Website Accessibility Best Practices Every Organisation Should Follow

Introduction

Website Accessibility Best Practices ensure people with disabilities can find, understand and use your content. Follow clear rules based on WCAG 2.2 and accessible coding patterns to reduce legal risk, widen your audience and improve usability for everyone.

What accessibility covers

Accessibility means removing barriers for people who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, switch devices, magnification, voice control, or who have cognitive or hearing differences. It covers structure, content, interaction and multimedia.

Standards and legal context

Use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 as your technical standard and aim for level AA as a baseline for public-facing sites. Also be familiar with WAI-ARIA for accessibility roles, and how standards relate to national laws such as the Equality Act in the UK or Section 508 in the US.

Website Accessibility Best Practices: core checklist

Below are concrete practices to implement. Apply them across templates and components rather than only on individual pages.

Use semantic HTML and correct structure

• Use native elements for their intended purpose: <button> for actions, <a> for links, <form> for submissions.
• Mark up headings with <h2> to <h6> in logical order. Do not skip levels for visual effect.
• Include landmarks: header, nav, main, footer, and region roles where needed.

Keyboard accessibility

• Ensure every interactive element is reachable and operable using Tab, Enter and Space where appropriate.
• Do not trap keyboard focus. Provide a clear way to exit modal dialogs and overlays.
• Visible focus indicators must meet your design system. Do not hide outlines with CSS unless you provide an alternative that is equally visible.

Accessible images and media

• Add meaningful alt text for informative images. Use empty alt attributes for purely decorative images.
• Provide captions for video and transcripts for audio. Offer audio descriptions for essential visual information when required.

Colour, contrast and legibility

• Follow WCAG contrast ratios: at least 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text.
• Do not rely on colour alone to convey information. Use text labels or icons with text alternatives.

Forms and error handling

• Label every form control with a visible label or an accessible name.
• Use <label for=“id”> or aria-label when needed, and keep label text concise.
• Provide clear, programmatic error messages and indicate the location of the error. Preserve user input on error.

Headings, lists and data tables

• Use headings to create a meaningful outline. Screen readers rely on heading structure to scan pages.
• Mark up lists with <ul> or <ol>. Avoid using headings to simulate bullets visually.
• For complex tables, include row and column headers and a concise summary when needed.

Use ARIA correctly

• Only add WAI-ARIA when native HTML cannot provide the required semantics.
• Keep ARIA roles, states and properties up to date when content changes dynamically.
• Test ARIA implementations with real assistive technology to avoid exposing conflicting semantics.

Multiplatform and mobile accessibility

• Ensure touch targets are large enough and spaced apart. A recommended minimum target size is 44 CSS pixels.
• Support zoom and text scaling without breaking layout or overlapping content.
• Test with platform screen readers such as VoiceOver on iOS and TalkBack on Android.

Performance and time limits

• Keep pages fast. Slow pages reduce usability for everyone and for assistive technology.
• If sessions time out, warn users and allow extra time or extended sessions on request.

Testing and audits

Combine automated checks with manual testing. Automated tools find many issues fast. Manual checks catch context, reading order and complex interactions.

Automated tools to include

• Axe, Lighthouse, WAVE for page audits.
• Contrast checkers for colour verification.
• CI integrations that run accessibility scans on builds.

Manual testing to include

• Keyboard-only navigation across pages and components.
• Screen reader walkthroughs to check reading order, labels and live region announcements using NVDA, JAWS or VoiceOver.
• Mobile testing with VoiceOver and TalkBack and using different zoom levels and font sizes.

Remediation priority framework (practical angle)

Not all issues are equal. Use a simple impact versus effort framework to prioritise fixes quickly.

Priority	Impact	Typical examples
Critical	High impact, low to medium effort	Missing labels on login or checkout fields, keyboard traps, broken ARIA that prevents form submission
High	High impact, higher effort	Complex navigation that is unreadable by screen readers, missing captions for key videos
Medium	Moderate impact, moderate effort	Contrast issues on non-critical UI, decorative images with missing empty alt when ambiguous
Low	Low impact, low effort	Minor visual spacing that affects focus visibility slightly

Practical manual test checklist you can run in 15 minutes

Run this checklist on a key page such as the homepage and a transaction page. Note issues, assign priority, and create tickets.

1. Keyboard navigation: Tab through the page. Confirm all interactive items receive focus and can be activated. Check modals can be closed with keyboard.
2. Focus order: Ensure focus moves in a logical order that matches visual layout.
3. Readable headings: Open the heading list with your browser extension or screen reader to confirm a clear outline.
4. Images: Check alt text for informative images and empty alt for decorative ones.
5. Forms: Move through labels, focus each field, submit with an error and confirm the error is announced and clearly visible.
6. Contrast: Use a contrast tool on primary text and important buttons. Flag anything below WCAG AA thresholds.
7. Screen reader basic check: With NVDA or VoiceOver, listen to the page start to finish. Confirm main content is reachable, links have descriptive names and headings make sense.
8. Multimedia: Play a sample video to check captions and player controls are keyboard accessible.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Relying exclusively on automated scans and ignoring manual checks.
• Using ARIA to fix problems that native HTML solves better.
• Hiding focus outlines without providing visible alternatives.

Accessibility statement and governance

Publish an accessibility statement that describes conformance level, exceptions and a contact route for feedback. Set an internal process for triage, fixes and periodic reviews. Include accessibility in your design system and code review checklist.

Training and team practices

• Train product teams on accessible patterns and testing methods.
• Add accessibility checks to definition of done and pull request reviews.
• Keep a living component library with accessible examples and code snippets.

Quick rollout roadmap for a small organisation

• Week 1: Run automated scan and quick manual checks on critical pages. Log issues and assign priorities.
• Weeks 2 to 6: Fix critical and high items in sprints. Update component library.
• Ongoing: Integrate automated checks into CI, schedule quarterly audits and update the accessibility statement.

Tools and resources

• Automated tools: Axe, Lighthouse, WAVE.
• Screen readers: NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack, JAWS for in-depth testing.
• Contrast checkers and colour simulators for common visual conditions.

Final checklist

• WCAG 2.2 AA baseline met for core pages.
• Keyboard operability and visible focus for interactive components.
• Meaningful alt text, captions and transcripts for media.
• Clear error messages and labelled form controls.
• Documented policy, remediation plan and periodic audits.

Start small. Fix critical issues first, embed accessibility into design and development, and test regularly. These Website Accessibility Best Practices give you a repeatable route to better inclusive experiences.