Learn how to open your organization up to reaching, connecting with, and engaging a wider audience.
It’s a well-established design principle that prioritizing accessibility not only results in spaces more welcoming to people with disabilities, but spaces that are more welcoming, period. For everyone. And this holds true for the merits of accessible web design and other means of digital communication as well.
The landmark legislation that led us to more accessible web design

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is younger than you might think. Signed into law in 1990, it’s just a wee millennial, born in an analog era, but coming into its own in the age of the Internet.
The act was originally written to address physical spaces, but in 1996, the Department of Justice clarified that under Title III of the ADA, websites could be considered “places of public accommodation.” This meant there was now a legal obligation to ensure websites were accessible to individuals with disabilities.
But what does that mean?
How do you make a website accessible to individuals with disabilities?
Legislators are notoriously not tech-savvy, least of which in the 1990s, so defining the standards of accessible web design has been the purview of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and their Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for some three decades.
WCAG continues to provide the necessary framework for making content accessible and compliant in the eyes of the law. To that point, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is widely recognized as best practice for accessible web design and commonly referenced in legal contexts.
As we explore how to make your website more accessible, consider WCAG’s four core principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
Structure and content
People with disabilities rely on various assistive technologies to engage with online content. These technologies rely on defined structures and easily understood text to help people engage with and find meaning in your content.
- Proper heading structure (that is, HTML heading tags H1, H2, H3, etc.) creates a clear and logical order that makes it easier for screen reader users to navigate and understand your content.
- Alt tags provide descriptions of images, charts, and other visual elements, crucial for those who can’t see them. Note that screen readers will automatically identify images, so you can skip starting with “image of” or “picture of” to avoid redundancy.
- Including captions and transcripts for multimedia helps users with hearing impairments or those in noisy environments.
- Use plain language and avoid jargon, which aids users with cognitive and learning disabilities.
- Included documents and publications, such as PDFs, should also be in compliance. Free tools like PAC can be used to run a check and will flag any necessary changes, and a partner like Crawford Tech, with whom we often work, makes PDF remediation a breeze.
Pro Tip: Best practices like using alt tags, closed captions, and plain language are applicable to social media content too! As search engines start to crawl social content on platforms like Instagram, getting into the practice of accessible content will only help your organization’s SEO and rise to the top in search.
Navigation and interaction
People with different abilities use a variety of means to navigate the web. It’s important for all users to be able to not only understand your content but also fully engage with it and avoid undue obstacles.
- Your website should be navigable using only a keyboard (Tab, Shift + Tab, Enter, Spacebar, arrow keys) without needing a mouse. This includes employing focus indicators, like an outline or border around the element currently in focus, when navigating.
- Maintain a uniform navigation structure and layout across all web pages so users can easily find the information they need.
- Allow users to enlarge text and zoom up to 200% without losing content or functionality.
- Employ responsive design to ensure your website adapts to various screen sizes and devices, particularly crucial for users who rely on phones for internet access.
Visual elements
While visual design choices can often become mired in subjectivity, there are some very concrete guidelines to bear in mind.
- Use sufficient color contrast between text and background colors to benefit individuals with low vision or color blindness. Tools like Colour Contrast Checker make it easy to check for compliance.
- Avoid using color alone to convey information to ensure it’s discernible to users who may not perceive color accurately. Use additional cues like icons or patterns.
- Avoid excessive movement. Blinking or flashing content can induce seizures. And if animations or videos play automatically, provide controls to pause or stop them.
Regularly testing and auditing your content for accessibility ensures a more inclusive and user-friendly experience for everyone. Automated tools like accessScan or WAVE make it easy. Including manual checks with assistive technologies or by disabling styles is a great way to put yourself in another’s shoes and potentially find even more room for improvement.
How does your organization benefit from more accessible web design?
Creating and maintaining an accessible digital presence not only benefits your audience but your organization itself.
An inclusive-first approach leads to a much more seamless user experience for all. While technological advancements have made our lives easier in many ways, online spaces and digital engagement can also be quite cumbersome and overwhelming. By taking very intentional steps to eliminate user confusion—from difficulty operating and navigating a site to difficulty comprehending its content—you’re inherently creating a more welcoming space. It’s estimated that as many as 1 in 5 of all web users rely on accessibility features and tools. ADA compliance opens your organization up to reaching, connecting with, and engaging a wider audience.
Speaking of increased reach, ADA compliance has the benefit of also boosting your site’s search rankings. Google favors websites that are easy to navigate, and many of the steps necessary for ADA compliance—like alt tags and media transcripts, structured headings, and plain language—are aligned with tactics for improving search engine optimization (SEO).
Lastly, when you prioritize accessibility upfront, you’re more likely to avoid costly retrofits or remediation that could arise in the future, and even potential litigation that can come from non-compliance. Being proactive has its benefits, and at the end of the day, it’s an economically sound decision for organizations with limited resources.
Need help improving your online presence with accessible web design?
At HelpGood, ADA compliance isn’t best practice, it’s standard practice. In fact, we are a certified disability-owned business through Disability:IN, whose own website we designed and built, so it’s in our DNA.
We regularly work with clients like ACEs Aware, the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), and other government agencies and government-funded organizations for whom compliance is never in question. But we bring our principles of inclusivity and acquired expertise to bear across all work, regardless of the client.
Want to learn more about how your organization can create a more accessible and inclusive online presence? Let’s talk!