Website Accessibility Checklist: 20 Essential Checks

An accessible website is one people can use whether they see, hear, move or think differently: with a keyboard instead of a mouse, with a screen reader, zoomed in, or with captions. The widely used standard is WCAG 2.1 at level AA. This website accessibility checklist covers 20 checks you can run yourself in under an hour with a keyboard, a free tool and your phone. Passing them doesn’t guarantee full conformance, but it catches most of the problems we find on small business sites.

The website accessibility checklist: 20 checks in five groups

Why it matters

People. Accessible sites work for more customers, including older visitors and anyone on a small screen in bright sun.

The law. In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act has been applied to business websites in many lawsuits, and in April 2024 the Department of Justice set WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard for state and local government websites under Title II. In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments. In the EU, the European Accessibility Act applies to many consumer services, including e-commerce, from 28 June 2025. This is general information, not legal advice.

Search. Many accessibility basics, such as headings, alt text, link text and page titles, also help search engines understand a page.

Tools you need

A keyboard
A free checker such as WAVE (wave.webaim.org) or the Lighthouse accessibility audit in Chrome
Your phone
Optionally, your computer’s built-in screen reader: VoiceOver on Mac and iPhone, Narrator on Windows

Automated tools find only part of the problems. The keyboard and zoom checks below catch much of the rest.

1. Keyboard

1. Everything works with Tab, Enter and Space. Menus, buttons, forms, sliders, pop-ups.
2. You can always see where you are. A visible focus outline on every focused element.
3. Focus moves in a sensible order, top to bottom, left to right.
4. No traps. You can leave every pop-up, menu and embedded widget with the keyboard.
5. A “skip to content” link appears on the first Tab press.

2. Images and media

6. Images that carry meaning have alt text describing them. Decorative images have empty alt text.
7. Charts and diagrams have their key point in the text or alt text.
8. Videos have captions; audio-only content has a transcript.
9. Nothing auto-plays with sound, and moving content can be paused.

3. Text and colour

10. Text contrast is at least 4.5 to 1 against its background (3 to 1 for large text). The checker tools measure this.
11. Colour isn’t the only signal. Errors and links are marked by more than colour alone.
12. The page works at 200% zoom with no text cut off and no sideways scrolling on narrow screens.
13. Links say where they go. “Read the pricing guide”, not “click here”.

4. Structure

14. One H1 per page and headings in order, without skipping levels for styling.
15. Every page has a unique, descriptive title.
16. The page language is set in the HTML, so screen readers pronounce it correctly.
17. Lists and tables are marked up as lists and tables, not imitated with spacing.

5. Forms

18. Every field has a visible label, not just placeholder text that disappears.
19. Errors say what went wrong and how to fix it, next to the field.
20. Required fields are marked in text, not by colour alone.

Why overlay widgets aren’t a fix

Overlay widgets add a toolbar to your site and promise compliance with one line of code. They can’t fix missing labels, keyboard traps or poor structure in the underlying page, and many disabled users and accessibility experts have criticised them for getting in the way of the assistive technology people already use. Having an overlay has not stopped businesses being sued. Fixing the site itself is the reliable route.

Where to start with this website accessibility checklist

Run the keyboard checks on your homepage, contact page and checkout or booking flow
Run WAVE or Lighthouse on the same pages and fix contrast, alt text and labels
Fix the template, not the page: one fix to a header or form template repairs every page that uses it
Add accessibility to your brief for any redesign, so it is built in rather than bolted on
Publish an accessibility statement saying what standard you aim for and how people can report problems

Questions people ask

Is my website ADA compliant if it passes Lighthouse? Not necessarily. Automated tools catch some issues; keyboard and screen reader testing catch more.

Does accessibility make a site look worse? No. Good contrast, clear headings and visible focus are part of good design.

How much does it cost to fix? It depends on the site. Template fixes are often quick; sites built on inaccessible page builders may need deeper work.

We build to WCAG 2.1 AA as standard and test with a keyboard and screen readers before launch; see web development for US businesses. For other checks, run our technical SEO checklist and the GDPR checklist.

Website Accessibility Checklist for Small Businesses