Web accessibility isn't just a legal requirement: it's a market of over 1.3 billion people with disabilities who can't use your website if it doesn't meet WCAG standards. Making your site accessible improves the experience for all users, expands your audience and prevents legal issues. It's not a luxury: it's an investment that pays for itself.

If you have an online business or a corporate website, there's a topic you've probably heard mentioned but never taken seriously: web accessibility. Don't worry, I'm not going to fill you with technical jargon. I'm going to explain what it is, why it should matter to you and what you can do right now to make your website usable by everyone, including the more than 1.3 billion people with some form of disability worldwide.

Web accessibility isn't a whim or a trend: it's a real need that, moreover, legally protects you and expands your market. If your website isn't accessible, you're shutting the door on 15% of the population who have some type of visual, motor, cognitive or hearing disability. And that 15% are customers who could be buying from your website… if they could use it.

What web accessibility is (and what it isn't)

The clear idea

Web accessibility means that any person, regardless of their abilities, can use your website effectively. It's not just about "being able to see it": it's about being able to navigate it, understand it, interact with it and get value from it. If someone can't use a mouse, they need to be able to navigate with a keyboard. If they can't see colors well, they need sufficient contrast. If they can't hear audio, they need subtitles.

The international standard that defines what an accessible website is are the WCAG guidelines (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), published by the W3C (the same body that defines HTML and CSS). They're the reference used by governments, large companies and courts to determine whether a website meets accessibility standards.

What web accessibility is NOT

There are very common misunderstandings worth clarifying:

  • It's not just for blind people. Accessibility covers visual, motor, cognitive and hearing disabilities. It includes everything from someone who can't use a mouse to someone with reading difficulties.
  • It's not just a "special" version of the website. An accessible website is a better website for everyone: also for someone holding their phone in one hand, in bright sunlight or on a slow connection.
  • It's not just a design issue. It affects code, content, forms, videos, images and information structure.
  • It's not optional in many sectors. If your company is public, provides essential services or has a presence in the EU, accessibility is already a legal obligation.
Person with visual disability using a screen reader to navigate a website Web accessibility benefits all users, not just those with disabilities.

Why it should matter to you (beyond the ethical)

The market you're ignoring

According to the WHO, more than 1.3 billion people worldwide have a significant disability. That's 16% of the world's population. In developed countries, the figure rises to 20% when you include mild and temporary disabilities (a broken hand, eye surgery, aging).

These people have money, have needs and shop online. But if your website isn't accessible, they can't do it. It's not that they don't want to: it's that they can't. And if your competition has an accessible website, where do you think they'll go?

In Europe, the European Accessibility Directive (which Spain has already transposed) requires websites of public entities and large companies to be accessible before June 2025. But the legal trend is to expand this obligation to more sectors. In the US, lawsuits for web accessibility have grown 300% in the last five years.

In Latin America, legislation moves slower, but the legal principle is clear: if you offer a service to the public and your website isn't usable by a significant portion of that public, you're in a gray area that no lawyer would recommend ignoring.

SEO thanks you

There's a direct connection between accessibility and SEO that many people don't see. Search engines are, in essence, "blind users": they read the code, they don't see the design. A website with good heading structure, alt text on images, semantic labels and clear content is easier to index and rank. Accessibility and SEO reinforce each other.

The 5 most common accessibility problems

1. Images without alt text

Every image on your website must have an alt attribute describing what it shows. If it doesn't, a screen reader can't inform the user what it's about. It's the most basic and easiest problem to fix: review your images and add short, precise descriptions.

2. Insufficient contrast

If the text is light gray on a white background, some people can't read it. WCAG guidelines require a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Free tools like WebAIM's Contrast Checker let you verify this in seconds.

3. Impossible keyboard navigation

If someone can't use a mouse (due to a disability, injury or simply because they prefer the keyboard), they need to be able to navigate your entire website with Tab, Enter and arrow keys. If pressing Tab doesn't show where you are or the focus gets lost, that person can't use your website.

4. Videos without subtitles

Every video with audio must have subtitles. Not just for people with hearing disabilities: also for someone in a public space without headphones, for someone who prefers to read and for Google, which indexes subtitles. It's minimal effort with enormous impact.

5. Forms without labels

If your contact form has fields without visible labels or without an associated label, a screen reader can't tell the user what to write in each field. The solution is simple: every input must have a visible label associated with the for attribute.

Developer reviewing a web accessibility checklist on their screen These 5 problems are the ones that most affect the accessibility of a business website.

How to start (without being technical)

The quick test you can do today

You don't need to be a programmer to detect the most serious problems. These three tests give you a quick snapshot:

  1. Keyboard test: try navigating your website using only the keyboard (Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, arrows). If at any point you don't know where you are or can't reach a link, there's a problem.
  2. Zoom test: zoom in on your website to 200% in the browser. If the content overflows the screen, overlaps or disappears, it's neither responsive nor accessible.
  3. Screen reader test: enable your system's screen reader (VoiceOver on Mac, NVDA on Windows) and navigate through a page. If you can't understand what's in each section, your website isn't communicating well.

If your website fails any of these three tests, it has serious accessibility problems that need to be fixed.

What to ask your provider

If you're not going to do the work yourself (and for a professional website, it's normal to outsource), these are the questions you should ask:

  • Do you perform WCAG accessibility audits? Ask for a report with the problems found and their severity level.
  • What compliance level do you work to? The levels are A, AA and AAA. Level AA is the recommended standard for most websites.
  • Do you include accessibility in design and development? Make sure it's not a later patch, but part of the process.
  • Do you offer accessibility maintenance? Accessibility isn't "one and done": it needs to be reviewed with every update.

At TakeYourDesign, we include WCAG accessibility as part of our IT audit and web development process. If you want to know how your website stands today, tell us about your case and we'll give you an honest assessment of where you are and what you need to improve.

The return on investment of accessibility

Web accessibility isn't an expense: it's an investment with measurable returns. More potential users, better SEO positioning, legal protection and a better experience for everyone. Companies that take accessibility seriously don't just avoid problems: they gain customers that the competition is ignoring.

Start with the basics: the keyboard test, color contrast and image alt text. These are simple changes that improve the experience for all your users, not just those with disabilities. And if you want to go further, a professional audit will give you the complete roadmap of what you need.