Question 1

Can my small business really be sued over website accessibility?

Accepted Answer

It happens, and it's rising. Demand letters and lawsuits over inaccessible websites increasingly target small and mid-sized businesses, not just large ones. This checklist reduces the common risks, but it isn't legal advice — for genuine assurance of compliance, have a professional audit your site.

Question 2

Do I need to be technical to improve accessibility?

Accepted Answer

You can check most of this yourself — contrast, text size, alt text, keyboard navigation — and understand why each matters. The actual fixes range from settings you can change to items best handed to your web person, and the checklist flags which is which.

Question 3

Will accessibility help my SEO?

Accepted Answer

Yes, meaningfully. Descriptive alt text, clear headings, real text instead of images, proper labels, and a well-structured page all help search engines understand and rank your site — the same choices that help disabled users. Accessible sites are better sites, full stop.

Question 4

Is an accessibility overlay or plugin enough?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. The one-line 'accessibility widget' overlays are widely criticized and have themselves been targeted in lawsuits; they don't fix the underlying problems. Real accessibility comes from the site being built and maintained well — which is what this checklist works toward.

The Website Accessibility Checklist

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