The audit trap
A team runs an accessibility checker. It reports zero errors. Everyone relaxes.
But automated tools only find what they can measure. Contrast ratios, missing alt text, unlabelled form fields. All real things, all worth fixing.
They cannot tell you whether the tab order makes sense, whether a screen reader announces something confusing, or whether your error message actually helps. Those need a person.
Try this yourself, right now
Put your mouse away. Use only Tab and Enter. Try to do the main thing your site is for. Sign up, buy something, send a message.
Three things usually go wrong inside a minute.
- You cannot see where you are, because the focus outline was removed for looking untidy.
- Tab order jumps around the page in an order nobody would guess.
- Something opens and your focus stays behind it, so you tab through a menu you cannot see.
None of those show up in an automated report. All three make the site unusable for someone who does not use a mouse.
Alt text that says something
Most alt text is written to satisfy a checker, not a person.
“image”, “photo”, “banner-final-v3.jpg”. Technically present. Practically useless.
Good alt text says what the image is doing there. If it is decoration, mark it as decoration so a screen reader skips it. If it carries information, write the information down.
Bad: “chart”.
Better: “Sales grew from 12% to 31% between January and June.”
Colour cannot be the only signal
If the only thing marking a field as wrong is that it turned red, some people will not see it.
Add a second signal. An icon, a word, a line of text underneath.
That helps colourblind users. It also helps anyone reading on a cheap screen, or outdoors in bright sun. It costs nothing once it is a habit.
Do it as you go, not at the end
The expensive version of accessibility is bolting it on at the end. You end up rebuilding components you already shipped.
The cheap version is checking each piece as it is built. Keyboard path, focus order, contrast, one pass with a screen reader. Ten minutes per component while it is still fresh.
We work that way because it costs less, not because we are virtuous about it.
It helps more people than you think
Accessibility gets framed as being for a small group. It is not.
Captions help people in loud rooms. Strong contrast helps everyone outdoors. Clear focus states help keyboard-heavy power users. Big touch targets help anyone on a moving train.
Building for the hardest case usually makes the ordinary case better too.
Worth remembering
In four lines
- Automated tools find roughly a third of real problems.
- Tab through your own site with no mouse. You will find things in a minute.
- Never delete the focus outline. Restyle it instead.
- Check each component as you build it, not at the end.
Questions we get asked
Do we legally have to do this?
It depends where you operate and what you sell, and the rules are tightening in the EU and elsewhere. We are designers rather than lawyers, so check your own situation with someone qualified.
Does accessible mean ugly?
No. It means a visible focus state, enough contrast, and a sensible order. All of those can be designed well. Most of the ugliness comes from bolting it on late.
Where do we start on an existing site?
The main path first. Whatever people come to your site to do, make that work with a keyboard. Then widen out from there.
Read next
Working on this yourself?
We help teams sort this out for a living. Tell us what you’re building, or see how it went for other people.