Website accessibility helps more people use your content and complete tasks, including visitors who navigate with a keyboard, use screen readers, zoom text or have difficulty distinguishing colors. You do not always need a full redesign to address common barriers, but fixes should be tested rather than assumed to work.
1. Start with important user journeys
Choose tasks such as navigating the menu, finding a service, submitting a form and completing a purchase. Test these journeys with a keyboard and at enlarged zoom. A page may look polished while a menu, dialog or form remains unusable for some visitors.
Web professional reviewing a website interface (Pexels)
2. Check keyboard access and focus
Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move through interactive controls and Enter or Space to activate them where appropriate. Focus should be visible and follow a logical order. Menus, pop-ups and dialogs should not trap visitors unexpectedly or allow focus to disappear behind an overlay.
3. Review headings and page structure
Use headings to express the actual content hierarchy, not merely to style text. Keep the main page heading clear and organize sections in a logical order. Meaningful landmarks and descriptive link text help visitors understand the page without scanning every visual element.
4. Improve color contrast
Check text against its background, including text placed over images, hover states, form errors and disabled controls. Do not use color alone to communicate status. Use a contrast checker as a starting point, then review the actual rendered components in the theme.
5. Make forms understandable
Give fields visible labels, identify required inputs clearly and provide error messages that explain how to correct a problem. Ensure errors are not communicated only by a red border. Test validation, keyboard movement, autofill and confirmation messages after submission.
6. Write useful alternative text
Describe meaningful images according to their purpose in the page. Decorative images should not add distracting redundant text. Avoid stuffing alt text with keywords or repeating the full caption unnecessarily. If an image contains important information, make sure that information is available in accessible text too.
7. Test motion, media and responsive layouts
Check that video controls are accessible, captions are available where needed and animations do not make content difficult to use. Respect reduced-motion preferences where applicable. At mobile sizes and high zoom, verify that text does not overlap, controls remain reachable and horizontal scrolling is not introduced unnecessarily.
8. Combine automated and manual checks
Automated tools can identify some contrast, labeling and structural issues, but they cannot judge every interaction or whether alternative text makes sense. Combine automated scans with keyboard testing, zoom checks and feedback from users when available. Prioritize barriers that prevent people from completing important tasks.
Area
First practical check
Keyboard
Reach and operate every key control without a mouse
Focus
Visible focus indicator and logical order
Headings
Clear hierarchy and meaningful section labels
Contrast
Readable text and controls in all states
Forms
Labels, instructions, errors and confirmation
Images
Purposeful alt text or decorative treatment
Frequently asked questions
Can an automated score prove a site is accessible?
No. Automated checks are useful but incomplete. Manual testing and user feedback can reveal barriers that a scanner misses.
What should be fixed first?
Prioritize issues that block core tasks, such as inaccessible navigation, unlabeled forms or controls that cannot be operated by keyboard.
Make accessibility part of normal maintenance
Fix issues in reusable templates where appropriate, then re-test affected pages. Feed Flow’s UI/UX design services can help incorporate accessibility checks into design and development work.
