Website accessibility has a reputation problem.
As soon as it comes up, people picture:
- Dense WCAG checklists
- Legal threats and demand letters
- Expensive rebuilds and audits
The result is predictable: teams delay action because they feel they have to do everything or nothing.
In reality, you can make meaningful, measurable improvements with the site you have today — as long as you approach accessibility as a steady practice instead of a one-time panic.
Our Website Accessibility (WCAG Compliance) service is designed around that idea. Here is how you can start thinking about it the same way.
Step 1: Reframe accessibility as usability
Accessibility is not just about avoiding risk. It is about making your site easier to use for more people.
When you:
- Improve contrast and text size
- Clarify headings and page structure
- Make forms usable with a keyboard
- Provide text alternatives for key media
You are helping:
- People using screen readers or alternative input devices
- Visitors on small screens or older devices
- Anyone working in a bright room or noisy environment
- People in a hurry trying to complete a task quickly
These are not edge cases. They are your real audience on a real day.
Thinking about accessibility as good design and content practice removes some of the fear and helps everyone pull in the same direction.
Step 2: Get a baseline you can understand
Before you can improve, you need to know where you stand.
That might include:
- Automated scans across key templates
- A quick manual review of navigation, forms, and core pages
- A plain-language summary of common issues (contrast, labels, headings, focus)
Automated tools are helpful, but they should not be the only input. They are great at catching:
- Missing alt attributes
- Low-contrast color combinations
- Form fields without labels
They are less reliable at judging meaning, like whether link text makes sense out of context or whether a page flows in a logical order.
Our Website Accessibility (WCAG Compliance) work blends both: automation for breadth, human review for depth.
Step 3: Prioritize by risk and impact
You do not have to fix everything at once. Start where risk and impact overlap:
- High-traffic pages
- Key user flows (forms, portals, checkouts, applications)
- Templates that get reused across many pages
Within those, look for:
- Elements that block task completion for assistive tech users
- Issues that break keyboard navigation or focus order
- Severe contrast or readability problems
This gives you a short list of improvements that help a lot of people at once.
Step 4: Build accessibility into your workflow
Accessibility fails when it is treated as a separate project. It succeeds when it becomes part of how you publish and maintain the site.
Practically, that can look like:
- Simple content guidelines for headings, link text, and image descriptions
- Reusable components that bake in better contrast and focus states
- Checklists for new templates and major campaigns
- Periodic scans and manual checks as part of ongoing support
This is where pairing accessibility with Ongoing Website Support and Web Design & Development pays off. New page layouts and components can be designed with accessibility in mind, not retrofitted afterward.
Step 5: Communicate what you are doing
Accessibility is not about claiming perfection. It is about demonstrating good faith effort and progress.
Consider:
- Publishing an accessibility statement that explains your approach
- Documenting the tools and processes you use
- Providing a clear way for users to report issues
If you work in a higher-risk or regulated environment, we can coordinate with your legal and compliance teams to align language and expectations. For others, a straightforward statement and a visible contact path go a long way.
Step 6: Accept that this is ongoing work
Standards evolve. Your site changes. New content and features are added.
Accessibility, like security and performance, is never “done.” That is not a failure — it is the nature of the web.
The goal is:
- Fewer severe issues over time
- Faster response when problems are identified
- A culture where accessibility is considered earlier, not bolted on at the end
Our Website Accessibility (WCAG Compliance) plans are structured with that in mind: a mix of automated monitoring, human review, and advisory support calibrated to your risk profile and traffic.
If accessibility has been sitting on your to-do list because it feels too big to tackle, the most important step is the first one.
That might be a baseline review, an accessibility-focused audit of key templates, or enrolling in an accessibility plan that fits your site. The key is to start making progress — in a way your team can sustain.