WEB DESIGN · · 7 min read
Website accessibility: what Australian businesses need to know
Millions of Australians live with disability, and websites are covered by discrimination law. What accessibility means, the standard to aim for and quick wins.
Lucy · Design Lead, UI & UX
What accessibility means
An accessible website is one that everyone can use, including people who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, have limited movement, or have cognitive or learning differences. It also helps older users, people on small screens and anyone using a phone in bright sunlight.
In short, accessibility makes your website better for everyone.
Why it matters for your business
It’s the right thing to do
A significant share of Australians live with disability. If your website doesn’t work for them, you’re shutting people out.
It’s covered by law
In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 applies to goods and services, and websites are generally considered part of that. The Australian Human Rights Commission points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, known as WCAG, as the standard to follow. This isn’t legal advice, but it’s a strong reason to take accessibility seriously.
It’s good for business
Accessible sites tend to be clearer, faster and easier to use. Many accessibility basics, like proper headings and image descriptions, also help with SEO.
The standard to aim for
WCAG is the internationally recognised standard. The current version is WCAG 2.2, and level AA is the usual target for businesses. It covers four principles: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
Quick wins you can check today
- Colour contrast: make sure text stands out clearly from its background, especially light grey text
- Image descriptions: add meaningful alt text to images that carry information
- Headings: use real headings in a logical order, rather than just bold text
- Link text: use descriptive links like “view our services”, not “click here”
- Keyboard navigation: try using your site with only the Tab and Enter keys
- Visible focus: make sure people can see which element is selected when using a keyboard
- Forms: give every field a clear label, and make error messages easy to understand
- Video: add captions to videos, and avoid audio that plays automatically
- Text size: make sure the site still works when text is enlarged
Common problems we see
- Low contrast text that’s hard to read
- Menus and pop-ups that can’t be used with a keyboard
- Images of text instead of real text
- Forms that rely on placeholder text instead of labels
- Animations with no way to reduce motion
Overlays aren’t a fix
Some tools promise to make your site accessible with a single line of code. They can’t fix underlying problems in your design and code, and many accessibility experts advise against relying on them. Accessibility needs to be built in.
How to get started
- Run a free automated checker to catch obvious issues
- Test with a keyboard and a screen reader on your key pages
- Fix the biggest problems on your most important pages first
- Build accessibility into every new page and update from now on
Want to know how accessible your website is? Book a quick call and we’ll walk you through the biggest wins.
Book a 20 minute call
WRITTEN BY
Lucy · Design Lead, UI & UX
Turns briefs into interfaces people enjoy using, from wireframes through to polished visual design.