What is website accessibility, in plain terms?

By reddysite ·

Website accessibility means building a site that people with disabilities can use, including people who are blind, have low vision, can't use a mouse or can't hear audio. In practice it means text for images, labeled forms, keyboard access, readable contrast and captions, as set out in the WCAG guidelines.

Who does accessibility help?

Accessibility helps anyone who uses the web differently, for a lifetime or for a week:

Person Depends on
Has a cognitive disability Plain words and predictable navigation
Uses a screen reader Alt text on images, and headings in order
Navigates by keyboard Visible focus, and every control reachable
Has low vision Readable contrast, and zoom that works
Is deaf or hard of hearing Captions on video
Has a broken wrist or a small screen All of the above

What are the WCAG guidelines?

WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is the standard published by the W3C. Its requirements sit under four principles:

  1. Perceivable: content can be seen or heard.
  2. Operable: everything works by keyboard.
  3. Understandable: text and controls behave predictably.
  4. Robust: pages work with assistive technology.

Each requirement has a level, A, AA or AAA, and AA is the level most policies point to. The current version is WCAG 2.2.

What does reddysite check?

Every reddysite build is checked for the defects that lock people out, and a new one stops the build. Every image needs alt text, every form field needs a label, headings go in order, zoom stays on, and every text and background color pair is measured for contrast. No sound plays on its own, and embedded content has a title. Accessible structure, built in lists each check.

Does accessible structure make a site legally compliant?

Accessible structure lowers the barriers, but no checklist can promise legal compliance. Automated checks catch some problems, and others take a person with assistive technology to find. If you spot one on a reddysite site, send reddysite a message. The same structure also helps machines read a page, as what technical SEO is explains.

Frequently asked questions

Is an accessibility overlay enough?

No. An overlay is a script that adds a toolbar to a page, and it doesn't fix missing labels, alt text or heading order in the page itself.

Does accessibility help search?

Some of the same things help both. Alt text, headings in order and descriptive link text make a page easier for search engines and AI tools to read as well.

How do I test my own site?

Try using it with only a keyboard, then zoom the browser in as far as it goes and check nothing breaks. Free checkers catch common problems, but a person using a screen reader finds what they miss.

References