What Is Web Accessibility and Do UK Websites Need to Comply?

Web accessibility means designing and building websites that can be used by everyone, regardless of ability or disability. This includes people who are blind or have low vision, people with hearing loss, motor impairments that affect how they use a keyboard or mouse, and cognitive differences such as dyslexia or ADHD.

For many businesses, accessibility is something of an afterthought — but it shouldn’t be. Around 16 million people in the UK are living with a disability, and an inaccessible website excludes them from your products or services. Beyond the ethical and commercial case, there are legal obligations that apply to many UK websites.

What Makes a Website Accessible?

An accessible website meets the needs of users who interact with it in different ways. Screen reader users rely on semantic HTML, meaningful image alt text, and logical heading structures to navigate. Keyboard-only users — who may not be able to use a mouse — need every interactive element to be reachable and operable via keyboard alone. Users with low vision may rely on high contrast and the ability to zoom text without breaking the layout.

Accessibility also benefits users in non-disabled contexts: someone using their phone in bright sunlight benefits from high colour contrast, a user on a slow connection benefits from efficient, well-structured HTML, and someone filling in a form on a mobile device benefits from clear labels and easy-to-tap targets. Good accessibility practice overlaps significantly with good general web design practice.

UK Legal Requirements for Web Accessibility

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers — including those providing services online — to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. This applies to virtually all commercial websites. Failing to make your site reasonably accessible to disabled users could leave you open to discrimination claims.

Public sector bodies have additional obligations under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which require compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA and the publication of an accessibility statement. While these regulations apply specifically to public sector organisations, the Equality Act applies to private sector businesses too.

The practical standard against which accessibility is measured is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the W3C. WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the most widely referenced benchmark for UK websites. Meeting this standard demonstrates a serious commitment to accessibility and provides a strong defence against discrimination claims.

Getting Started with Web Accessibility

You don’t need to achieve perfection overnight. Start with an audit — tools like WAVE, axe, or Lighthouse’s accessibility audit will identify the most common issues automatically. Common quick wins include adding alt text to images, ensuring sufficient colour contrast, adding labels to form fields, and making sure your site works with a keyboard alone.

For a comprehensive assessment, consider commissioning an accessibility audit from a specialist. User testing with disabled people is the most reliable way to uncover barriers that automated tools miss. At Xpose in Norwich, we help businesses across Norfolk and beyond understand and address their web accessibility obligations as part of our web design and improvement services.