Insights / Accessibility
Inclusive By Default.
Contrast / Keyboard / Structure
Accessibility is decided in the design, or paid for later.
01 / The premiseDecided early or paid for late
Accessibility is a design decision.
- Web accessibility means that people with different abilities can perceive, operate and understand a site.
- WCAG 2.2 at level AA is the standard most laws and contracts name; I treat it as the floor.
- Most failures are design decisions: contrast, focus, structure, names.
What does WCAG 2.2 AA ask for?
WCAG, the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, groups its requirements under four words: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. At level AA that means, among other things, text contrast of at least 4.5:1, every function usable from the keyboard, a visible focus indicator, pages that reflow at a width of 320 pixels and text that can be enlarged to 200 %.
Version 2.2 added criteria that matter on phones: targets of at least 24 pixels, focus that is never hidden behind a sticky header, and no puzzle to solve when signing in.
Who needs it?
More people than the word suggests. A low-contrast label fails in sunlight; a form without labels fails with a screen reader and with a password manager; a menu that needs a mouse fails with a broken trackpad.
Since 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act also makes accessibility a legal requirement for many consumer services in the EU. Whether it covers a particular business is a legal question; the standard it points to is the same.
Where do projects usually fail?
Early. A brand colour that cannot carry text, a layout that works at one width only, a custom control with no keyboard behaviour: each is decided in the design and expensive to change in code.
That is why an accessibility overlay added to a finished site does not repair it: it cannot change the contrast of a brand, the structure of a page or the name of a button.
02 / The methodFour decisions, made with the layout
Decide it in the design.
01 / Colour
Contrast is computed.
Every pair of text and background is calculated before it is used, in both themes.
02 / Structure
One heading order.
Landmarks, a single H1 and real lists, so a page can be read without being seen.
03 / Keyboard
Everything by key.
Focus is visible, follows the reading order and is never trapped or hidden.
04 / Proof
Tested, then stated.
Automated checks, a keyboard pass and a screen reader. Then a statement that says only what was tested.
03 / QuestionsShort answers
Asked often.
Is an accessible website less distinctive?
No. Large type, strong colour and unusual layouts can all pass, as long as contrast, focus and structure are decided along with them.
Is AA enough, or should a site aim for AAA?
AA is the level laws and contracts name. AAA cannot be met for every kind of content, so it is a target. I aim for it where it is reachable, for example a contrast of 7:1 for text.
Can accessibility be added after launch?
Partly. Names, labels and focus can be repaired. Colour, layout and custom controls usually mean a redesign, which is why it costs least at the start.
04 / The takeawayMore people, the same page
Perceivable / Operable / Understandable
A site everyone can use is a better site.
Accessibility decided in the design is invisible in the result: the page simply works for more people.
Experiment / 001Start a conversation
Make it Usable.
Bring a product that has to work for everyone who meets it.
Start a project