Your guide to web accessibility

Web accessibility is a joint effort and many different parties influence how the overall user experience is expressed. We've made a guide to how you can help increase the availability of your site and why it's important.

- 6. October 2022

Your Guide to Web Accessibility

Web accessibility is a team effort and many different parties influence how the overall user experience is expressed. We've made a guide to how you can help increase the availability of your site and why it's important.

As a decision-maker:

If you are uncertain about the importance of investing in web accessibility, keep in mind that unoptimized websites might be more challenging than you think. 1 out of 7 people has a form of disability that limits their ability to interact with your site. Additionally, you can increase the number of satisfied users by meeting the web accessibility requirements, thus potentially increasing your market share.

Why should you, as a decision-maker, invest in having an accessible website?

  • Better rankings on search engines, thus increasing your traffic
  • Improve conversion rates, as more users can actually use your website
  • Optimize overall performance of the site
  • Improve the overall user experience for all users, not just people with a disability
  • Increase user satisfaction and create more loyal users

As an editor:

When you work with the content and maintenance of a website, there are several things to keep in mind if you want to maintain a high web accessibility score. In addition, a focus on web accessibility can enhance the experience across the site, for all users.

What you can do as an editor: 

  • Write in simple language, avoid overly long sentences, and use language that matches what your audience uses and can understand
  • Avoid very long or very complex words
  • Avoid reverse wording
  • Check for spelling mistakes
  • Fill in texts, title tags, and heading tags
  • Use descriptive link texts
  • Make sure all links work
  • Never insert text into images as it can’t be read by the computer
  • Check your sitemap and make sure it is constantly updated, in case you change the page structure or add new pages
  • Write a web accessibility statement to let your users know that you're serious about web accessibility. Get inspiration from our partners, Siteimprove.
  • Tools: SiteImprove Accessibility Checker (Chrome Plugin)

As a designer:

For designers, there are a number of elements that you need to be aware of and a few tools that you can benefit from. We’ve gathered the best here:
  • Any content that is not text should have a text option
  • Colors must not be the only indicator, and the contrast should accommodate color blindness and weaknesses
  • The page is logically structured and the content is visually ranked
  • The user should be able to enlarge the design up to 200%

Good tools for the designer:

As a developer:

For developers, web accessibility poses certain demands to your code. It not only enhances user experience but also helps search engine ranking, as Google also looks at web accessibility when it ranks. To develop a website that is accessible, you should meet the following demands:
  • Semantic HTML: <div> does not tell the user anything about what kind of content it is
  • Keyboard navigation: the user should be able to navigate easily within the content by using the keyboard
  • Make sure there are no keyboard traps, your page becomes useless if a user can not close a pop-up using the ESC on the keyboard
  • The purpose of each link should be able to be determined from the link text or link context
  • Labels and instructions: it should be easy to understand how to correct errors
  • Allow the editor to fill in all text, title tags, and heading tags
  • Error Identification: it should be easy for the user to find their mistakes

Good tools:

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