An accessible website is one that everyone can use, including people with visual, motor or cognitive impairments. For a small business it is the right thing to do, it widens your audience, and in many cases it is a legal expectation. This guide covers practical accessibility basics you can apply without a specialist.
Why accessibility matters
Around one in six people has some form of disability, so an inaccessible site quietly turns away a real share of potential guests. Accessibility also overlaps with good design and SEO: clear structure, readable text and descriptive links help everyone, including search engines. In the EU, accessibility expectations for business websites are tightening, so building it in now is cheaper than retrofitting later. It pairs naturally with mobile-first design.
Quick wins anyone can do
- Ensure sufficient colour contrast between text and background, so text stays readable for low vision users.
- Use real text, not text baked into images, so screen readers and search engines can read it.
- Make every link descriptive. “View our rooms” beats “click here”.
- Ensure the site works with a keyboard alone, since not everyone uses a mouse.
- Add visible focus styles so keyboard users can see where they are.
Accessible content
Write alt text for meaningful images so screen reader users know what they show. For a hotel, that means describing the room or view, not just “image”. Use proper heading structure, one H1 then H2 and H3 in order, which both screen readers and search engines rely on. Caption or transcribe video where you can. Good image practices and accessibility go hand in hand here.
A common mistake
Many hotel sites put key information, like the address or an offer, inside an image with no alt text. A blind guest, and a search engine, simply never see it. Moving that into real text fixes both problems at once.
How to test
You do not need expensive tools to start. Try navigating your site with only the keyboard, using the Tab key. Run a free automated checker to catch contrast and missing alt text. Zoom the page to 200 percent and confirm it still works. These quick checks catch the majority of common issues. For anything deeper, our web design service builds accessibility in from the start.