What Website Accessibility Means
Accessibility is about removing barriers. A visitor who is blind may use a screen reader that reads the page aloud. Someone with a tremor may navigate with a keyboard instead of a mouse. A person with low vision may zoom to 200 percent. A visitor in a loud office may watch your video with the sound off. An accessible site works for all of them.
That covers a lot of people. Disabilities are common, and many more visitors have temporary or situational limits, like a broken wrist or bright sunlight on a phone screen. Designing for accessibility makes a site easier for everyone to use.
The ADA, WCAG and Utah Businesses
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses open to the public to be accessible to people with disabilities. Courts and the Department of Justice have treated business websites as part of that, and accessibility lawsuits and demand letters have been filed against businesses of every size across the country.
The standard most often used to measure a website is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the W3C. Level AA of WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 is the common target. In 2024, the Department of Justice adopted WCAG 2.1 AA as the technical standard for state and local government websites under Title II of the ADA, which gives private businesses a clear signal about where expectations sit.
We're a design and development team, not lawyers. If you've received a demand letter or need a legal opinion, talk to an attorney. What we can tell you is what WCAG asks for in practice, and how to build a site that meets it.
The Four Principles of WCAG
WCAG is organized around four principles. Content must be:
- Perceivable: people can see or hear it, through text alternatives for images, captions for video and enough color contrast.
- Operable: everything works with a keyboard, nothing flashes dangerously and visitors have enough time to read and act.
- Understandable: text is readable, navigation is predictable and forms explain errors clearly.
- Compatible: the code works with assistive technology such as screen readers, now and as those tools change.
The Most Common Accessibility Problems
Most sites we review for Salt Lake City and Utah County businesses have the same handful of issues. The good news is that they're fixable.
Missing image descriptions
Images that carry meaning need alt text that describes them. Decorative images should be marked so screen readers skip them.
Low color contrast
Light gray text on a white background, or white text over a busy photo, is hard to read for many people. WCAG AA asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text.
Buttons and links that don't work by keyboard
Menus that open only on hover, sliders without controls and custom buttons built from plain boxes can trap keyboard users. Every interactive element should be reachable with the Tab key and show a visible focus outline.
Forms without labels
Placeholder text that disappears when you type isn't a label. Every field needs a real label, and errors should say what went wrong and how to fix it.
Headings used for styling
Screen reader users skim a page by its headings. A page should have one main heading and a logical order beneath it, not headings chosen for their size.
Video without captions
Captions help deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors, and the many people who watch with the sound off.
Why Accessibility Helps SEO and Conversions
Many accessibility fixes are also good search engine practice. Alt text tells Google what an image shows. Clear headings help search engines and AI tools understand a page's structure, which ties into getting mentioned in AI search. Readable text, clear buttons and simple forms help every visitor finish what they came to do, which is why accessible sites tend to convert better. Thoughtful typography and navigation do a lot of the work.
Are Accessibility Overlays Enough?
Some tools promise accessibility with one line of code that adds a toolbar to your site. They can adjust things like text size, but they don't fix the underlying problems in your code, such as missing labels or keyboard traps, and they haven't stopped businesses from being sued. Accessibility is best built into the design and code of the site itself.
An Accessibility Checklist for Utah Businesses
- Tab through your homepage and contact form without a mouse. Can you reach and use everything?
- Check your text colors with a free contrast checker.
- Make sure every meaningful image has descriptive alt text.
- Give every form field a visible label and clear error messages.
- Review your heading structure: one H1, then H2s and H3s in order.
- Add captions to videos and a transcript for audio.
- Run an automated scan, then test the key pages by hand, since tools catch only part of the problems.
- Add an accessibility statement with a way for visitors to report problems.
How We Build Accessible Websites
Accessibility is part of how we design and develop every site, from color choices and focus states to form labels and heading structure. If you're planning a new site or wondering how your current one holds up, our team works with businesses in Salt Lake City, Sandy, Orem and across Utah. Start a conversation and tell us what you're working on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the ADA apply to my business website?
If your business is open to the public, courts have often treated its website as covered by the ADA. The rules aren't spelled out for private businesses the way they are for government sites, so most businesses use WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA as their target. An attorney can advise on your situation.
What is WCAG 2.1 AA?
It's a widely used set of accessibility guidelines from the W3C. Level AA covers the requirements most organizations aim for, including color contrast, keyboard access, text alternatives, captions and clear forms.
Can an accessibility plugin make my site compliant?
Plugins and overlays can help with a few settings, but they can't fix problems in the code underneath. Real accessibility comes from how the site is designed and built.
How much does it cost to make a website accessible?
It depends on the site. Building accessibility into a new website adds little cost. Fixing an older site can range from small edits to a rebuild if the problems are in the theme or page builder.
Does accessibility help SEO?
Yes, indirectly. Alt text, clear headings, descriptive links and readable pages help search engines understand your content and help visitors stay and convert.
