What is Website Accessibility?

The internet is where we work, shop, learn, and connect. But for people with disabilities, many websites and apps aren’t built in a way that makes them usable. Website accessibility is the practice of designing and creating online content so everyone can access it equally — no matter their ability. 

Below, we’ll cover the core principles of website accessibility, who it benefits, what accessible sites include, and how it relates to legal standards and compliance.

Web Accessibility, Explained

Website accessibility is the practice of designing and building websites, apps, and digital tools so they can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities. It focuses on removing barriers that can prevent people from accessing content or completing tasks online.

To put it another way, web accessibility is the digital equivalent of installing handrails and ramps to make a building more accessible to people with physical disabilities. Web accessibility initiatives go a step further, supporting the social inclusion of individuals who may be isolated due to age, geographic location, or other factors. 

The goal of website accessibility is to enable users to navigate and interact with a website, including using interactive features such as forms, chat boxes, comment fields, and tools for creating their own content. 

Who is Website Accessibility For?

Web accessibility is designed to ensure essential digital access for people with disabilities. But accessibility for people with disabilities also benefits many other users — including those with temporary or situational limitations — because accessible design makes the web easier to use for everyone.

Accessibility Supports These Types of Disabilities

Accessible design is especially beneficial for users with:

• Visual impairments, including blindness, low vision, and color blindness.

• Auditory impairments, including deafness and hearing loss.

• Motor or physical limitations, including reduced dexterity, tremors, or limited use of hands.

• Cognitive or neurological disabilities, including learning disabilities like dyslexia, ADHD, and other cognitive processing differences.

Web accessibility features can also make the web more usable for people who are temporarily limited or facing specific situations, such as:

• Someone with a broken arm or recovering from surgery.

• Users browsing in noisy environments where audio isn’t practical.

• People using devices with small screens, like smartphones or smartwatches.

• Individuals with slow internet or limited bandwidth.

• Anyone navigating the web on alternative input devices, like smart TVs or gaming controllers.

Why Website Accessibility Matters

One of the main reasons website accessibility is so important today is due to the growing number of people with disabilities. The World Health Organization(opens in a new tab) (WHO) and CDC(opens in a new tab) reported that 16% of the world’s population has some sort of disability. In the U.S. alone, 26% of citizens have a disability — that’s roughly 86 million people who have some type of disability, such as:

• Blindness

• Low vision

• Color blindness

• Learning disabilities

• Cognitive disabilities

• Deafness

• Hearing loss

• Speech disabilities

• Physical disabilities

With such a large population affected, organizations have a real opportunity to better serve the disability community — a group that’s largely underserved, highly loyal, and controls $18.3 trillion in disposable income worldwide(opens in a new tab). Enhancing accessibility not only supports this community but also improves usability for everyone, helping all users navigate, understand, and engage with online content more easily.

Digital accessibility also expands reach and trust. When digital experiences are accessible, more people can access your content, products, and services — and users are more likely to view your brand as reliable, respectful, and user-focused. 

Ultimately, an accessible design is an inclusive design — it ensures that everyone can access information and share ideas online.

Website with features called out for well-organized content, alt text, and warnings.

What Makes a Website Accessible?

The goal of accessible websites is to remove barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using digital content. That happens through thoughtful design and coding — like adding alt text, improving color contrast, and supporting assistive technologies such as screen readers or magnifiers. We’ll explore these in more detail below.

Alternative Text

Alternative text (also known as alt text) is a written description of an image or other visual content that is read aloud by screen readers. Adding alt text ensures assistive technology users don’t miss critical information on the page.

Keyboard Input

Keyboard input functionality lets users navigate and interact with a website exclusively with the keyboard, without requiring a mouse. Consequently, keyboard input accommodations allow for the use of assistive technologies that simulate keystrokes. This includes speech input, touchscreen PDAs, and handwriting interpreters, which can make websites more accessible for users with motor disabilities.

Captions

Captions display text alongside a running video, including spoken words, sounds, and background noises relevant to the context. It’s beneficial for those who are deaf or hard of hearing and also makes videos accessible in conditions where audio is difficult to hear or understand.

Subtitling

Similar to captions, subtitling also requires onscreen text that correlates to words and sounds in a video; however, subtitling includes translations into a language of choice. This provides accessibility for individuals who may not speak or be fluent in a particular language.

Time Limit Adjustments

Time limit adjustments extend or eliminate time limits on websites, giving users more time to read, understand, and complete tasks. The concept minimizes sudden changes or distractions and ensures progress isn’t lost if a session ends unexpectedly. This feature is particularly useful for users with cognitive, neurological, or physical disabilities.

Warnings and Controls

Multimedia content that flashes in specific patterns or at specific rates may trigger seizures or other photosensitive reactions in some individuals. Warnings can also alert users to potentially problematic content prior to presenting it. Sites may also provide functionality that lets users switch off any animations or flashing content prior to exposure.

Sufficient Color Contrast

Color contrast affects how easily people can see and understand what’s on a page. When text and visual elements don’t stand out from the background, navigating a website becomes frustrating — or impossible — for users with low vision, color blindness, or other visual impairments. Accessible websites use clear visual contrast (at least 4.5:1 for normal text) so information is easy to read, find, and interact with.

Well-Organized Content

One of the most important aspects of accessible web design is providing well-organized content that’s easy to navigate. This is typically defined by the following:

• Pages have clear titles and descriptive headers.

• Large buttons in intuitive locations.

• Easy-to-understand links.

• Consistent labels.

• Predictable, consistent user interface.

• Readable text.

• Easy access to support or help. 

Two shields representing WCAG and ADA.

Web Accessibility, Standards, and Laws

Accessibility for websites is often connected to laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities. In many regions, organizations are expected to provide accessible digital experiences, even though the way accessibility is enforced can vary by location and industry.

Some laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act(opens in a new tab) (ADA), focus on the outcome of equal access rather than prescribing specific technical requirements for websites. Because of this, accessibility standards exist to help organizations understand what accessible digital content looks like in practice and how to design more inclusive experiences.

Laws and regulations around the world, including the ADA, Section 508, and international accessibility acts, commonly reference established standards, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), as guidance. These standards help organizations build websites and digital experiences that are usable by people with disabilities.

How to Get Started with Web Accessibility

Getting started with web accessibility doesn’t mean overhauling your entire website overnight. It’s about building awareness, understanding how different people experience the web, and making accessibility part of how your digital presence evolves.

Start by learning the fundamentals of accessibility and the common barriers people with disabilities face online. From there, focus on understanding your users’ needs — recognizing that people navigate, read, and interact with content in different ways. When accessibility is considered early and often, it naturally leads to clearer design, more usable content, and better experiences for everyone.

Finally, treat accessibility as an ongoing practice rather than a one-time effort. As your website grows and changes, continuing to assess and improve accessibility helps ensure your digital experiences remain inclusive, usable, and trustworthy. Accessibility tools can also help you monitor and improve accessibility over time, supporting long-term progress as your site evolves.

Website Accessibility: What It Means for Your Organization

Website accessibility isn’t just about meeting requirements — it’s about creating digital experiences that work for more people. When websites are designed with accessibility in mind, they’re easier to use, easier to navigate, and more welcoming for everyone. That leads to better user experiences, stronger trust in your brand, and broader reach for your business.

Accessibility is also an opportunity. It allows organizations to connect with more people, remove unnecessary barriers, and build digital spaces that reflect their values. When access is built in from the start and improved over time, everyone benefits — users, teams, and society as a whole.