Accessibility in Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’re new to accessibility, it can feel overwhelming. There are technical standards, legal requirements, and design principles to consider. But accessibility doesn’t have to be complicated, and getting started is more straightforward than you might think.

This guide breaks down web accessibility into practical, understandable concepts. We’ll explain what accessibility means, why UK businesses need to take it seriously, and how you can start building more inclusive websites today.

What is web accessibility?

Web accessibility means designing and developing websites so that people with disabilities can perceive, navigate, interact with, and contribute to them effectively. This includes people with visual, auditory, physical, cognitive, and neurological disabilities.

The international standard is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WCAG 2.2, published in October 2023, is the current version and focuses on making content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

But accessibility isn’t just about passing automated tests. It’s about removing real barriers that prevent people from accessing information, completing tasks, or engaging with your content. A website might technically pass a compliance scan but still be frustrating or impossible for actual users to navigate.

Understanding standards is just the first step. Our web design team builds accessibility into every project from the ground up, ensuring compliance while creating genuinely usable experiences.

Why UK businesses must prioritise accessibility

The Equality Act 2010 applies to websites

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate against people with disabilities. This explicitly includes websites and digital services, as they’re considered ‘provisions of services’ under the Act.

The Act requires businesses to make ‘reasonable adjustments‘ to ensure disabled people can access their services. For websites, this typically means conforming to WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards. What counts as ‘reasonable’ depends on factors like your business’ size and resources, but ignorance is not a defence.

Public sector requirements are even stricter

Public sector organisations face additional requirements under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (PSBAR). These regulations mandate WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance and require organisations to publish accessibility statements explaining how they meet these standards.

The Government Digital Service monitors compliance, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can investigate and enforce requirements. While these regulations don’t directly apply to private businesses, they set a benchmark that courts increasingly reference when assessing what constitutes ‘reasonable’ for commercial organisations.

The business case is compelling

Beyond legal obligations, accessibility makes commercial sense. Research consistently shows that accessible websites perform better across all metrics. They typically have lower bounce rates, better search engine rankings (many WCAG requirements align with SEO best practices), and higher conversion rates.

With 25% of the UK population having some form of disability, that’s a substantial market you risk excluding if your website isn’t accessible. When you factor in families and friends making purchasing decisions on behalf of disabled people, the potential customer base grows even larger.

Accessible websites also benefit everyone, not just disabled users. Clear navigation, readable text, and logical structure improve experiences for older adults, people with temporary injuries, mobile users, and anyone in challenging environments like noisy spaces or bright sunlight.

Accessibility isn’t just about avoiding discrimination claims, it’s about reaching more customers and building a better website for everyone. Our WordPress design and development services integrate accessibility principles that improve both compliance and performance.

Understanding WCAG: The four core principles (POUR)

WCAG is organised around four principles, easily remembered by the acronym POUR: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.

Perceivable

Users must be able to perceive information. Provide text alternatives for images, captions for videos, sufficient colour contrast, and content that works in different formats.

Operable

Users must be able to operate the interface. Make all functionality available from a keyboard, give users enough time to complete tasks, avoid content that causes seizures, and provide clear navigation.

Understandable

Users must be able to understand the information and interface. Use clear language, make pages operate predictably, and help users avoid and correct mistakes with clear error messages.

Robust

Content must work reliably with assistive technologies. Use clean, valid HTML, proper semantic structure, and appropriate ARIA labels where needed.

Implementing WCAG correctly requires technical expertise. Our WordPress development team build sites with clean, semantic code and proper ARIA implementation, ensuring your site works seamlessly with assistive technologies.

Common accessibility barriers and how to fix them

Missing or poor alt text

Screen readers announce image alt text to users who can’t see images. As such, you should write concise, descriptive alt text that conveys the image’s purpose. Decorative images should have empty alt text (alt=”) so screen readers skip them. Don’t start with ‘image of’, as screen readers already announce that it’s an image.

Insufficient colour contrast

WCAG requires at least 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Low contrast makes content difficult or impossible to read for users with low vision or anyone viewing screens in bright light. Use contrast checkers and don’t rely on colour alone to convey information.

Keyboard navigation problems

Many users navigate using only keyboards. Test your entire site using Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, and arrow keys. Ensure focus indicators are clearly visible, all interactive elements can receive keyboard focus, and users never get trapped in components.

Inaccessible forms

Forms are crucial conversion points yet often inaccessible. Associate every form field with a clear label (not just placeholder text), provide specific error messages that explain what went wrong and how to fix it, group related fields properly, and allow users to review information before final submission.

Poor heading structure

Screen reader users navigate by headings. Use headings to create logical hierarchy (H1 for main title, H2 for major sections, H3 for subsections). Don’t skip levels or use headings purely for visual styling, and be sure to only ever include one H1 per page.

Videos without captions

Videos without captions exclude deaf and hard of hearing users. Provide accurate captions (not just auto-generated), include transcripts, and ensure video players have accessible controls.

Identifying barriers is one thing, but systematically fixing them is another.

Accessibility overlays: Why they don’t work

One persistent myth is that you can achieve compliance by installing an automated ‘accessibility widget’ or overlay. In essence, these are plugins that promise to fix accessibility issues with one click.

However, these tools don’t work as you might think. The National Federation of the Blind has explicitly condemned accessibility overlays, stating they ‘do not provide blind users with the level of access they have come to expect’. They typically detect only 30-40% of WCAG issues, often introduce new barriers, and can interfere with assistive technologies users already rely on.

Real accessibility requires fixing your site’s underlying code, structure, and design. There are no shortcuts, and companies promising otherwise are likely exposing you to greater legal risk, not reducing it.

Don’t fall for quick fixes. Genuine accessibility requires proper code-level remediation. Our WordPress development services focus on building accessible sites from the ground up, addressing root causes rather than applying superficial patches.

Getting started: Your practical accessibility roadmap

Step 1: Audit your current site.

Use free automated tools like WAVE or Google Lighthouse to identify obvious issues. Remember these catch only 30-40% of problems. Navigate your site using only a keyboard. Test with screen readers if possible (NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on Mac). Check colour contrast throughout.

Step 2: Prioritise fixes.

Address issues that completely block access first. Focus on Level A and AA success criteria. Tackle problems appearing on every page before one-off issues.

Step 3: Fix foundational issues.

Add alt text to images, fix heading hierarchy, ensure form fields have proper labels, improve colour contrast, verify keyboard navigation works, add video captions.

Step 4: Publish an accessibility statement.

Write and share your business’ accessibility statement in your website’s footer. State your conformance goal, acknowledge known limitations, provide contact information for feedback, and date your statement.

Step 5: Build accessibility into your workflow.

Include requirements in design briefs, test before launching features, train content creators, review statements annually, and monitor for new issues.

Starting your accessibility journey doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Our team provides top-level accessibility insights when working with new businesses, giving you prioritised roadmaps and practical fixes while helping you build accessibility into your long-term strategy.

Accessibility is good for everyone

Web accessibility might seem complex, but the fundamentals are straightforward: make your content work for everyone, regardless of how they access it. You don’t need perfection from day one, but you do need commitment to continuous improvement.

In the UK, with 25% of the population disabled and the Equality Act requiring reasonable adjustments, accessibility is both a legal obligation and a business opportunity. When you make your website accessible, you’re not just avoiding discrimination claims, you’re opening your business to millions of potential customers and improving user experience for everyone.

Start with small, high-impact changes. Add alt text. Fix heading structure. Ensure keyboard navigation works. Test with real users when possible. Each improvement makes your site better for everyone who visits.

Remember: accessibility is a journey, not a destination. Standards evolve, technology changes, and there’s always room for improvement. The important thing is to commit to progress, build accessibility into your processes, and approach the work with genuine care for all your users.