Make sure everyone understands and experiences your website

Make sure everyone understands and experiences your website

Every day, as website designers, we work on how a brand looks and feels online. But at least as important is that a website can be used by everyone. Even for people who see less well, cannot distinguish colors or have trouble reading on moving images. Accessibility in web design is therefore no bonus — it is a prerequisite for good communication. In addition, from 28 June, it will be mandatory in the EU to make your website digitally accessible.

In this blog, we'll give you concrete, non-technical tips on how to make your website more accessible — and how you can easily test that yourself.

1. Colors: contrast is more important than color itself

We all love beautiful colors. But not everyone sees colors in the same way. Red and green may look the same to someone with color blindness. It is therefore crucial that texts are good contrast have with the background.

👉 Tip: Use a tool like WebAim Contrast Checker to see if your text and background have sufficient contrast.
👉 Ensure a minimum contrast ratio of 4. 5:1 for plain text.

💡 Never use color as the only way to provide information. So don't just put a text in red to indicate that something is wrong — add an icon or label as well.

2. Text on coloured areas: less is more

A common mistake: white text on a light background photo, or black text on a dark color with little contrast. The result? Difficult to read or even unreadable.

👉 Tips:

• Provide a clear background or place a transparent color area between image and text.
• Also, test your design on mobile — text is often smaller and disappears more quickly.

💡 Always ask yourself: could I read this in the sun on my phone?

3. Motion graphics: nice, but watch out for distractions

A video in the header or a moving background can impress — but it can also distract from your message. It can even be uncomfortable for people with attention problems or epilepsy.

👉 Tip:

• Leave videos automatically without sound start.
• Don't put important text on a moving background.
• Always give users the option to pause or stop animations.

💡 Use moving images as a supplement, not as decoration.

4. Text on image: combine with an accessible alternative

Text placed over an image often looks stylish, but is usually unreadable for screen readers. This means that people who use a screen reader miss the message.

👉 Tip:

• Always use a alt text for images with information.
• Put important messages also in plain text on the page.

💡 Everything that is important to understand must also be clear without an image.

Get started yourself: check your site

There are simple tools to test for yourself how accessible your website is. You don't need any technical knowledge.

Self-testing tools:

• WAVE Web Accessibility Tool — shows visually what is (un) accessible.
• ‍Accessibility Insight widget
• Lighthouse on Chrome — is built into Chrome DevTools.

For example, test your homepage, contact page, or blog article. Small adjustments can make a big difference.

Lastly

Accessible web design doesn't have to get in the way of your creativity — it actually makes your design better. It will strengthen your brand, you will reach more people, and your website will be easier for everyone to use. In addition, search engines also like it because there is more structure in your site.

Need help with accessibility to your site? Ambasco is happy to think along with you.