How to Check Website Accessibility: A Step-by-Step Guide

You suspect your website isn't accessible. Maybe a customer complained. Maybe you read about the European Accessibility Act. Maybe you just want to do the right thing.

Whatever brought you here, this guide will show you exactly how to check your website's accessibility — and what to do about the results.

What You're Checking For

Website accessibility means that people with disabilities can use your site. This includes people who are blind (using screen readers), deaf, have motor impairments (using keyboard only), or have cognitive disabilities.

The international standard is WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), currently at version 2.2. Most laws reference WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the minimum requirement.

The most common accessibility failures are surprisingly basic:

• Missing alt text on images — screen readers can't describe what the image shows
• Poor colour contrast — text is hard to read for people with low vision
• No keyboard navigation — users who can't use a mouse are stuck
• Unlabelled form fields — screen readers can't tell users what to type where
• Missing page headings — no document structure for assistive technology
• No skip-to-content link — keyboard users must tab through every menu item on every page

Step 1: Run an Automated Scan

The fastest way to find obvious issues is an automated accessibility scanner. These tools crawl your page and check for WCAG violations programmatically.

Our free scanner checks 17 WCAG criteria instantly. Paste your URL, get a score out of 100, a letter grade, and a list of specific issues with exactly how to fix each one.

Run a free accessibility scan now →

Automated tools typically catch 30-40% of all accessibility issues. They're excellent at finding missing alt text, contrast failures, missing labels, and structural problems. They can't catch everything — but they catch the low-hanging fruit that affects the most users.

Step 2: Try Keyboard Navigation

Close your mouse. Literally put it in a drawer. Now try to use your website with only your keyboard.

• Tab moves focus forward through interactive elements
• Shift+Tab moves focus backward
• Enter activates links and buttons
• Space activates buttons and checkboxes
• Arrow keys navigate within components like dropdown menus

Ask yourself:

• Can you see where the focus is? (There should be a visible outline around the focused element)
• Can you reach every link, button, and form field?
• Can you complete a purchase or sign up without a mouse?
• Can you get past the navigation menu quickly? (That's what skip-to-content links are for)

If you get stuck, so do your keyboard-only users. And so do screen reader users, since screen readers rely on the same keyboard interactions.

Step 3: Check Your Images

Every meaningful image on your site needs alt text — a short description that screen readers read aloud.

Right-click any image → Inspect Element → look for the alt attribute. If it says alt="" or is missing entirely, that image is invisible to screen reader users.

Good alt text:

• Describes what the image shows, not what the file is called
• Is concise — usually under 125 characters
• Skips "image of" or "photo of" (screen readers already announce it's an image)

Decorative images (borders, spacers, background patterns) should have alt="" — an empty alt attribute. This tells screen readers to skip them.

Step 4: Check Colour Contrast

Text must have sufficient contrast against its background. WCAG 2.1 AA requires:

• Normal text: 4.5:1 contrast ratio minimum
• Large text (18px+ bold or 24px+): 3:1 contrast ratio minimum

Light grey text on a white background? Fails. White text on a bright green button? Probably fails. These are the most common contrast issues.

Step 5: Check Your Forms

Every form input needs a visible label that's programmatically associated with it. Placeholder text alone doesn't count — it disappears when users start typing and isn't reliably read by all screen readers.

Check for:

• Every input has a <label> element with a matching for attribute
• Required fields are indicated (not just by colour)
• Error messages are clear and appear near the relevant field
• The form can be completed and submitted by keyboard alone

What to Do With the Results

You'll probably find issues. Almost every website does. Here's how to prioritise:

1. Fix critical issues first: Missing alt text, keyboard traps, no form labels. These completely block some users.
2. Fix high-impact issues next: Poor contrast, missing headings, no skip navigation. These make the site difficult to use.
3. Document what you've done: An accessibility statement shows you're taking it seriously, even if you're not perfect yet.

Why This Matters Now

The European Accessibility Act became enforceable in June 2025. The UK Equality Act 2010 has required reasonable adjustments for years. Businesses are starting to receive legal complaints about inaccessible websites.

The good news: most fixes are straightforward. Adding alt text, fixing contrast, labelling forms — a developer can address the worst issues in a day. The key is knowing what's broken.

Start with a scan. Fix what you find. Repeat.

Check your website's accessibility score now — free, instant, no signup →