Website accessibility basics for small businesses

An accessible website is one that people can use whatever their circumstances. Some visitors cannot see the screen well, or at all. Some cannot use a mouse. Some are deaf or hard of hearing, find small text difficult, are using a phone in bright sunlight or have a temporary injury. Designing for them usually makes a site better for everyone.

This guide covers the basics that matter most on a small-business website, with quick checks you can run yourself. It is practical guidance, not legal advice, and following it does not mean a site meets any particular standard or legal requirement. If you have specific legal obligations, take advice that applies to your own situation.

Why it matters

If someone cannot read your opening hours, press the booking button or complete the enquiry form, they will go elsewhere, and you will never know they tried. Many accessibility improvements are also plain good practice: clear headings, readable text and well-labelled forms help people on small screens, in a hurry or with limited attention.

The widely used reference is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, which set out testable criteria at levels A, AA and AAA. Level AA is the usual target, and most of what follows comes from it.

Text contrast and readability

Text needs enough contrast against its background to be read comfortably. Pale grey on white, white on a light photograph and thin text over a busy image are common culprits.

WCAG AA asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text and 3 to 1 for large text. Free contrast checkers let you paste in two colours and see the ratio.

Quick checks:

• Look at the site on a phone outdoors, or turn the screen brightness down. If you struggle to read it, others will too.
• Run your main text and button colours through a contrast checker.
• Avoid putting text directly over images unless the image is dark or plain enough to keep the text clear.
• Do not rely on colour alone to convey meaning, such as red for errors with no other cue.

Pages should also still work when text is enlarged or the page is zoomed to 200 per cent, without text overlapping or content disappearing.

Headings that describe the page

Headings give a page its outline. Screen-reader users often move through a page by heading, in the same way sighted users scan, so the structure matters.

Good practice is simple:

• one main heading (h1) that says what the page is about;
• subheadings (h2, h3) that follow a logical order and describe the section beneath them;
• no skipped levels or headings chosen only because they look the right size.

Quick check: read only the headings on a page, in order. If they tell a sensible story, the structure is probably sound. Most content management tools and browser extensions can display the heading outline of a page.

Alternative text for images

Alternative text, or alt text (WCAG explains the requirement, and the W3C’s alt decision tree helps you choose what to write), is a short description of an image that screen readers read aloud and that appears if the image fails to load.

• Meaningful images need a description of what matters about them, in context. For a photograph of a salon chair on a services page, the alt text might describe the chair and the setting, not “image” or “photo”.
• Decorative images, such as a purely visual flourish, should have empty alt text so assistive technology ignores them.
• Images containing text, such as a poster with opening times, should have that text available in the page as well.
• Do not stuff alt text with keywords. It is for people, and unrelated phrases make the page worse for the people who rely on it.

Quick check: for every image that matters, ask whether someone who could not see it would miss anything. If so, the alt text should say it.

Links and buttons that make sense

Links should make sense out of context. People using screen readers can pull up a list of all the links on a page, where “click here” and “read more” repeated ten times tell them nothing.

• Write link text that describes where the link goes, such as “Read the pricing guide” or “Book an appointment”.
• Make links and buttons look different from ordinary text, and do not rely on colour alone.
• Make tap targets large enough to use on a phone, with space between them.

Quick check: read your link text without the sentence around it. Would it still make sense?

Forms people can complete

Forms are where small-business websites turn visitors into enquiries, and where accessibility problems cost the most.

• Give every field a visible label, placed close to it. A placeholder inside the field is not a substitute, because it disappears when someone starts typing.
• Say which fields are required and what format is expected.
• Show error messages in text, next to the problem field, and explain how to fix it.
• Keep the form as short as it can be, asking only for what you need.
• Make sure a person can complete and submit it using the keyboard alone.

Quick check: fill in your own contact form using only the keyboard, then submit it with a deliberate mistake and see whether the error is clear.

Keyboard use and focus

Not everyone uses a mouse. People who have limited movement, use switch devices or screen readers, or simply prefer the keyboard, move around with the Tab key.

Quick check, which takes about two minutes:

1. Put the mouse away and press Tab repeatedly from the top of a page.
2. Confirm you can always see where you are, since a visible focus indicator should appear on each link, button and field.
3. Check the order makes sense, moving broadly from top to bottom and left to right.
4. Open and close any menu, pop-up or booking widget with the keyboard, and make sure you can get out of it.
5. Look for a “skip to main content” link that lets you jump past repeated navigation.

If you can complete the main task on your site, such as enquiring or booking, with the keyboard alone, you have passed the most important check.

Video, audio and moving content

If the site includes video, give people a way to follow it without sound. That means captions for spoken content, and a transcript where it helps. For audio only, a transcript is the equivalent.

Avoid content that plays automatically with sound, and avoid flashing or moving elements that cannot be paused. Browsers let users ask for reduced motion, which a well-built site respects.

Quick check: play any video with the sound off. Can you still follow it?

Page titles and language

Each page should have a clear, distinct title in the browser tab and should declare its language so screen readers pronounce it correctly. Good website builders handle much of this, but it is worth checking.

Third-party tools

Booking widgets, chat tools, maps and embedded forms often come from other companies, and their accessibility depends on the provider. Test them with the keyboard and on a phone, and provide a plain fallback route, such as a link, phone number or email address, in case they do not work for someone.

A quick self-check routine

You can do a useful review in around half an hour.

1. Zoom the page to 200 per cent and check nothing breaks.
2. Tab through the page and complete your main task with the keyboard.
3. Read the headings in order.
4. Check the contrast of your text and buttons.
5. Review alt text on the images that matter.
6. Read the link text without its surrounding sentence.
7. Submit your contact form with an error and without one.
8. Play any video with the sound off.

Free automated tools can find some of these issues, such as missing labels or low contrast, but they cannot judge everything. Whether alt text is useful, or the page makes sense when spoken aloud, needs a person.

How Page & Place approaches it

The Page & Place website targets WCAG 2.2 Level AA and has been tested with automated checks and manual reviews of keyboard navigation, zoom, focus visibility, responsive layouts and form behaviour. Its approach, including its limits and how to report a problem, is set out in the accessibility statement. Some third-party services may have limitations outside Page & Place’s direct control. For client projects, accessibility checks sit alongside content, responsive and technical checks before launch.

The free website check covers accessibility as one of five things: contrast, headings, image descriptions and form labels, alongside how the site works on a phone, speed, a match with the Google Business Profile and search basics. For wider planning, see the guide to what a local business website should include.

Accessibility is not a one-off task. Content changes, new images are added and third-party tools update. A few minutes of checking whenever the site changes will catch most problems before a visitor does.