Digital accessibility essentials for a more inclusive site
Accessibility is a quality of the whole service, not a final technical check. Clear structure, keyboard operation, meaningful alternatives and understandable feedback help many people and reduce avoidable friction.
What to remember.
- Use semantic structure and descriptive labels.
- Make every essential action work with a keyboard.
- Combine automated checks with human testing.
Build a meaningful structure
Use a descriptive page title, one clear main heading and nested headings that reflect the content. Landmarks, lists, tables and buttons should be represented by the appropriate HTML element rather than visual styling alone.
Support keyboard and visible focus
Every interactive element must be reachable and usable without a pointer. Keep focus visible, logical and contained when a dialog opens. Provide a skip link when repeated navigation precedes the main content.
Write useful text alternatives
Describe the purpose of informative images in context and leave decorative images with empty alternative text. Do not repeat surrounding copy or use filenames as descriptions. Complex charts may need a nearby textual explanation.
Make forms understandable
Associate labels with controls, explain required formats and present errors next to the relevant field as well as in a clear summary. Preserve entered information when validation fails whenever it is safe to do so.
Check contrast, zoom and reflow
Text and controls need sufficient contrast and should remain usable when enlarged. Test narrow viewports, text spacing and high zoom without requiring two-dimensional scrolling for ordinary content.
Use several forms of testing
Automated tools find only part of the problem. Add keyboard testing, screen-reader spot checks and sessions with disabled users or trained specialists, then prioritise issues by impact and frequency.
Check the reference material.
Related guides
Put the method into practice
An illustrative application case
A button is readable on the home page but too subtle in a card. Examine the shared component, contrast and focus rather than fixing one page alone. Retest the same journey with keyboard and zoom across templates before generalising.
Build a useful, maintainable design system
Use this worksheet in a review with the person responsible for delivery. Keep the evidence alongside the decision, rather than marking a task complete on trust alone.
| Action | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Complete a full journey using a keyboard without a mouse. | Logical order, visible focus, no traps and access to every action. |
| Test content at high zoom and on a small screen. | Readable text, reachable controls and preserved information. |
| Complement automated tools with human checks. | A record of assessed criteria, failures and assessment limitations. |
Download the worksheet to fill in (CSV)
A question to resolve before acting
Does an automated score prove conformance?
No. Meaning, reading order, keyboard behaviour and alternative-text relevance require human assessment. A tool result is diagnostic evidence; it does not replace assessment against the applicable standard.