An accessible website works for people with disabilities, older customers, people on small screens and people in a hurry. In Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission's guidance is that the Disability Discrimination Act applies to websites, and the usual benchmark is WCAG.
What WCAG is
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are the international standard for accessible websites, published by the W3C. See W3C's WCAG overview.
Ten practical fixes
- Make text large enough and high contrast against the background.
- Give every image meaningful alt text, or empty alt text if it's decorative.
- Use real headings in order, not just bold text.
- Make links describe where they go. "View our pricing" beats "click here".
- Label every form field clearly.
- Make sure everything works with a keyboard.
- Show a visible outline on whatever is selected.
- Caption videos.
- Don't rely on colour alone to show meaning.
- Avoid auto-playing sound and fast-moving animation.
Accessibility helps SEO too
Clear headings, descriptive links and image alt text help search engines understand your pages as well as people.
Check your site
Try using your site with only the keyboard, zoom to 200%, and run a free checker such as WAVE or Google Lighthouse. This is general information, not legal advice.
See also websites for NDIS providers, where accessibility matters most.