WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY FOR SMALL BUSINESS.
An accessible website is one more people can use: customers who are blind, deaf, have low vision or navigate with a keyboard. Here is the standard most sites are measured against, the quick checks you can run yourself, and what the Justice Department has said about the ADA and websites.
WHAT WCAG IS
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are published by the W3C and explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.1 WCAG 2.0 was published in 2008, WCAG 2.1 in 2018 and WCAG 2.2 on 5 October 2023.1
The guidelines are organised under four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.1 Each success criterion sits at one of three levels, A, AA or AAA.1 Content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0, so building to the newest version covers the older ones.1
EASY CHECKS YOU CAN RUN
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Page title | Each page has a title that briefly describes its content [2] |
| Image text alternatives | Alt text conveys the same meaning as the image [2] |
| Headings | Almost every page has at least one heading, and headings reflect the page structure [2] |
| Color contrast | Normal-size text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 [2] |
| Text resize | When text is enlarged, it does not disappear or get cut off, and sentences don't need horizontal scrolling [2] |
| Keyboard access and focus | You can tab to every link, form field, button and media control, and see where you are [2] |
| Forms, labels and errors | Every form control has a label associated with it [2] |
| Moving or flashing content | People can control moving content, such as sliders and carousels [2] |
| Multimedia alternatives | Video has captions and audio has transcripts [2] |
W3C is clear that these are a first look only: a page could seem to pass them and still have significant accessibility barriers.2
THE ADA AND WEBSITES
In March 2022 the U.S. Department of Justice published guidance on web accessibility and the ADA.3 It explains that Title III covers businesses open to the public, and that the Department interprets the ADA as applying to the goods and services those businesses offer online.3
The guidance says businesses have flexibility in how they comply, and points to existing technical standards, including WCAG, as helpful guidance.3 It lists common barriers: poor color contrast, using color alone to convey information, images without alt text, videos without captions, forms without labels or error messages, and mouse-only navigation.3
This is a summary of public guidance, not legal advice. If you have received an accessibility complaint or demand letter, talk to a lawyer.
WHERE SMALL BUSINESS SITES SLIP
- Menus and price lists as images. Text inside a picture can't be read by a screen reader. Put it on the page as real text, or give the image alt text that carries the same information.
- Light grey text on white. Check contrast against the 4.5:1 minimum for normal text.2
- Contact and booking forms. Make sure every field has a visible label and errors say what went wrong.
- Auto-playing sliders and video. Give people a way to pause, and add captions to video.
- Pop-ups you can't close with a keyboard. Tab through your homepage without a mouse and see if you get stuck.
FAQ
Which version of WCAG should I follow?
WCAG 2.2 is the latest W3C version, and content that conforms to it also conforms to 2.1 and 2.0.1
Will an accessibility overlay plugin fix my site?
We can't promise any tool makes a site accessible. Run the easy checks above and fix the underlying pages; that is where the barriers live.
Does passing the easy checks mean my site is compliant?
No. W3C says the checks are only a first look, and a page can pass them and still have significant barriers.2
SOURCES
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, WCAG 2 Overview.
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, Easy Checks – A First Review of Web Accessibility.
- U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA.
KEEP READING
BOOK A STRATEGY CALL
Want a second pair of eyes on your site? Send us the link and we will walk through what we would fix first.