Accessibility is about customers first
Millions of people in the UK live with a disability, and many more have temporary injuries, age-related changes in sight or dexterity, or simply use their phone one-handed in bright sunlight. An accessible website works for all of them.
Accessibility also overlaps heavily with good SEO and good usability. Clear headings, descriptive links, readable text and fast pages help every visitor, and help search engines and AI assistants understand your content.
The legal picture in brief
The main rules are summarised below. This is a general overview rather than legal advice, so if your business has specific obligations it is worth taking legal advice alongside the technical work.
- Equality Act 2010. Service providers must make reasonable adjustments so disabled people are not put at a substantial disadvantage, and that includes websites and online services.
- Public sector rules. Public bodies have specific accessibility regulations, which also shape expectations for their suppliers.
- European Accessibility Act. In force since 28 June 2025, it applies to many digital products and services offered to EU consumers, including e-commerce, so UK businesses selling into the EU may be affected. Microenterprises providing services are generally exempt.
What WCAG is and which level to aim for
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the internationally recognised standard for accessible websites. They are organised into levels A, AA and AAA. Level AA is the benchmark most organisations use, and the European standard referenced by the EAA aligns closely with it. WCAG 2.2 is the current version.
The most common accessibility failures
- Text with too little contrast against its background.
- Images, icons and buttons with no text alternative.
- Menus, sliders and pop-ups that cannot be used with a keyboard.
- Form fields without proper labels or clear error messages.
- Links that just say “click here” or “read more” with no context.
- Headings used for styling rather than structure.
- Videos without captions.
Why accessibility overlays are not a quick fix
Some tools promise instant compliance by adding a widget to your site. They cannot fix problems in the underlying code and content, and they can get in the way of the assistive technology disabled visitors already use. Lasting accessibility comes from how the site is designed and built.
Building accessibility in
We design and build WordPress websites with accessibility considered from the start: sensible colour contrast, keyboard-friendly navigation, proper headings and labels, and alt text on meaningful images. For existing sites, our support team can review key pages and fix common issues as part of ongoing maintenance, and accessible design is part of our design and branding work too. Get in touch for an accessibility check of your site.