Why WCAG Compliance Matters and How to Make Your Website Accessible

Your website is more than just your digital storefront, it’s a place of public accommodation. Just as your physical location must include wheelchair ramps or accessible parking, your online space must also be inclusive for people with disabilities.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the U.S. Department of Justice, your website is legally considered a “place of public accommodation.” Failing to meet accessibility standards can result in costly lawsuits, lost customers, and reputational damage.

Fortunately, achieving WCAG compliance is easier than you think, especially with modern testing tools and the help of a professional web development team like Airtight Design.

What Is WCAG and Why Does It Matter?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure that digital content is accessible to everyone, including people with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor disabilities.

Despite these standards, many websites still fall short. By making your website WCAG-compliant, you’re not just meeting legal requirements, you’re improving usability, SEO, and your brand’s public image.

Benefits of a WCAG-Compliant Website

1. Reach a Wider Audience Roughly 54 million Americans live with a disability. By designing your site to support assistive technologies like screen readers and voice navigation, you make your content available to a broader audience and expand your customer base.

2. Demonstrate Inclusivity An accessible website reflects your company’s commitment to equality and inclusion. It sends a powerful message that everyone is welcome to engage with your brand, and as your mom might say, “it’s just the right thing to do.”

3. Avoid Legal Risk ADA-related web accessibility lawsuits have surged in recent years. Staying compliant with WCAG guidelines helps you minimize legal risk, save money, and protect your company’s reputation.

4. Improve SEO and Search Rankings Search engines favor accessible websites. Features like alt text, logical structure, and fast-loading accessible content improve SEO performance and help your site rank higher in search results.

5. Enhance User Experience Accessibility benefits everyone. A site that’s easy to navigate, read, and interact with leads to better engagement, higher conversions, and stronger customer satisfaction.

How to Know if Your Website Is WCAG-Compliant

If your website wasn’t intentionally built for accessibility, chances are, it isn’t compliant yet. The good news? There are several tools to help you test and improve accessibility.

Recommended Accessibility Testing Tools

• WAVE: An evaluation suite that helps identify accessibility issues in web content.
• SiteImprove: Offers automated WCAG testing and ongoing monitoring tools.
• axe DevTools: A Chrome extension for developers and designers to catch accessibility errors early.

These tools are excellent starting points but aren’t foolproof. The most accurate results come from manual testing performed by experienced accessibility specialists.

Common Accessibility Issues (and How to Fix Them)

Making your website accessible is an ongoing process that involves refining your site’s design, code, and content. Here are some common issues and solutions:

1. Missing or Incomplete Alt Text Alt text provides image descriptions for users who can’t see them, and also helps with SEO. ✅ Solution: Add descriptive alt text to every image and media element.

2. Poor Color Contrast Low-contrast text is difficult to read for many users. ✅ Solution: Adjust text and background colors to meet WCAG contrast ratios while maintaining your brand’s aesthetic.

3. Non-Accessible Multimedia Videos and audio files without captions or transcripts exclude users with hearing impairments. ✅ Solution: Provide transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions. YouTube captions are an easy starting point.

4. Inaccessible Forms Forms without labels or clear error messaging can block users from completing key actions. ✅ Solution: Add descriptive labels, ensure full keyboard navigation, and make error messages accessible and clear.

Regularly audit and update your website to stay compliant with evolving WCAG standards. Accessibility isn’t a one-time project, it’s part of maintaining a quality digital experience.

How Airtight Design Can Help

At Airtight Design, our Accessibility Specialists make WCAG compliance simple and effective. We help companies of all sizes ensure that their websites meet current accessibility standards and stay that way.

Our Accessibility Services Include:

• Accessibility Audits: Identify issues and get a detailed report on what needs to be fixed.
• Full Accessibility Implementation: We’ll bring your entire website up to current WCAG standards and help set up ongoing compliance processes.
• ADA / Section 508 Reporting: Need documentation? We provide VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) reports to verify compliance.
• Accessibility Overlays: For a quick, budget-friendly solution, we partner with AccessiBe to provide accessibility widget overlays.

Accessibility Is Good for Everyone

Accessible websites aren’t just better for users with disabilities, they’re better for business. Accessibility improves usability, strengthens your SEO, enhances customer trust, and ensures equal access for all.

Airtight Design can help you make your site inclusive, compliant, and high-performing. Let’s make the web a place where everyone belongs.