How to Make Your Website Accessible to Everyone

Why Accessibility Matters More Than Ever

Imagine walking into a store, and the door won’t open for you. That’s what an inaccessible website feels like for millions of users with disabilities. If you want to maximize your audience, and boost SEO then making your website accessible is non-negotiable.

What’s in It for You?

✔ Larger Audience – Millions of people with disabilities will finally be able to navigate your site. Cha-ching!
✔ SEO Boost – Google loves accessible websites, meaning better rankings for you.
✔ Legal Protection – Avoid lawsuits by meeting ADA and WCAG compliance standards.

Let’s break down exactly how to make your site usable for everyone.

1. Use Proper Heading Structures (H1 to H6 Like a Boss)

Screen readers rely on headings to navigate content efficiently. Using the correct hierarchy for headings makes your website easier to read because the copy follows an organized structure.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Use one H1 per page (usually the title).
• Organize subsections with H2s and further divide with H3s–H6s.
• Keep it logical, like a table of contents.

2. Add Alternative (Alt) Text to Images

For those who can’t see your beautiful stock photos of “business people smiling at laptops,” alt text provides context. It also helps with SEO—Google can’t "see" images, but it sure can read descriptions.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Describe the image concisely (e.g., “A woman using a laptop with a coffee cup beside her”).
• Skip “image of” or “picture of”—we get it.
• If an image is purely decorative, mark it with alt="" to avoid cluttering screen readers.

3. Ensure Keyboard Navigation Works

Not everyone uses a mouse. Some rely on keyboards, switch devices, or voice control. If your site is a nightmare to navigate without a mouse, you're excluding a whole chunk of users.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Ensure all interactive elements (buttons, menus, forms) can be accessed via the Tab key.
• Use visible focus indicators (those little outlines that show where the user is).
• Avoid keyboard traps (where a user gets stuck and can’t escape).

4. Provide Captions and Transcripts for Multimedia

Videos without captions are like silent films—cool for the 1920s, not so much for 2025. Deaf and hard-of-hearing users need captions, and transcripts make audio content accessible for all.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Use closed captions for videos (automatic captions aren’t always accurate—thanks, AI).
• Offer transcripts for podcasts and other audio content.
• Ensure captions are synchronized and not lagging like a bad Zoom call.

5. Choose High-Contrast Colors and Readable Fonts

If your website looks like a neon rave party or a barely visible whisper, it's time to fix that. Low contrast and bad font choices = unreadable mess.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Use a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for text against backgrounds.
• Avoid fancy, overly decorative fonts—stick to clean, sans-serif options.
• Make text resizable without breaking the layout.

6. Write Clear and Simple Content

If your website reads like a legal contract, users will bounce faster than a rubber ball. Plain language makes content digestible for everyone, including those with cognitive disabilities and non-native speakers.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Use short sentences and paragraphs (ditch the walls of text and stick to what is most important).
• Avoid jargon—unless you’re writing for rocket scientists.
• Offer summaries for longer content.

7. Use ARIA Landmarks for Assistive Tech

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) helps screen readers navigate complex websites. If your site has dynamic content (like pop-ups, dropdowns, or interactive widgets), ARIA ensures users don’t get lost.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Use ARIA roles (role="navigation", role="banner") to label sections properly.
• Don’t overuse ARIA—HTML5 elements like <nav> and <header> often do the job better.

8. Test Your Site with Real Users and Accessibility Tools

You can’t fix what you don’t test. Even if you think your site is perfect (spoiler: it’s not), running accessibility checks is a must.

✅ How to Do It Right:

• Use free tools like WAVE, Axe, or Google Lighthouse.
• Try navigating your site with a keyboard only—can you get everywhere?
• Better yet, ask users with disabilities for feedback.

Final Thoughts: Make the Web a Better Place

Accessibility isn’t just about compliance—it’s about making the internet usable for everyone. Whether it’s a user with a disability, an aging parent struggling with tiny fonts, or someone using voice commands, an accessible website benefits all users.

Your Action Plan:

✅ Audit your website today.
✅ Implement at least three of these accessibility fixes this week.
✅ Design with ALL users in mind.

If you need help making your site accessible, contact Eternity Marketing!