7 Accessibility Design Tips for Small Business Websites

Want a website that's accessible to everyone? These 7 tips will help you make your small business site easy to use for all visitors, including those with disabilities. Accessibility improves user experience, boosts SEO, and can even increase conversions. Here's a quick summary:

• Use High-Contrast Colors: Ensure text and background colors meet WCAG contrast ratios (4.5:1 for standard text).

• Make Focus States Visible: Highlight interactive elements like links and buttons for keyboard users.

• Choose Easy-to-Read Fonts: Use clean, sans-serif fonts like Inter or Roboto, and maintain a readable font size (16px+).

• Use Proper HTML Structure: Organize content with semantic HTML tags to help screen readers and improve navigation.

• Enable Keyboard Navigation: Ensure all interactive elements are accessible via the Tab key in a logical order.

• Write Better Alt Text: Provide clear, concise descriptions for images to assist screen reader users.

• Keep Page Layouts Simple: Use a clean design with consistent navigation and plenty of white space.

Why it matters: An accessible website isn't just about compliance - it makes your site welcoming for all users and can help your business grow. Follow these steps to create a site that's both functional and inclusive.

1. Use High-Contrast Colors

Choosing the right color contrast is essential for making your website accessible, especially for users with visual impairments. Without proper contrast, text can become difficult - or even impossible - to read.

For optimal readability, ensure that text stands out sharply against its background. For example, black text on a white background is far easier to read than light gray on white. According to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the recommended contrast ratio is at least 4.5:1 for standard text and 3:1 for larger text.

To check if your color choices meet these standards, you can use tools like WebAIM's Contrast Checker. It’s a quick and reliable way to ensure your site aligns with accessibility guidelines.

High contrast doesn’t have to compromise your design. With thoughtful color choices and attention to contrast ratios, you can create a site that’s both visually appealing and accessible to everyone.

Up next: making focus states visible to further improve accessibility.

2. Make Focus States Visible

Focus indicators show which element is selected on a webpage. Most browsers use a thin blue outline as the default, but these can often be too subtle to notice. Instead of removing these indicators, it's better to improve them with bold colors and clear visual cues for easier navigation.

Here’s how to design focus states that stand out:

• Make them stand out: Choose an outline color that contrasts sharply with your site’s color scheme. A bold, 3-pixel outline in a striking color is a great choice.

• Use multiple visual cues: Pair the outline with additional changes, like a background color shift or a slight scaling effect.

For example, this CSS snippet makes focus states both functional and visually appealing:

:focus {
  outline: 3px solid #2563EB;
  background-color: #EFF6FF;
  transform: scale(1.02);
}

These enhanced focus states are especially important for interactive elements such as:

• Navigation links

• Form fields and buttons

• Menu items

• Search boxes

• Interactive cards or tiles

One of the most common mistakes is using outline: none to hide focus indicators. This can make navigating your site nearly impossible for keyboard users. If the default browser styling doesn’t fit your design, customize the focus state to align with your brand while keeping it visible.

For form fields, go a step further by styling both focus and active states. When users click into a field, make it clear which one is active by adding a highlight or other visual change.

Keeping focus indicators visible improves usability for everyone, especially those relying on keyboard navigation.

Up next: selecting fonts that are easy to read.

3. Choose Easy-to-Read Fonts

Typography plays a big role in making websites more accessible. Poor font choices can create challenges for people with visual or cognitive impairments. Here's how to select fonts that are easier to read.

Start with sans-serif fonts for their clean and simple design, which enhances readability. Some great options include:

• Inter: A modern font with consistent character shapes, making it highly legible.

• Source Sans Pro: Specifically crafted for digital interfaces.

• Roboto: Known for its readability across various screen sizes.

• Arial: A dependable system font that's great for body text.

Font size and spacing are just as important. Set the body text to 16px and scale headings proportionally. For example:

/* Example of accessible typography CSS */
body {
  font-family: 'Inter', Arial, sans-serif;
  font-size: 16px;
  line-height: 1.5;
  letter-spacing: 0.01em;
}

h1 {
  font-size: 2em; /* 32px */
  margin-bottom: 0.5em;
}

To make text easier to track, aim for a line height of at least 1.5, keep lines between 50–75 characters, and add enough space between paragraphs. These adjustments can significantly help users, particularly those with dyslexia or other reading difficulties.

For better readability, follow these tips:

• Stick to left-aligned text instead of justified text.

• Minimize the use of italics and avoid all caps in body text.

• Use bold text for emphasis rather than relying only on color.

• Ensure a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 between text and background.

Lastly, make sure users can resize text up to 200% without breaking your layout. This is essential for those with low vision.

Next, we’ll explore how proper HTML structure can further improve accessibility.

4. Use Proper HTML Structure

Using proper HTML structure is key to making your website more accessible and user-friendly. Elements like <header>, <main>, and <footer> help screen readers and assistive technologies understand your content better. This not only improves accessibility but also enhances your site's usability and search engine rankings.

At the heart of an accessible website is semantic HTML. It provides a clear framework for organizing content, making it easier for both users and search engines to interact with your site. Striking Alchemy, a design studio known for building modern websites, applies these practices to create visually appealing and easy-to-navigate pages that prioritize user experience.

To take accessibility a step further, consider enabling keyboard controls to improve navigation for all users.

5. Enable Keyboard Navigation

Making sure users can navigate your site with a keyboard is a must for accessibility. This approach is especially important for individuals who rely on keyboards due to motor challenges or those using screen readers.

The Tab key should guide users through your site's menus, buttons, forms, and other interactive elements in a logical, predictable order.

Here are the key things to focus on:

• Focus Indicators: Ensure the focus indicators (like outlines or highlights) are visible and easy to follow as users tab through elements.

• Logical Tab Order: Navigation should feel natural, typically moving from top to bottom and left to right.

You can test this yourself:

• Does the Tab key let you reach all interactive elements?

• Is the focus indicator easy to see?

• Does the navigation flow logically?

• Are there any areas where the keyboard gets stuck or "trapped"?

At Striking Alchemy, we make keyboard navigation testing a regular part of our design process. This helps guarantee that every user, regardless of how they interact with the web, has access to all site features. Up next, we’ll dive into optimizing image descriptions to further improve accessibility.

6. Write Better Alt Text

Alt text (short for alternative text) plays a crucial role in making websites more accessible, especially for users who rely on screen readers. By writing clear and descriptive alt text, you help ensure that everyone can understand the purpose of your images.

Here are some tips for writing effective alt text:

• Be specific: Focus on the key details that explain the image's purpose.

• Keep it concise: Aim for descriptions under 125 characters while still providing enough context.

• Explain relevance: Highlight why the image matters in the context of the content.

• Use empty alt text for decorative images: For images that serve no functional purpose, use alt="" to signal screen readers to skip them.

To illustrate, here's a comparison of basic and descriptive alt text for different types of images:

When crafting alt text for your website, ask yourself these questions:

• Would someone who can't see the image understand its purpose?

• Does the description add meaningful context to the page?

• Are the details relevant without being overly wordy?

Good alt text does more than just meet accessibility standards - it enhances the overall experience for all users. At Striking Alchemy, we ensure every image on our clients' websites is accompanied by thoughtful alt text. By focusing on the purpose and function of your images, you can make your site more inclusive and user-friendly for everyone.

7. Keep Page Layouts Simple

A clean and straightforward layout with a clear hierarchy and plenty of white space makes it easier for users to navigate your content. This design approach helps people quickly find the information they need without feeling overwhelmed.

White space isn’t just about aesthetics - it plays a functional role. It reduces the likelihood of accidental clicks and makes the interface more approachable, especially for individuals with cognitive or motor challenges.

Here are some practical tips for creating an accessible and user-friendly layout:

When designing your layout, stick to these key principles:

• Consistency is key: Place key features and navigation elements in predictable locations across your site. This helps users move through your pages efficiently.

• Logical structure matters: Use a proper heading hierarchy (H1 for titles, H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections) to make the content outline intuitive for both users and screen readers.

• Highlight essential information: Ensure that the most important content is easy to spot right away.

Conclusion

Creating accessible websites isn’t just about meeting guidelines - it’s about crafting digital spaces where everyone feels welcome. By following these seven accessibility design principles, you’re not only making your site inclusive but also improving the overall experience for all users.

Accessibility and aesthetics go hand in hand. Features like high-contrast colors, clean typography, and straightforward layouts show that functionality and visual appeal can coexist beautifully.

The advantages of an accessible website go far beyond just usability:

These benefits highlight why accessibility should be a strategic priority. While implementing these features might seem complex, the Striking Alchemy studio specializes in crafting modern, accessible websites with Framer. Their designs seamlessly blend usability and aesthetics, turning visitors into loyal customers.

FAQs

How can accessibility-focused design improve my small business website's SEO and conversions?

Improving your website's accessibility can do more than just meet compliance standards - it can transform how users interact with your site. By making your site easier to use for everyone, including individuals with disabilities, you create a smoother experience that keeps visitors engaged. This often results in longer visits, fewer people leaving right away, and more interaction with your content - all factors that can positively affect your SEO rankings.

An accessible website is also more user-friendly, helping visitors quickly find what they need, whether it’s making a purchase or submitting an inquiry. This ease of use can directly increase your conversion rates, giving your small business a real boost. Accessibility isn’t just the right thing to do - it’s a smart way to make your site work better for all your users.

How can I check if my website meets accessibility standards?

To make sure your website is accessible to everyone, there are several tools and methods available to help you identify and fix potential issues. Web accessibility evaluation tools like WAVE, Axe, and Lighthouse are excellent for checking how well your site aligns with standards like the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). These tools can point out areas that might need attention, such as poor color contrast, missing alt text for images, or problems with keyboard navigation.

On top of using these tools, try performing manual checks. For example, navigate your site using only a keyboard or a screen reader to understand how users with disabilities might interact with it. Combining automated testing with hands-on exploration gives you a clearer picture of your site's accessibility. Focusing on accessibility not only makes your site more inclusive but also enhances the experience for all users.

What are the benefits of using semantic HTML for accessibility and website usability?

Using semantic HTML gives your website a well-organized and meaningful structure, which boosts both accessibility and usability. For individuals with disabilities, semantic HTML allows assistive technologies like screen readers to better interpret and navigate the content. For instance, elements such as <header>, <main>, and <footer> provide clear context about each section's purpose, making the content easier to follow.

But the benefits don’t stop there. Semantic HTML also enhances your site's usability by improving search engine optimization (SEO), ensuring consistent behavior across different browsers, and streamlining maintenance. Developers can easily locate and update elements based on their defined roles. In essence, semantic HTML helps create a website that's inclusive, easy to use, and simpler to maintain.