Web Accessibility Best Practices – How to Ensure Everyone Can Use Your Website

In the dynamic world of web development, creating websites that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, is not just a best practice – it's a necessity.

Web accessibility ensures that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web. This inclusivity not only broadens your audience but also reflects social responsibility and compliance with legal standards.

Here's what we'll cover:

What is Web Accessibility?
Best Practices for Web Accessibility
– Use semantic HTML
– Use sufficient contrast
– Make all functionality keyboard accessible
– Provide alt text for images
– Use ARIA roles when necessary
– Ensure forms are accessible
– Caption and transcribe audio and video
– Design consistent, predictable navigation
Automation Tools for Accessibility Testing
Wrapping Up

What is Web Accessibility?

Accessibility in web design means creating web pages that can be used by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. This encompasses auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech, and visual impairments.

Key Principles of Accessibility

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide a framework for making web content more accessible to people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities. These guidelines are based on four key principles, often summarized as POUR, each crucial for creating a universally accessible web.

Here's a deeper look into what these principles mean in practice:

Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented in ways that all users can perceive. This means providing text alternatives for non-text content (like images), creating content that can be presented in different ways without losing information (such as using a simpler layout), and making it easier for users to see and hear content.
Example: Providing alt text for images. Alt text allows screen reader users to understand the content and context of the images, making visual content accessible.
Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable by everyone. This includes ensuring all functionalities are accessible via keyboard, giving users enough time to read and use content, and not designing content in a way that is known to cause seizures.
Example: Implementing keyboard navigation. All interactive elements like links, buttons, and form fields should be accessible using a keyboard, making them accessible to users who cannot use a mouse.
Understandable: Information and operation of the user interface must be understandable. This means making text readable and understandable, and ensuring that web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
Example: Using consistent navigation menus. Keeping navigation menus consistent across a website helps users with cognitive disabilities learn and remember how to navigate.
Robust: Content must be robust enough to be reliably interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This includes ensuring compatibility with current and future user tools.
Example: Using clean, validated HTML. Well-structured and standard-compliant HTML ensures content can be interpreted by different browsers and assistive technologies.

By integrating these principles into web design, developers and designers can create more accessible and inclusive digital environments. Each principle plays a crucial role in ensuring that the web is a space for everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.

Best Practices for Web Accessibility

Use Semantic HTML

Semantic HTML involves using HTML elements according to their intended purpose rather than just for presentation. It's about structuring your website with elements that describe their meaning and role in the document structure.

This practice is crucial for assistive technologies, like screen readers, which rely on this structure to interpret and navigate content.

How to implement semantic HTML

Consider a typical webpage layout comprising a header, main content, a navigation menu, and a footer. Instead of using non-semantic <div> tags for these sections, you should use the semantic elements <header>, <main>, <nav>, and <footer> respectively.

Here's an example:

<header>
  <!-- Site logo, header content -->
</header>
<nav>
  <!-- Navigation links -->
</nav>
<main>
  <!-- Main content -->
</main>
<footer>
  <!-- Footer content -->
</footer>

Why semantic HTML is useful:

Accessibility: Screen readers can easily navigate and interpret the content. For example, a user can skip directly to the main content or easily find the navigation menu.
SEO benefits: Search engines favor well-structured content. Semantic elements make it easier for search engine bots to understand the content of a webpage, potentially improving search rankings.
Maintainability: Semantic HTML leads to cleaner, more readable code, making it easier for developers to understand and maintain.

Using semantic HTML is the foundation of web accessibility, ensuring content is accessible and meaningful to all users, including those using assistive technologies.

Use Sufficient Contrast

Contrast refers to the difference in color and brightness between the text and its background. Ensuring sufficient contrast is vital for readability, especially for users with visual impairments like color blindness or low vision. High contrast between text and background makes it easier for these users to read and understand content.

How to implement good contrast

Imagine a webpage with light gray text on a white background. This combination might look aesthetically pleasing but can be hard to read for many users.

To improve contrast, you could change the text color to a much darker shade, like black or dark gray.

/* Low contrast example */
.low-contrast-text {
  color: #757575; /* Light gray */
  background-color: #fff; /* White */
}

/* Improved contrast */
.high-contrast-text {
  color: #000; /* Black */
  background-color: #fff; /* White */
}

Why contrast is useful:

Enhanced readability: High contrast makes the text legible to users with visual impairments and those reading under challenging lighting conditions.
Inclusivity: It caters to a wider audience, including users with deteriorating vision and those with temporary or situational impairments.
Legal compliance: Many regions have regulations requiring accessible web content, and sufficient contrast is a common requirement.

Tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker can help you evaluate your color choices, ensuring they meet accessibility standards like WCAG. By ensuring sufficient contrast, you not only make your website more accessible but also improve the overall user experience.

Make All Functionality Keyboard Accessible

Ensuring that all functionalities on a website are accessible via keyboard is essential for users who cannot use a mouse due to physical disabilities, temporary injuries, or personal preference. This includes navigating menus, activating buttons and links, filling out forms, and using interactive widgets.

How to make content keyboard accessible

Consider a dropdown menu on a website. Typically, users hover over the menu with a mouse to view the options.

To make this keyboard-accessible, you need to ensure that users can navigate to the menu using the Tab key and expand the menu using the Enter or Space key.

<ul>
  <li tabindex="0">Menu Item 1
    <ul class="dropdown-content">
      <li tabindex="0">Sub Item 1</li>
      <li tabindex="0">Sub Item 2</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li tabindex="0">Menu Item 2</li>
</ul>

document.querySelectorAll('li[tabindex="0"]').forEach(item => {
  item.addEventListener('keypress', function(e) {
    if (e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === ' ') {
      // Code to toggle dropdown
    }
  });
});

Accessibility for all: Keyboard accessibility ensures that users with motor disabilities or those who prefer keyboard navigation can use the website effectively.
Enhanced usability: Keyboard shortcuts can speed up navigation, offering an enhanced experience even for users who can use a mouse.
Compliance with accessibility standards: Adhering to standards like WCAG and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) often requires keyboard accessibility.

In practice, keyboard accessibility may involve more than just basic navigation. It also includes managing focus, creating keyboard shortcuts for complex actions, and ensuring custom widgets are keyboard-friendly. By prioritizing keyboard accessibility, you make your website more inclusive and user-friendly.

Provide Alt Text for Images

Alt text (alternative text) is a concise description of an image's content and function. It's crucial for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers to understand image content. Alt text ensures that even if users can't see the images on a web page, their purpose and message can still be conveyed.

How to add alt text to images

Suppose your website has an image of a company logo. The alt text should describe the logo, not just state "logo". For instance, alt="FreeCodeCamp's campfire Logo".

<img src="freecodecamp-logo.png" alt="FreeCodeCamp's campfire Logo">

For purely decorative images that don't add informational content, use an empty alt attribute (alt="") to indicate that they can be skipped by screen readers.

Why alt text is useful:

Accessibility Compliance: Providing alt text is a fundamental aspect of web accessibility, required under WCAG guidelines.
SEO Benefits: Alt text improves SEO by providing better image context/descriptions, helping search engines index an image properly.
Fallback Content: If an image fails to load, the alt text will be displayed, helping all users understand what was supposed to be there.

Properly implemented alt text makes your website more accessible and inclusive, ensuring that all users, regardless of their ability to see, have access to the information conveyed by images. It's a simple yet impactful practice that enhances the overall user experience.

Use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) Roles When Necessary

ARIA roles and attributes enhance the accessibility of web content, particularly for dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies. ARIA helps make web content and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities, especially when HTML can't accomplish it alone.

How to implement ARIA roles and attributes

Consider a web application with a dynamic content update section, such as a live news feed. Standard HTML alone may not be able to convey the dynamic nature of this content to screen readers.

By using ARIA roles, you can make it clear to assistive technologies that this section of the page is a live region and its updates are important. For instance:

<div aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true">
  <!-- Dynamic content here, like live news updates -->
</div>

In this example, aria-live="polite" indicates that updates to this region should be announced by screen readers, but not interrupt the current task, while aria-atomic="true" ensures that the entire region is read as a whole, not just the updated part.

Why ARIA is useful:

Enhanced screen reader experience: ARIA roles provide screen reader users with a more comprehensive understanding of what's happening on the page, particularly for dynamic and complex content.
Greater interactivity: ARIA can make web applications more interactive and usable for people with disabilities, facilitating operations that standard HTML can't handle.
Custom widget accessibility: For custom widgets that lack semantic HTML equivalents, ARIA roles can define the widget's function, making it accessible.

While ARIA is powerful, it's important to use it only when necessary. Native HTML elements should be the first choice as they inherently carry semantic meaning and accessibility features. ARIA should be used as a supplement to enhance accessibility when HTML's semantics don't suffice.

Ensure Forms are Accessible

Accessible forms are vital for users with disabilities to interact with a site, input data, and utilize services. Ensuring that form elements are accessible means they can be easily navigated, understood, and filled out by everyone, including those using screen readers or keyboard navigation.

How to make forms accessible

Imagine a simple contact form with fields for name, email, and a message. For each form element, use a <label> tag to provide a clear description. Ensure that each <label> is associated with its respective form control using the for attribute, which matches the id of the input element. This is crucial for screen reader users to understand what each field represents.

<form>
  <label for="name">Name:</label>
  <input type="text" id="name" name="name">

  <label for="email">Email:</label>
  <input type="email" id="email" name="email">

  <label for="message">Message:</label>
  <textarea id="message" name="message"></textarea>

  <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

Why accessible forms are useful:

Clarity and context: Labels provide context to users, especially those using screen readers, about what type of information is expected in each field.
Error handling: Accessible forms should also handle errors clearly, informing users about what went wrong and how to fix it. This can include real-time validation feedback and error messages that are announced by screen readers.
Keyboard navigation: All form controls should be navigable using the keyboard, allowing users who can't use a mouse to interact fully with the form.

Accessible forms not only comply with accessibility standards but also enhance the overall user experience, making your website more inclusive and user-friendly.

Caption and Transcribe Audio and Video

Providing captions for video content and transcriptions for audio is crucial for accessibility. Captions and transcriptions ensure that deaf or hard-of-hearing users, as well as those who prefer reading to listening, can access audio and video content.

How to make audio and video content accessible

For a video on your website, include closed captioning that accurately reflects the spoken content and other auditory cues. You can use HTML5's <track> element to specify caption files. Similarly, for audio content like podcasts or interviews, provide a text transcription.

<video controls>
  <source src="video.mp4" type="video/mp4">
  <track src="captions_en.vtt" kind="captions" srclang="en" label="English">
</video>

In this example, a WebVTT (.vtt) file is used for captions. Ensure the captions are synchronized with the audio and include descriptions of relevant non-speech audio.

Why captions and transcriptions are useful

Accessibility for hearing impaired: Captions and transcriptions are essential for users who are deaf or hard of hearing, enabling them to access content that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Enhanced comprehension: They also benefit users who are not fluent in the language of the video or have difficulty understanding the speech.
Flexible viewing: Captions allow content to be consumed in sound-sensitive environments, like workplaces or libraries.

Remember to regularly check the accuracy and readability of your captions and transcriptions. Well-implemented captions and transcriptions not only make your audio and video content accessible but also enhance the overall engagement and reach of your content.

Designing a website with consistent and predictable navigation is key to accessibility. It allows users, especially those with cognitive disabilities, to learn the navigation pattern quickly, enhancing their ability to find information and navigate your site effectively.

Consider a website with a top navigation menu. The menu items should be in a logical order and remain consistent across all pages. Avoid changing the order of menu items or their location on different pages.

<nav>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="/">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="/about">About Us</a></li>
    <li><a href="/services">Services</a></li>
    <li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li>
  </ul>
</nav>

In this example, the navigation structure is simple and straightforward. It's important to maintain this structure and order consistently throughout the website.

Ease of use: A consistent navigation structure helps users understand and remember how to interact with your website, reducing confusion and frustration.
Improved orientation: Users can better orient themselves and understand their current location within the website.
Support for assistive technologies: Consistent navigation is easier for screen readers and other assistive technologies to interpret, providing a smoother browsing experience for users relying on these tools.

By ensuring that your website's navigation is consistent and predictable, you enhance the usability for all users, making your website more accessible and user-friendly.

Automation Tools for Accessibility Testing

Incorporating automation tools into the accessibility testing process can significantly enhance efficiency and coverage. These tools can swiftly identify areas of non-compliance, allowing for prompt rectifications.

Below are some key tools with link to their websites if you want to explore more:

1. Axe Accessibility Checker

Axe is a versatile browser extension and testing tool available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. It provides reliable and detailed issue reporting, making it ideal for quick checks and in-depth analysis.

2. WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool)

WAVE, offered as a browser extension, visually represents potential accessibility problems on web pages, helping to pinpoint issues with color contrast, alt text, and ARIA roles.

3. Google Lighthouse

Integrated into Google Chrome's Developer Tools, Lighthouse features an accessibility audit tool that highlights issues and provides actionable recommendations.

4. Tenon.io

Tenon.io is a comprehensive web-based tool for detailed accessibility testing. It can be integrated into development workflows for automated testing during the build process.

5. JAWS Inspect

JAWS Inspect translates screen reader outputs into a visual format, aiding in the testing of screen reader compatibility and navigability.

6. Color Contrast Analyzer

This tool assists in evaluating the contrast between text and its background, ensuring readability for users with visual impairments.

7. Accessibility Insights

Developed by Microsoft, Accessibility Insights offers a suite of tools, including a web tool for Chrome and Edge, to guide manual testing alongside automated checks.

8. Pa11y

Pa11y is a command-line tool that runs automated accessibility tests on web pages, customizable for integration into development processes.

By leveraging these tools, developers and designers can ensure their websites meet accessibility standards, providing an inclusive experience for all users. Regular use, combined with manual testing and user feedback, creates a comprehensive approach to maintaining and enhancing web accessibility.

Embrace Accessibility as a Cornerstone of Web Development

In conclusion, the integration of web accessibility best practices is not just a matter of compliance but a commitment to inclusivity and universal design. The digital world is for everyone, and ensuring that web content is accessible to all, including those with disabilities, is a fundamental responsibility of web developers and designers.

Utilizing tools like Axe, WAVE, Google Lighthouse, and others, combined with manual testing and adherence to guidelines like WCAG, can significantly improve the accessibility of web content. By doing so, we open up our digital spaces to a wider audience, enhance user experience, and foster an environment of inclusivity.

Accessible web design benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities. It leads to cleaner code, better SEO, and a more flexible and resilient website. As the web continues to evolve, prioritizing accessibility will be crucial in creating a more connected and inclusive world. Remember, when we design for accessibility, we improve the web for everyone.