Web accessibility means building a website that people with disabilities can use: someone who is blind and uses a screen reader, someone with low vision who zooms in, someone who cannot use a mouse, someone who is deaf or hard of hearing watching your videos. They are clients too, and a website that shuts them out tends to be harder for everyone else to use as well.
This post is a practical starting point, not legal advice. If you have received a complaint or a demand letter, speak to a lawyer.
The guidelines everyone uses
The widely used reference is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, known as WCAG, published by the W3C. The current version is 2.2, and the WCAG overview explains how the guidelines are organized. Most organizations aim for level AA.
In the United States, the Department of Justice has published guidance on web accessibility and the ADA, which explains that businesses open to the public should make their websites accessible to people with disabilities. It is worth reading, because it is short and written for businesses rather than lawyers.
Ten fixes that make a real difference
1. Describe your photos
Every meaningful image needs alt text: a short description that a screen reader reads out. "Long dark hair with caramel balayage in loose waves" tells a blind visitor what your work looks like. "IMG_4402" or "hair" tells them nothing. The W3C has a clear tutorial on images, including when an image is purely decorative and needs no description.
2. Make text readable against its background
Pale grey text on white, or white text over a busy photo, is hard to read for many people, and in bright sunlight for everyone. Keep enough contrast between text and background.
3. Use real headings
Page sections should use proper heading levels, not text that has simply been made big and bold. Screen reader users jump between headings to find what they want, the way sighted visitors scan a page.
4. Label every form field
Each field on a contact or enquiry form needs a label that stays visible, not only placeholder text that disappears when someone starts typing.
5. Make buttons say what they do
A link that reads "Book a color appointment" is clear on its own. Three links that all say "Click here" are not, especially when a screen reader lists them together.
6. Do not rely on color alone
If an offer price is shown in red, add the word "offer" as well.
7. Let people zoom
The page should still work when someone zooms in to 200 percent, without text being cut off or needing sideways scrolling.
8. Make everything work with a keyboard
Someone who cannot use a mouse should be able to reach the menu, the Book button and every form with the Tab key, and see where they are on the page as they go.
9. Caption your videos
Before-and-after videos and stylist introductions need captions, both for people who are deaf or hard of hearing and for the many people who watch with the sound off.
10. Avoid things that move on their own
Auto-playing sliders and flashing animations are distracting, and for some people they are a real problem. If something moves, give visitors a way to pause it.
Booking tools count too
Your website is only half of the journey. If your Book button opens a booking tool that cannot be used with a screen reader, the client still cannot book. Try your whole booking flow using only a keyboard, and if it fails, ask your booking provider about accessibility.
Where to start
Start with alt text and contrast, because they are the most common problems and among the easiest to fix. Good photos matter for speed as well, which we cover in salon photos that look good and still load fast.
Our free website check includes accessibility checks, such as images with no alt text and form fields with no labels, alongside the accessibility score from Google Lighthouse. No automated tool can catch everything, but it will find the common problems quickly.