Simple Website Accessibility Tips for Small Businesses

Easy Steps to Make Your Website More Inclusive, Usable, and Trusted

🌏 Accessibility Isn’t Just for Big Companies Anymore

When small business owners hear “website accessibility,” they often think:

“That’s for government sites or big corporations, right?”

Not anymore.

Whether you’re a local tradie, café, creative studio, or online store — if your website isn’t accessible, you could be turning away potential customers without even knowing it.

At Bitstream Media, we believe websites should work for everyone.

Here’s a simple, non-technical guide to website accessibility — what it means, why it matters, and how you can improve it without needing a massive budget.

🤔 What Is Website Accessibility?

Website accessibility means making your website usable by people of all abilities, including those who:

• Use screen readers or keyboard navigation

• Have visual impairments or color blindness

• Have hearing impairments

• Have cognitive or motor challenges

• Use mobile devices with accessibility features

✅ Accessibility ensures that everyone can use your website — regardless of ability, device, or circumstance.

🎯 Why Accessibility Matters for Your Small Business

✅ You expand your audience

• 1 in 5 Australians lives with disability (and more if you count aging populations or temporary injuries)

✅ You reduce legal risk

• Accessibility is increasingly expected — and in some countries, legally required

• Australia follows the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a best practice

✅ You improve your SEO

• Many accessibility improvements (like good alt text, logical headings, and fast load times) also improve search rankings

✅ You build brand trust

• Inclusive design shows that your business is thoughtful, professional, and future-ready

✅ Simple Accessibility Wins You Can Apply Right Now

1. 📄 Use Proper Headings — Don’t Just Make Text Bigger

✅ Use real headings (H1, H2, H3) instead of just bold or large font text.

Screen readers rely on headings to help users navigate quickly.

✅ Example:

• H1 for page title

• H2 for major sections

• H3 for sub-points

This helps both users and search engines understand your content structure.

2. 🖼️ Add Descriptive Alt Text to Images

Alt text describes an image to someone who can’t see it.

✅ Every image (especially non-decorative ones) should have meaningful alt text.

✅ Good:

alt=”Electrician installing downlight in a Sydney home”

❌ Bad:

alt=”image1.png” or alt=”graphic”

Screen readers read alt text aloud. It also shows when an image can’t load — and improves your SEO.

3. 🎨 Use High-Contrast Colour Combinations

People with low vision or color blindness need sufficient contrast to read text.

✅ Check your colours using free tools like:

• WebAIM Contrast Checker

• Coolors Contrast Tool

❌ Avoid:

• Light grey text on white

• Yellow on light backgrounds

• Red/green combinations (color blindness risk)

Stick to strong, readable colour combinations — and use contrast to guide visual flow.

4. ⌨️ Make Sure Your Site Is Keyboard Navigable

Not everyone uses a mouse.

✅ Users should be able to:

• Tab through menus and links

• Access all interactive elements (like forms, buttons)

• See which element is selected (called focus styling)

Test it:

• Visit your site

• Don’t touch your mouse

• Try using just your Tab key

If you can’t get to every link, button, or input — that’s a red flag.

5. 📱 Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly (It’s Part of Accessibility)

✅ Many users rely on mobile screen readers or zoom features.

A mobile-responsive site:

• Resizes content based on screen width

• Keeps buttons large and easy to tap

• Avoids horizontal scrolling

• Uses readable fonts

Tip: Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check yours.

6. 🎙️ Avoid Autoplaying Media (or Give Clear Controls)

Auto-playing videos or sound can confuse or overwhelm some users.

✅ Best practice:

• Don’t autoplay audio

• Give users clear pause/mute buttons

• Avoid looping animations or flashing content

Bonus: Autoplay can also annoy mobile users and increase bounce rates.

7. ✍️ Write in Clear, Simple Language

Accessibility isn’t just about code — it’s also about content clarity.

✅ Tips:

• Use short paragraphs

• Avoid jargon or technical terms (or explain them)

• Use bullet points and lists to break up info

• Front-load important content

Plain English helps everyone — not just those with cognitive challenges.

8. 🔊 Label Form Fields Clearly

Forms are common — but often inaccessible.

✅ Make sure:

• Each input field has a visible label

• Error messages are descriptive (e.g. “Please enter a valid email” instead of “Invalid field”)

• Required fields are clearly marked

• Button text is meaningful (“Submit” is okay, “Send Your Message” is better)

9. 🧭 Add Skip Links or Landmark Navigation (Advanced but Powerful)

This is more advanced but very valuable.

✅ A “Skip to Content” link lets screen reader users jump past the menu and go straight to the main content.

Most WordPress themes can support this — especially accessibility-focused ones like GeneratePress or Astra.

10. 🧪 Test with Real Tools

Accessibility is best measured through real testing.

Try:

• WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool

• axe DevTools

• [Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools](Right click → Inspect → Lighthouse → Accessibility)

These tools highlight common issues and give improvement suggestions — no dev degree required.

⚙️ Bonus: Accessibility Tools You Can Use Today

✅ Many tools are free — and take just minutes to run.

📈 The Business Benefits of Accessibility

🔄 Common Myths About Accessibility

❌ “Accessibility is only for people with disabilities.”

→ False. It helps older users, mobile users, ESL users, and everyone in between.

❌ “It’s too expensive.”

→ Many changes are free or low-cost — and can be rolled out gradually.

❌ “It’ll ruin my design.”

→ Accessibility and good design go hand-in-hand when done well.

🧠 Real-World Example: Small Changes, Big Impact

A local café we worked with had:

• No image alt text

• Menu PDFs that weren’t screen reader friendly

• A contact form without labels

After basic updates:

• Screen reader users could now navigate the site fully

• A visually impaired customer left a positive review

• Bounce rate on mobile dropped by 16%

✅ It took just a few hours — but made a lasting difference.

🚀 TL;DR: Small Steps to an Inclusive Website

✋ Want an Accessibility Review of Your Site?

At Bitstream Media, we help small businesses:

• Identify accessibility gaps

• Fix them without breaking your design

• Build better websites for everyone who visits

📞 Book an accessibility check-up

💬 Ask us a quick question

🌐 Visit bitstreammedia.com.au

Inclusive websites aren’t just the right thing — they’re the smart thing.