Web Accessibility Checklist: 6 Rules Your Site May Be Breaking [Checklist]
Discover our Web Accessibility Checklist covering 6 rules sites often break, from color contrast to keyboard navigation and alt text. Fix issues today.
5 min readCpluz
A web accessibility checklist is not a bureaucratic formality. It is the difference between a website that welcomes every visitor and one that quietly turns people away. Roughly one in six people worldwide lives with some form of disability, and many of them encounter digital barriers every single day - barriers that are often invisible to the businesses that created them. If your site has never been audited against a proper web accessibility checklist, there is a strong chance it is breaking rules you don't even know exist.
This matters for more than compliance. Accessible websites tend to load faster, rank better in search, and convert more visitors, because the same principles that help a screen reader user also help someone on a slow connection or an older device. Let's walk through the six rules businesses break most often, and how you can fix them.
A Strategic Cpluz Perspective
Most agencies treat accessibility as a legal checkbox, bolted on after launch. At Cpluz, we use what we call the A-B-C Model: Assistive compatibility, Behavioral flexibility, and Contrast clarity. Assistive compatibility asks whether your site works cleanly with screen readers and keyboard navigation. Behavioral flexibility asks whether users can complete key actions in more than one way - by mouse, touch, or voice. Contrast clarity asks whether your visual design holds up under low vision, bright sunlight, or a cheap monitor.
The counter-intuitive part of our approach is this: we don't start with the accessibility guidelines document. We start by asking which three tasks matter most on the site - booking a demo, checking pricing, submitting a form - and we test those specific journeys first. In our work with fintech clients at Cpluz, we've found that a site can pass a generic automated scanner and still fail its most important conversion path for a keyboard-only user. Fixing the twenty percent of the site that carries eighty percent of the business value delivers results faster than chasing a perfect audit score.
Is Your Color Contrast Actually Readable?
Low contrast text is one of the most common accessibility failures, and it is also one of the easiest to fix. Light gray text on a white background might look elegant on a designer's calibrated monitor, but it becomes nearly unreadable for users with low vision or anyone viewing the site outdoors. A mistake we often see businesses in the tech sector make is prioritizing a minimalist aesthetic over legibility, without testing how the palette performs for users with color vision deficiencies.
The fix is straightforward: run your text and background color combinations through a contrast checking tool and aim for a ratio that comfortably exceeds accepted minimums, especially for body copy and buttons.
Can Someone Navigate Your Site Without a Mouse?
Many users rely entirely on a keyboard, switch device, or voice command to move through a page. If your navigation menu, form fields, and buttons cannot be reached and activated using the Tab and Enter keys alone, a meaningful portion of your audience is locked out. When we redesigned the navigation approach for one of our retail clients, we discovered that the dropdown menu looked flawless visually but was completely unreachable by keyboard - a silent barrier that had likely been costing conversions for months. That single fix quietly improved form completions within weeks, which tells you how much friction invisible barriers actually create.
Test this yourself: unplug your mouse and try to complete a purchase or fill out your contact form using only the keyboard.
Do Your Images Have Meaningful Alt Text?
Alt text describes an image to users who cannot see it, whether they use a screen reader or have images disabled on a slow connection. Decorative images need minimal or empty alt attributes, while functional images - like a submit button styled as an icon - need alt text that describes the action, not the appearance.
Common alt text mistakes include:
- Leaving the attribute blank on meaningful images
- Stuffing keywords into alt text purely for SEO rather than describing the image
- Writing "image of" or "picture of" instead of describing the actual content
- Ignoring alt text entirely on infographics that carry essential information
Are Your Forms Genuinely Usable?
Forms are where most conversions happen, and where accessibility failures cause the most lost revenue. Every input field needs a properly associated label, error messages need to be announced clearly, and required fields need to be marked in a way assistive technology can detect - not just with a color cue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the fastest way to start improving accessibility on an existing site?
A: Begin with an automated scan to catch obvious issues like missing alt text and contrast failures, then manually test your three most important user journeys using only a keyboard.
Q: Does improving accessibility actually help SEO?
A: Yes, because search engines rely on many of the same signals assistive technology does, including clean heading structure, descriptive alt text, and logical navigation order.
Q: Is accessibility only relevant for users with permanent disabilities?
A: No, temporary and situational limitations matter too, such as a broken arm, bright sunlight, or a noisy environment where audio content becomes hard to follow.
Q: How often should a website be re-audited for accessibility?
A: Any time you launch a major redesign or new feature, alongside a periodic review at least twice a year to catch issues introduced through routine content updates.
About the Author
Rajendaran is the Lead Digital Strategist at Cpluz, where he blends creative design with data-driven marketing strategies to help Indian businesses build powerful and profitable online presences. He has guided Indian businesses through practical, user-first accessibility audits that strengthen usability, search visibility, and conversion rates simultaneously.
Ready to Elevate Your Brand?
At Cpluz, we've been building meaningful connections between brands and consumers through innovative design and technology since 1993. Whether you need a compelling logo, a high-performance website, or a robust digital marketing strategy, our team is here to help you achieve your business goals.
Let's discuss how we can bring your vision to life. Contact the Cpluz team today for a consultation.
Email: info@cpluz.com
Visit our website: cpluz.com