Website accessibility for every visitor
Some of your visitors can't see well, can't use a mouse, use a screen reader or are on an old phone in bright sunlight. I check websites against the WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines and fix what stops those visitors from reading, navigating and contacting you.
What I check and fix
Contrast
Text and buttons with enough contrast to read, including in bright light.
Keyboard
Every link, menu and form usable with a keyboard, with a visible focus outline.
Screen readers
Headings in order, labelled buttons and landmarks a screen reader can follow.
Forms
Labels, clear errors and fields that say what they need.
Images and media
Useful alt text, captions where needed and nothing that only works by colour.
Readable text
Sizes that scale, sensible line lengths and plain language.
It helps more people than you think
Accessibility isn't only about people with permanent disabilities. Older customers with weaker eyesight, someone with a broken arm using one hand, a parent holding a baby and a phone, a visitor in a noisy place without sound: all of them benefit from clear contrast, large tap targets, captions and simple forms.
Accessible sites also tend to be better for search, because the same clean structure that helps a screen reader helps Google understand the page. This website is built to WCAG 2.2 AA, and I check it with automated tools and by hand. For new builds, see website development; for charities and public-facing organisations, see websites for NGOs.
Questions about accessibility
Do accessibility overlays or widgets work?
Not reliably. Toolbars that promise to make a site accessible with one script often get in the way of people who use screen readers. Fixing the site itself, its markup, contrast and forms, is what actually helps.
Is accessibility required by law?
In many countries public bodies, and increasingly businesses, are expected to meet accessibility standards, usually WCAG. Whether that applies to you depends on where you operate and who your customers are. Either way, an accessible site works better for everyone.
How do you test?
With automated checks for the issues they can catch, then by hand: using the site with only a keyboard, with a screen reader, at large text sizes and on a phone. Automated tools catch only part of the problems.
Want a site everyone can use?
Send me your website address. I'll run the checks and tell you the problems that affect visitors most, with what fixing them involves.