WCAG Compliance Checklist for Small Businesses (2026)

The European Accessibility Act is now in effect. The UK Equality Act already applies. If your small business has a website, you need to meet WCAG standards — or face legal risk.

This isn't a 200-page technical document. It's the practical checklist that actually matters for small business websites. Fix these items and you'll pass the most common accessibility audits.

The Essential Checklist

1. Images Have Alt Text

Every meaningful image on your site needs a text description. This is how screen readers tell blind users what's on screen.

2. Text Has Sufficient Colour Contrast

WCAG requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Light grey text on white background? That fails.

Common offenders: placeholder text in forms, footer links, "subtle" design elements that are invisible to people with low vision.

3. Your Site Works With Keyboard Only

Can you navigate your entire site using only the Tab key? Can you open menus, click buttons, and fill forms without a mouse? If not, anyone with a motor impairment is locked out.

4. Forms Have Labels

Every form field needs a proper <label> element. Placeholder text is not a label — it disappears when you start typing, and screen readers often ignore it.

5. Headings Follow a Logical Structure

Screen reader users navigate by headings. Your page should have one <h1>, followed by <h2>s for sections, <h3>s for subsections. Don't skip levels (going from h1 to h4).

6. Links Make Sense Out of Context

"Click here" and "Read more" are meaningless to someone using a screen reader that lists all links on a page. Use descriptive link text: "View our delivery policy" instead of "Click here".

7. Videos Have Captions

Any video content needs captions for deaf users. Auto-generated captions from YouTube are a start but often contain errors — review and correct them.

8. The Page Language Is Set

Your HTML needs a lang attribute: <html lang="en">. Without this, screen readers don't know which language to use for pronunciation.

9. Error Messages Are Clear

When a form submission fails, tell the user exactly what went wrong and where. "Please enter a valid email address" is better than "Error in form". Error messages should be programmatically associated with the field that caused them.

10. Text Can Be Resized

Users must be able to zoom to 200% without content being cut off or overlapping. If your site breaks when someone zooms in, that's a failure.

Why This Matters Now

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into effect in June 2025. It requires all businesses selling products or services to EU consumers to meet accessibility standards. This includes websites and online shops.

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 already requires "reasonable adjustments" for disabled people. Courts have increasingly interpreted this to include websites. The first wave of legal complaints is already happening.

This isn't theoretical risk. Businesses are receiving legal demands. The average settlement is £5,000–£25,000 — far more than the cost of fixing accessibility issues.

How to Check Your Score

You can check your website's accessibility score for free right now. Our scanner checks all of the items above (and more) and gives you an instant grade.

Scan Your Website Free →

You'll get your score instantly. If you need a full report with exact fixes for every issue, that's available as a PDF for £4.99.

Quick Wins: Fix These First

  1. Add alt text to all images. This alone fixes the most common issue on most sites.
  2. Check colour contrast. Bump up text colours that are too light.
  3. Add form labels. A five-minute fix that helps everyone, not just screen reader users.
  4. Set the page language. One line of HTML.

These four items typically account for 60-70% of accessibility failures on small business websites.

Check your website now

Free Accessibility Scanner →