· 4 min read · Joan Karstrom
Is Your Small Business Website Accessible? A Plain-English Checklist
About one in four adults in the U.S. lives with a disability. If your website doesn’t work for them, they can’t book with you, buy from you, or call you. Accessibility sounds technical, but you can check the basics yourself in about ten minutes.
1. Put your mouse away
Press the Tab key and try to use your site with only the keyboard. Can you reach every link, button, and form field? Can you see where you are on the page? If the highlight disappears or you get stuck in a menu, people who can’t use a mouse are stuck too.
2. Squint at your text
Light gray text on a white background is everywhere, and it’s one of the most common accessibility failures. Text needs enough contrast with its background to be readable for people with low vision. Free tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker will tell you in seconds.
3. Check your images
Screen readers read out an image’s “alt text.” If your photos have none, or say things like “IMG_4021.jpg,” blind visitors miss whatever the image was there to show. Every meaningful image needs a short description.
4. Fill out your own contact form
Does every field have a visible label, not just placeholder text that disappears when you type? If you make a mistake, does the error message say what went wrong? Forms are where accessibility problems cost you the most, because that’s where leads come in.
5. Zoom to 200%
Zoom your browser to 200%. Does the text still fit, or does it overlap and get cut off? Many people browse zoomed in every day.
Why it matters beyond doing the right thing
Website accessibility complaints under the Americans with Disabilities Act are a real and growing risk for small businesses. The recognized standard is WCAG 2.1 AA, and building to it from the start is far cheaper than fixing a site after a demand letter arrives.
Accessible sites also tend to rank better and convert better, because clear structure, readable text, and working forms help everyone.