Website Accessibility for Small Businesses (Without the Legal Panic)
Why every small business website needs to be accessible, what the rules actually require, and the seven fixes that cover most of it, in plain English.
If your business has a website, some of the people trying to use it have a disability, and statistically, that’s around one in five adults in the UK. You need it to be accessible. Not a 200-page audit and a compliance programme. A handful of practical changes that answer the question every visitor quietly has: “Can I actually use this?”
Why this matters, in order of honesty
Because people can’t use your site otherwise. Someone who can’t complete your contact form because it doesn’t work with a screen reader is a customer you never knew you lost.
Because it’s the law, broadly. The Equality Act 2010 requires reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and that applies to services provided online. Public sector bodies have specific regulations; private businesses have a general duty. Enforcement against small businesses is rare, but “rare” is not “never”, and the direction of travel across Europe is toward stricter requirements.
Because it helps everyone. Good contrast helps in sunlight. Captions help in a noisy pub. Clear labels help someone in a hurry. Accessibility fixes are usability fixes wearing a serious hat.
Because Google notices. Proper headings, alt text and semantic structure are exactly what search engines read too.
What the standard actually says
The reference is WCAG 2.2, at level AA. That’s the level cited in UK regulations and the one worth building to. It has a lot of criteria, but for a typical small business site, seven things cover most of the ground.
1. Colour contrast
Text must contrast enough with its background: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text. Pale grey on white fails, and it’s everywhere.
Check it: WebAIM’s contrast checker, free, takes a minute.
2. Alt text on images
Every meaningful image needs a text description. Decorative images should be marked as decorative so screen readers skip them.
Write it as: what the image conveys, not “image of”. If it’s a photo of your team on site, say so.
3. Real headings, in order
H1 once, then H2s, then H3s beneath them. Screen reader users navigate by heading the way you’d skim a page visually. Don’t pick a heading level because of how big it looks.
4. Keyboard access
Everything clickable must work with the Tab key alone, and you must be able to see where you are.
Test it: unplug your mouse and try to complete your own contact form. Most people find a problem within a minute.
5. Labelled form fields
Every input needs a visible, associated label. Placeholder text is not a label, it disappears the moment someone types.
6. Text that resizes
Zoom your site to 200%. If text overlaps, gets cut off, or you have to scroll sideways to read a sentence, that needs fixing.
7. Video captions
Any video with speech needs captions. Automatic ones, corrected, are fine.
What about accessibility overlay widgets?
The plug-in toolbars promising instant compliance for a monthly fee. The short version: don’t. Disability advocacy organisations have argued against them consistently, they often interfere with the assistive technology people already use, and they don’t fix the underlying problems. Several US lawsuits have been brought against businesses using them.
Fix the site. There’s no shortcut worth buying.
A realistic plan
You don’t need to do all of this at once.
- This week: run your homepage and contact page through WAVE (free browser extension). Fix the contrast failures and missing alt text.
- This month: do the keyboard test on your enquiry form. That form is where accessibility failures cost you actual money.
- Next time you change the site: ask for WCAG 2.2 AA in writing as part of the brief.
The honest summary
Accessibility on a small business site isn’t a legal minefield, it’s about a dozen practical decisions, most of which make the site better for everybody. Built in from the start it costs essentially nothing. Retrofitted later it costs a bit. Ignored entirely, it quietly costs you customers.
Every site I build is made to WCAG 2.2 AA as standard, and the free website review includes the accessibility issues most likely to be affecting your visitors right now.