The Ultimate Web Accessibility Checklist for Developers

Want to ensure your website’s content is 100% compliant with web accessibility standards? Providing every user with a complete experience on your web pages can make your website fully accessible and help you achieve this goal. By integrating web accessibility guidelines, you can optimize your site for better search engine visibility and user engagement.

Web accessibility guidelines establish a foundation for identifying and addressing accessibility barriers on your website. Thus, it is vital to follow a comprehensive checklist that covers all the elements of web accessibility to enhance your site’s SEO performance.

This blog will provide you with a detailed web accessibility checklist that promotes inclusivity, complies with legal standards, and potentially enhances the user experience for all your visitors.

Understanding Web Accessibility and Its Importance

Web accessibility refers to the practice of designing and developing websites that are usable by people with various abilities and disabilities, including motor limitations, visual impairments, and cognitive differences.

Web accessibility is all about providing a seamless, inclusive, and enhanced user experience. Adopting these practices can help you build a loyal following, increase website traffic, and engage users in your digital space.

Understanding Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

WCAG is a set of guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to enhance the accessibility of web content. It serves as an international standard for making web content more accessible to people with disabilities.

The primary objective of establishing these guidelines is to make the web usable for everyone, regardless of disability. But how are these guidelines organized? Web content accessibility guidelines revolve around four principles:

1. Perceivable

Content should be accessible to people with disabilities, including those who are suffering from visual impairment or those who can’t see at all.

2. Operable

Users should be able to navigate the website using controls they normally use, including a mouse or keyboard.

3. Understandable

Content is written simply and clearly to ensure it is comprehensible to all users.

4. Robust

Websites should be designed to ensure they work across a diverse range of platforms and browsers.

How to Check Whether Your Website is WCAG Compliant?

Over the past decades, WCAG has undergone numerous iterations that have improved its approach to web accessibility. Let’s dig deeper into each version of the WCAG:

1. WCAG 1.0 (1999)

Released in 1999, it was the first version of Web Content Accessibility. This update introduced 14 guidelines with checkpoints at three priority levels and primarily focused on HTML-based websites. It emphasized clear navigation, alt text for images, and proper HTML use.

2. WCAG 2.0 (2008)

Launched in 2008, this version set the accessibility benchmarks around four principles—Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust (POUR). It also introduced three levels of conformance- A, AA, and AAA.

• Level A – This is the baseline level of accessibility compliance. A site that does not achieve this level is considered totally inaccessible.
• Level AA – Level AA involves eliminating the most significant accessibility hurdles for those with various disabilities.
• Level AAA – This level is challenging to reach for websites as it is a gold standard, but it’s not necessarily required.

3. WCAG 2.1 (2018)

Introduced in 2018, this version adds more guidelines to WCAG 2.0. The primary objective is to make websites more mobile-responsive and accessible to people with cognitive and low vision issues.

4. WCAG 2.2 (2023)

Published in 2023, this update includes new features to improve the user experience, making it smoother, more inclusive, and more responsive. WCAG 2.2 focuses on input assistance, navigation features, and ensuring web content works well with newer assistive technologies.

5. WCAG 3 (2024)

As of February 2025, this version has not been released. This update is in draft mode and is expected to impact websites starting in September 2025. You can take a look at its working draft till then, as it may take a while to come into effect.

Following the Web Accessibility Checklist for Better SEO

Here’s the web accessibility checklist you must follow to make your website content 100% compliant and accessible:

1. Provide substitutes for non-text content

Imagine trying to understand an infographic without being able to see it. Can’t even think of that, right? That’s why providing alternatives for non-text content is crucial. One of the best ways to ensure this is to include CAPTCHA, emoticons, and ASCII art on your website.

Alternative texts, also known as alt texts, play a vital role in increasing site accessibility. Alt text is a short description added to an image’s HTML code. The primary purpose of adding this text is to illustrate the image and what it represents.

Now, adding this alt text is supported by screen reader software that visually impaired people use to access the web. Another benefit of alt text is that you can increase your website’s search engine visibility by inserting relevant, high-volume keywords.

2. Provide viewers with distinctive ways to access media information

Audio and video content fall under the category of time-based media. If your site includes recordings of sound or moving images, ensure that you upload them using other file formats. These formats will allow your visitors with visual or hearing impairments to access the content.

• Audio media guidelines – Provide an alternative format for your multimedia website by transcribing audio content. Providing transcription is the most common practice for conveying information in various formats and for recording speech that describes any other relevant audio on the tape, such as music or sound effects.
• Video media guidelines – As per video media guidelines and meeting captioning requirements, a published video on your site must have synced subtitles. These captions can be embedded (open) or allow users to toggle them on and off (close).

3. Make content easy to see and hear

Web accessibility is not just about providing alternatives; it’s about making the primary content itself more accessible. To ensure this, use an appropriate color contrast between the text and the background.

To make this process easy, you can also leverage tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker to verify your color choices. Another strategy is to use the Emulate vision deficiency feature in Chrome DevTools to ensure people with low vision have an exceptional experience on your site.

Also, italicize links in your text to make them easier for colorblind people to identify. You can do this by providing a colorless indicator for both mouseover and keyboard focus, by underlining.

Another important aspect you must not overlook is giving users audio control on your site. You can ensure this by installing a button on your auto-play audio so they can silence it at any time or adjust the volume.

4. Conduct automated accessibility scans

WCAG continues to update its guidelines based on technological advancements. Moreover, most websites keep changing their content at regular intervals, making it challenging to maintain web accessibility levels once they are achieved.

Thus, it is a strategic choice to monitor and scan your digital space consistently for accessibility compliance.

Integrating Google Lighthouse, you can use tools to automate accessibility audits based on WCAG guidelines. The platform you choose will enable you to scan the website for common accessibility issues, like missing alt text, improper use of ARIA attributes, or low contrast ratios.

5. Accommodate different input methods

Allow your users to use a variety of input options beyond the traditional keyboard and mouse. Following these tips while building your website makes it easy for your visitors to navigate web pages:

• Include tapping and gestures on touch devices, as well as speech input.
• Implement voice input compatibility for form fields and navigation.
• Support alternative input devices, such as eye-tracking systems and switch controls.

6. Ensure the keyboard is available for all operations

Always integrate keyboard testing throughout the development process to build a user-friendly experience for your visitors. Remember, not all users use a mouse due to fine-motor touch issues, such as muscle spasms or pain in the hands or arms.

Implementing these practices on your site will enable your visitors to find their way around your web pages using the keyboard:

• Ensure all interactive elements are operable via the keyboard.
• Add skip links to let users skip content that seems repetitive.
• Implement a logical tab order that follows the visual layout.
• Provide visible focus indicators for all interactive elements.

7. Offer navigational aid on your web pages

No one wants their visitors to feel they have been redirected to some poorly designed website. Remember, providing clear navigational aid serves as a map and a compass for your web pages. This is how you can make navigation easy for your users:

• Use a descriptive page title: define the title tag to provide an overview of its content. It will not only help boost your SEO rankings but also provide search engines with clearer topic information and show the page to relevant users. To check the title tag, you can hover your mouse over the browser tab.
• Insert descriptive links: Using screen reader technology, visually impaired people can read the pages quickly. However, it would help them save more time if they browse a page with a list of headings or links.

So, rather than making them listen to the whole page, add descriptive links that describe the purpose and why a user should click them. For example, instead of using a ‘learn more’ link, it is better to use screen reader text that makes the linked button more accessible, such as ‘learn more about CRM.’

• Use descriptive, logical headings: Section headers are an excellent way to break up the page and improve readability. These headings act as a wall of text, drawing readers’ attention to the topic they are about to read.

8. Avoid using flashy content or content that blinks

People with seizure disorders face challenges processing information that blinks or flashes. This is why you should refrain from using these effects, which many users also find distracting.

9. Ensure you use grammatically correct content

Your visitors must easily digest and understand your website content. Ensure this by using plain language and avoiding jargon. Also, focus on pronunciation rules and structuring content with short paragraphs and bullet points.

10. Provide support when users make mistakes

Many users might make mistakes while submitting online forms. Providing them with tips and descriptive error messages will prevent them from making any blunders and make your form more accessible. Here are some tips for its implementation:

• Use form labels with placeholder texts: Placeholder text disappears as soon as the user starts filling in the information. This is where form labels prevent them from entering the wrong data in case they forget what information they were supposed to enter.
• Highlighting form fields with specific errors: If the email address of a user is invalid, notify them that the email is invalid alongside the error. For instance, if the @ symbol is missing in an email, provide specific feedback on how to fix the error.
• Mark required form fields: Before filling out the form, let your users know which fields are mandatory and which ones are optional.

Web Accessibility Examples – Websites Worth Taking a Look!

Here are some of the winning examples of websites that are 100% compliant with the web accessibility checklist:

1. BMW

Already familiar with this brand? Ask me; there’s no doubt about that! You can assess its accessibility as soon as you visit its website. Its homepage provides the best user experience by empowering users to choose if scrolling content pauses or runs.

Their website developers created it in accordance with WCAG guidelines, indicating that the video or animation should be able to pause, stop, or be hidden.

2. Patagonia

Visiting Patagonia’s website, you will notice that its developers have followed a web accessibility checklist. This website offers outdoor clothing and gear for silent sports for all its users. Needless to say, Patagonia features easy-to-navigate web pages with a clear, intuitive, and logical structure.

The best part? This website makes it easy for users to explore products by geographic zones or other distinct categories. Moreover, it provides simple forms that users can submit easily. The source code also includes ARIA tags. Hats off to the team for building a stellar website offering exceptional UX.

Enter Web Accessibility at its Finest!

Following the web content accessibility guidelines may feel like a challenge, but it’s worth the effort.

If you want to avoid the hassle of ensuring that your website complies with WCAG guidelines, hiring a professional digital engineering partner can help. LN Webworks delivers accessible, inclusive digital experiences with ADA-compliant websites.

We strive to provide innovative features on your website that benefit users with various disability profiles. Our mission also extends to simplifying and enhancing users’ experiences with easy integration, minimal code required, and AI-powered automation.

Ready to build an inclusive and user-friendly website accessible to all?

Key Takeaways

• Level A: This level is the baseline level of accessibility compliance. A site that does not achieve this level is considered totally inaccessible.
• Level AA: Eliminates the most significant accessibility hurdles for people with various disabilities.
• Level AAA: This level is challenging to reach for websites as it is a gold standard, but it’s not necessarily required.
• Include tapping and gestures on touch devices, as well as speech input.
• Implement voice input compatibility for form fields and navigation.