If you have ever heard the term website accessibility and quietly assumed it was something only large organisations need to worry about, you are not alone. Most small business owners file it away under "corporate jargon" and move on. But accessibility is something every business with a website should understand — and the good news is that getting the basics right is far simpler than you might think.
What Does Website Accessibility Actually Mean?
At its most straightforward, website accessibility means building your site so that everyone can use it — including people with visual, hearing, cognitive, or motor impairments.
Think about the range of people who might visit your website. Some use screen readers because they cannot see the screen clearly. Some navigate entirely by keyboard because using a mouse is difficult. Some have colour blindness and struggle to read text that does not have enough contrast. Some are using a phone in bright sunlight with the brightness turned down. Others might have dyslexia and find dense blocks of text genuinely hard to read.
An accessible website removes barriers for all of these people. It does not require a complete overhaul of your site — it mostly comes down to good practice in how your site is structured, written, and designed.
Does UK Law Require It?
Here is where it gets serious. The Equality Act 2010 applies to websites as well as physical spaces. If your website puts disabled users at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled users, you could — in theory — be found in breach of it. Public sector organisations are held to a stricter standard under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations, but the Equality Act applies to all businesses that provide goods and services to the public.
The practical reality is that enforcement action against small businesses has been rare. However, the reputational risk is real. If someone cannot use your website because of a preventable barrier, that is a customer you have lost — and potentially a complaint you have invited.
More importantly, getting accessibility right is simply the right thing to do.
Why Accessibility Helps Your Business Too
Here is something that often surprises people: accessible websites tend to perform better in search results. Google's ranking signals overlap significantly with accessibility best practices. Here is why:
- Clear headings and structure help both screen readers and search engine crawlers understand your content.
- Descriptive alt text on images tells visually impaired users what an image shows — and gives Google more context to index your page.
- Fast load speeds (an accessibility consideration for users on slow connections) are also a key ranking factor.
- Readable, well-written copy is easier for everyone to understand — including people with cognitive disabilities and Google's algorithms.
In short, fixing accessibility issues is often the same work as fixing SEO issues. The two go hand in hand.
The Most Common Accessibility Problems on Small Business Websites
You do not need to be a technical expert to spot most of these. Here are the issues that come up most often:
Poor colour contrast
If your text is light grey on a white background, or dark navy on black, many users will struggle to read it. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text. You can check your colours for free using tools like WebAIM's Contrast Checker.
Images without alt text
Every image on your website should have a short description — known as alt text — that explains what it shows. This is what screen readers read aloud to visually impaired users. It is also what Google uses to understand images for search. If your site is built on WordPress or any modern CMS, adding alt text takes about five seconds per image.
No keyboard navigation
Some users cannot use a mouse. They navigate entirely using the Tab key. If your menus, forms, and buttons cannot be reached or activated by keyboard alone, those users are completely locked out. This is one of the less visible issues but one of the most significant.
Forms without proper labels
If your contact form just has placeholder text inside the input field (the text that disappears when you start typing), screen readers often cannot tell the user what information belongs in that field. Every input needs a proper label — a small change with a big impact.
Videos without captions
If you have video content on your site, deaf or hard-of-hearing users cannot access the audio. Adding captions is easier than ever — YouTube generates them automatically, and you can export them to use on your own site.
Tiny tap targets on mobile
On touchscreens, buttons and links that are too small are frustrating for everyone — but particularly for users with limited motor control. Buttons should be large enough to tap comfortably, and links should have enough space around them so users do not accidentally hit the wrong one.
How to Make a Start
You do not need to fix everything at once. Start with the changes that will have the most impact:
- Check your contrast. Run your brand colours through WebAIM's Contrast Checker and adjust anything that fails.
- Add alt text to every image. Go through your site and make sure every image has a meaningful description.
- Test your site with a keyboard. Unplug your mouse and try to navigate your own website using only the Tab and Enter keys. You will quickly find any broken navigation.
- Label your form fields properly. Make sure every input field has a visible label, not just placeholder text.
- Check your font size. Body text should generally be no smaller than 16px. If you are squinting to read your own site, so is everyone else.
If you want a more thorough assessment, Google's Lighthouse tool (built into Chrome's developer tools) gives you an accessibility score and a list of specific issues to fix. It is free and takes a few minutes to run.
Do Not Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good
You are unlikely to achieve a perfect accessibility score on day one, and you do not need to. Even making a handful of improvements puts your site ahead of most competitors. The goal is progress, not perfection.
What matters is that you are thinking about the people visiting your site and removing unnecessary barriers for them. That mindset — building for real people rather than just ticking boxes — is what separates a website that works from one that merely exists.
If you are not sure where your site stands, or you want a website that is built with accessibility baked in from the start, get in touch — we build every site to be fast, readable, and usable for everyone.