10 website accessibility best practices

Market opportunity, inclusion, and compliance require your website to be accessible for people with disabilities. Here’s why:

• Market opportunity: Around 1 in 5 people live with some form of disability that affects how they interact with websites — this includes visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.. In the UK, that’s roughly 14 million potential customers you could be missing.

• Inclusion: Accessible websites provide a better experience for everyone. Clear navigation, readable content, and usable forms improve engagement across all audiences.

• Compliance: In the UK, accessibility is required under the Equality Act 2010, and companies serving EU audiences should also consider the European Accessibility Act (EAA) 2025. Meeting these standards ensures you avoid legal risk while opening your products and services to wider markets.

Accessibility is therefore a business imperative. For B2B companies, where individual leads can be high-value, accessibility directly impacts revenue.

Why accessibility matters: the stats

Globally, over 1 billion people live with some form of disability. Ignoring accessibility means potentially blocking a significant portion of your market, losing leads, and harming your reputation.

Key takeaway: Accessibility is key for strategic reach. Ensuring your website works for everyone is a direct ROI decision.

Common accessibility mistakes

Businesses often stumble in predictable ways:

• Ignoring alt text or using non-descriptive images

• Poor colour contrast or relying solely on colour to convey meaning

• Inconsistent navigation across pages

• Missing captions or transcripts for multimedia

• Overlooking keyboard-only navigation

• Treating accessibility as a one-off compliance task rather than an ongoing practice

10 ways to ensure your website is accessible

1. Use semantic HTML – Proper headings, lists, and landmarks help screen readers interpret your content and improve SEO.

2. Ensure keyboard navigability – Menus, forms, and buttons should be operable without a mouse.

3. Provide alternative text for images – Alt text should convey the purpose of the image, not just describe it.

4. Maintain sufficient colour contrast – Text should be easy to read, with WCAG-recommended contrast ratios.

5. Make forms accessible – Clear labels, grouped fields, and accessible error messages reduce friction.

6. Use descriptive link text – Avoid “click here” or “read more”; links should describe the destination or action.

7. Ensure video and multimedia are accessible – Captions, transcripts, and user-controlled playback improve comprehension.

8. Design for consistent navigation – Predictable menus and logical page hierarchy reduce cognitive load.

9. Provide clear focus indicators – Highlight which element is selected when navigating via keyboard.

10. Consider ongoing accessibility – Accessibility is not a one-off task. Plan for updates, testing, and continuous improvement.

How Elcap can help

Accessibility is complex but critical for B2B success. At Elcap, we:

• Audit your website to uncover gaps and opportunities

• Implement technical and UX improvements to meet WCAG standards

• Ensure ongoing compliance as your site evolves

• Train your team on creating and testing accessible content

An accessible website is good for people, good for business, and good for search.

Request an accessibility review today to ensure your website works for every potential customer.