Around 16.7 million people in the UK report a disability, a quarter of the population. Some use a screen reader, some get around a website with a keyboard instead of a mouse, some zoom in to read, and many find pale, low-contrast text hard going. If your website doesn’t work for them, many will leave and buy from someone whose website does.
Website accessibility is a legal issue too. Businesses that serve the public must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, and that duty covers their websites. Since June 2025 the European Accessibility Act has also applied to many that sell to consumers in the EU.
What UK law says about website accessibility
Businesses and other service providers: the Equality Act 2010
In England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act 2010 requires anyone providing a service to the public to make reasonable adjustments, so disabled people aren’t put at a substantial disadvantage, and to plan for this in advance. Northern Ireland has similar duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Code of Practice for services, in force since 5 August 2026, says plainly that the obligation applies to services provided on a website.
The Act doesn’t name a technical standard. WCAG 2.2 at level AA is the standard the UK government sets for public sector websites, and the sensible benchmark for every organisation.
Public sector websites
Public sector bodies have stricter accessibility requirements. Under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, their websites and mobile applications must meet WCAG 2.2 AA and publish an accessibility statement explaining how accessible they are.
Selling to the EU: the European Accessibility Act
Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has covered businesses that sell products or services online to consumers in EU countries, wherever the business is based. If customers in Ireland or France can buy from your website, you’re probably in scope. Microenterprises, with fewer than ten staff and a turnover or balance sheet of no more than €2 million, are exempt for services. The detailed technical benchmark is the European standard EN 301 549, which is built on WCAG. Its latest version, published in September 2026, uses WCAG 2.2 at level AA, so aim for that. Each EU country sets its own penalties.
What WCAG 2.2 asks for
WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is published by the W3C. Version 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation in October 2023, adding to WCAG 2.1. Its success criteria sit under four principles: content has to be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Level AA is the one to aim for.
Version 2.2 added criteria that matter most on phones and for people with cognitive disabilities:
- buttons and links big enough to tap, at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels or with enough space around them
- keyboard focus that isn’t completely hidden behind a sticky header or a cookie banner
- an alternative to dragging, such as tapping, for anything you’d otherwise drag
- log-in forms that let people paste a password or use a password manager, instead of relying on memory
- help in a consistent place, so if your phone number or a contact link appears on several pages, it’s in the same spot on each
The most common accessibility failures
WebAIM checks the home pages of the top million websites every year. In February 2026 it found detectable WCAG failures on 95.9% of them, with an average of 56.1 errors a page. These were the six most common:
- low-contrast text, on 83.9% of home pages
- images with no alternative text, on 53.1%
- form fields with no label, on 51%
- empty links, with nothing to say where they go, on 46.3%
- empty buttons, on 30.6%
- no page language set, on 13.5%
Four of the six were more common than in 2025. Most of them are quick to fix.
What to fix first on your website
- Text contrast. At least 4.5 to 1 for normal text and 3 to 1 for large text. Pale grey on white usually fails.
- Alternative text. Describe every meaningful image, and give decorative images empty alt text so screen readers skip them.
- Form labels. Give every field a visible label, and make error messages say what went wrong and how to fix it.
- Link and button text. “Book a free survey” tells a screen reader user where a link goes. “Click here” doesn’t.
- Keyboard use. Everything should work with a keyboard alone, using keys such as Tab, Enter, Space and the arrows, with a visible outline showing where you are.
- Headings in order. One H1, then H2s and H3s in sequence, so people using assistive technology can jump through the page.
- Zoom. Text should enlarge to 200% without overlapping or disappearing.
- Video and sound. Add captions to videos, and don’t play sound automatically.
- Motion. Respect the reduce-motion setting, and never let anything flash more than three times a second.
- Cookie banners and chat widgets. Make sure people can use and close them with a keyboard and with assistive technology.
Then publish an accessibility statement on your website: what you’ve done, anything you know isn’t accessible yet, and how people can contact you for help or the information in another format.
Why accessibility overlays aren’t the answer
Accessibility overlays are plugins that add a toolbar to your website and promise to make it compliant automatically. They can’t fix the code underneath, which is where most of the failures above live. In April 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission finalised an order requiring overlay provider accessiBe to pay $1 million. The order settled the FTC’s allegations that accessiBe misled customers by claiming its AI tool could make any website compliant with WCAG.
How to test your website’s accessibility
- Run a free automated checker, such as WAVE from WebAIM or the accessibility audit in Google Chrome’s Lighthouse. Automated tools find some of the problems, not all of them.
- Put your mouse away and use the Tab key to reach every link, button and form field.
- Zoom your browser to 200% and check nothing overlaps, gets cut off or disappears.
- Try a screen reader. VoiceOver is built into Macs and iPhones, and NVDA is free for Windows.
- Ask people who use assistive technology to try your most important pages, such as booking or asking for a quote.
Does website accessibility help SEO?
Much of what makes a website accessible also helps search engines and AI tools understand it: descriptive headings, alt text on images, link text that says where a link goes, captions and transcripts, and fast, well-structured pages. If you’re thinking about AI search, read how to get your business on ChatGPT too.
Your questions about accessibility
Is website accessibility a legal requirement for UK businesses?
Yes, if you serve the public. In England, Scotland and Wales the Equality Act requires service providers, including businesses, to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. The EHRC’s Code of Practice for services, in force since August 2026, says this applies to services provided on a website. Northern Ireland has similar duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The law doesn’t name a standard, but level AA of the latest WCAG is the benchmark to aim for.
Does the European Accessibility Act apply to UK businesses?
It applies if you sell covered products or services, including online sales, to consumers in the EU, unless you’re a microenterprise selling services. If you only sell in the UK, it doesn’t apply, but the Equality Act still does.
What accessibility standard should a UK website meet?
WCAG 2.2 at level AA. It’s the standard for UK public sector websites, and the latest version of the European standard behind the European Accessibility Act uses it too.
Do I need an accessibility statement?
Public sector bodies must publish one, and businesses covered by the European Accessibility Act must publish information on how their service meets its accessibility requirements. For other businesses it’s good practice: it shows you take accessibility seriously and tells disabled visitors how to get help.
How often should I check my website’s accessibility?
Check whenever you add a new page, form or feature, and run a full check at least once a year. Everyday content changes, such as an image added without alt text, are the usual way an accessible website slips.
Get your website checked
Ask for a free website review and tell us you’d like accessibility included. We’ll check your website for the common failures above and tell you what it would take to fix them. If it needs more than a few fixes, a website redesign can build accessibility in from the start. Call 01383 840808 or ask for your free website review.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Family Resources Survey: financial year 2024 to 2025 (26 March 2026)
- GOV.UK, Equality Act 2010: Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations, 2026 (in force 5 August 2026), paragraph 3.6
- GOV.UK, Accessibility requirements for public sector websites and apps
- Full Clarity, The European Accessibility Act: what UK product teams need to know (8 October 2026)
- Davis Wright Tremaine, New technical standard for European Accessibility Act compliance released (18 September 2026)
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2
- WebAIM, The WebAIM Million: the 2026 report
- US Federal Trade Commission, FTC approves final order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million (April 2025)
