Is my website accessible?

What 'accessible' actually means here

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the standard almost every accessibility law and audit references, currently at version 2.2. Level AA is the practical baseline most businesses are expected to meet, not the strictest level (AAA), but well beyond doing nothing. If you've never checked, assume you're not meeting it yet; most sites aren't on a first pass.

Colour contrast is the most common failure

Text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background for normal-sized text, or 3:1 for large text - light grey text on a white background is the classic fail. This is not a subjective call; it is a measurable ratio you can check with a contrast tool against the actual rendered colours, not the design file.

Alt text on images

Every meaningful image needs alt text describing what it shows, so screen reader users get the same information sighted users do. Decorative images, a background flourish with no information, should have empty alt text so screen readers skip them rather than reading a filename aloud. Missing alt text is one of the most common findings on any accessibility scan.

Keyboard navigation and focus order

Try tabbing through your entire site using only the keyboard, no mouse. Every link, button and form field should be reachable in a sensible order, with a visible focus indicator showing where you are. Menus that only open on hover, and custom buttons built from a div with no keyboard handler, are common traps that lock keyboard users out entirely.

Form labels and error messages

Every input needs a properly associated label, not just placeholder text that disappears the moment someone starts typing. Error messages need to say specifically what's wrong and how to fix it - 'invalid input' tells a screen reader user nothing useful. This is also where most conversion is lost for every user, not just those relying on assistive technology.

Checking it properly, not just by eye

Contrast ratios, missing alt text and keyboard traps are largely invisible from a casual look at your own site, because you already know how to navigate it. AuditHQ's Technical suite runs automated WCAG checks as part of the free scan and flags the specific elements failing, which is a faster starting point than a manual page-by-page review.

Frequently asked questions