Website accessibility: what it is and why it's not optional

Accessibility sounds like a compliance word, but it describes something simple: whether everyone can actually use your website. Around one in five people in the UK has some form of disability, and plenty more are affected situationally: reading glasses left at home, bright sunlight on a screen, a wrist in plaster. Sites that ignore this turn away real customers every day without anyone noticing.

What inaccessible looks like

• Grey text on white that's elegant in a design review and unreadable in daylight.
• Text baked into images, invisible to screen readers and to Google alike.
• Buttons and links too small or close together to tap reliably.
• Forms with no labels, so assistive software can't say what each box is for.
• Videos without captions.

The good news

• The basics are cheap. Decent contrast, real text, properly labelled forms, sensible headings. Most of it costs nothing when done from the start and little to retrofit.
• Everyone benefits. Every accessibility improvement makes the site easier for all visitors. Clear, readable, tappable sites simply convert better.
• Google notices too. Many accessibility fundamentals overlap with what search engines reward. It's the same tidiness, measured twice.

There are legal duties here as well (the Equality Act applies to services online), but honestly, the customer argument alone settles it.

Where does your site stand?

Accessibility is one of the four scored areas in the free SiteMOT check, measured with Google's own testing tools. One minute, plain results, and you'll know whether your site is quietly shutting people out.