When it comes to digital accessibility, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Accessibility remediation can seem slow, thankless, and downright daunting. By focusing on low-effort, high-impact improvements, teams can make meaningful changes quickly, delight users, and build momentum for a larger accessibility journey. Small adjustments made early can create noticeable improvements for users and help teams feel more confident about continuing the work.
Before diving into specific fixes, it’s important to understand the value of prioritization. Web content and applications often contain numerous accessibility issues, and it’s easy for teams to feel overwhelmed. Knowing where to start can transform accessibility from a daunting obligation into a strategic opportunity. Quickly reviewing WCAG Success Criteria can help teams understand typical problem areas and target their efforts effectively.
Many accessibility barriers exist because small details were overlooked during development, not because the entire product was built incorrectly. Addressing these smaller barriers first can dramatically improve usability while larger improvements are planned.
7 Changes to Improve Accessibility
Here are seven accessibility improvements that are relatively easy to implement but make a significant difference for users:
Keyboard Focus Indicator
- Users navigating with a keyboard can lose track of their position on a page.
- Improve navigation for keyboard and screen reader users by ensuring visible styles are applied to links, buttons, and form fields.
Contrast
- Low contrast between text and background reduces readability.
- Help users with low vision or color perception difficulties by adjusting colors to meet WCAG minimum contrast ratios. Improving contrast not only supports accessibility, it also makes content clearer and easier to read for everyone, particularly on mobile devices or in bright environments.
Not Using Color Alone
- Conveying information only through color can exclude colorblind users.
- Ensures content is understandable regardless of color perception by using text labels, patterns, or shapes in addition to color.
Form Labels
- Forms without labels are difficult to navigate for screen reader users.
- Improves usability for all users, especially those relying on assistive technology so provide descriptive label elements for every field.
Heading Structure
- Improper heading hierarchy makes content hard to navigate.
- Use headings in a logical order for screen reader users and anyone scanning content quickly to understand the flow of material. A well-structured page helps readers locate the information they need without having to read every line.
Auto-Playing Media
- Auto-playing videos or audio can be disruptive or inaccessible.
- Allows users to control their experience by providing controls to pause, stop, or mute media. Gives users control over media ensures they can interact with content at their own pace.
Page Language Matches Its Content
- Screen readers rely on correct language usage.
- Set the correct language for each page or section of content so that users understand the material, this is especially helpful for users relying on text-to-speech functions. This is especially important for multilingual sites or pages that include phrases from different languages. This is especially important for multilingual sites or pages that include phrases from different languages.
Accessibility doesn’t have to be intimidating. By focusing on prioritization and tackling low-effort, high-impact improvements, teams can make meaningful changes quickly and create a positive experience for all users. These seven improvements offer a practical starting point for both designers and engineers: small changes that satisfy WCAG criteria, benefit a wide range of users, and provide clear wins for your accessibility journey.
Remember, accessibility is an ongoing effort but starting with easy wins builds momentum, engages your team, and most importantly, makes your software more inclusive from day one. Over time, these smaller improvements often lead to larger conversations about accessibility, encouraging organizations to design with inclusion in mind from the start.