date with best practices and new guidelines.

Conclusion: Building an Inclusive and Accessible Website

Creating an accessible website is not just about complying with laws or guidelines—it’s about ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can access and enjoy the content you provide. By using semantic HTML, ensuring sufficient color contrast, making your site keyboard-navigable, and testing for accessibility, you can build a site that is usable and welcoming to all.

Naomi .