Accessibility (Web Accessibility)

Why It Matters

Accessibility is legally required (ADA, WCAG compliance) and improves SEO. Many accessibility best practices overlap with SEO: alt text, semantic HTML, clear heading structure. Accessible sites provide better user experience for everyone, reduce bounce rates, and avoid expensive lawsuits.

How It Works

Accessibility ensures content works with assistive technologies like screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, and voice control. Implementation includes semantic HTML, ARIA labels, sufficient color contrast, alt text, keyboard navigation, and logical content structure. Many accessibility improvements directly benefit SEO.

Use Cases

• An e-commerce site adds alt text to all product images, improving both accessibility and image SEO
• A news site implements proper heading hierarchy, helping screen readers and search engines understand structure
• A SaaS company ensures keyboard navigation works perfectly, improving usability and technical SEO scores

Best Practices

• Use semantic HTML (header, nav, main, article, footer) for proper document structure
• Add descriptive alt text to all images for screen readers and image SEO
• Ensure sufficient color contrast (4.5:1 ratio for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
• Make all functionality keyboard-accessible for users who can't use mice
• Use ARIA labels appropriately to provide context for screen readers
• Test with automated tools (WAVE, axe) and manual screen reader testing