Website Accessibility Made Simple: Quick Fixes That Also Help SEO

Accessibility gets talked about like it's some complicated technical requirement that only matters if you're a big corporation with a legal team. But here's the truth: accessibility isn't just about doing the right thing. It's about doing the smart thing for your business.

Because accessible websites are easier for everyone to use. And easier-to-use websites perform better in search rankings. Better search rankings mean more visibility. More visibility means more people finding you.

This isn't a conflict. It's alignment. What helps people with disabilities also helps your SEO. What helps your SEO also improves user experience for everyone. When you make your website more accessible, you're actually making it better for your entire audience.

Let me show you how.

Why Accessibility and SEO Are Connected

Google wants the same thing you do: for people to have a good experience on your website. When Google's crawlers move through your site, they're looking for signals that your site is well-organized, easy to navigate, and easy to understand.

Those same signals that Google cares about are the exact signals that make your site accessible to people with disabilities.

Think about it. If your images don't have descriptions, Google can't read them. Neither can someone using a screen reader. If your headings are random and don't follow a logical hierarchy, it's confusing for Google to understand your content. It's also confusing for someone trying to navigate your page using keyboard navigation. If your text is too small or your contrast is too low, Google can see it. But someone with low vision might struggle to read it.

The overlap isn't coincidental. Accessibility and search optimization are built on the same foundation: clear structure, readable content, and intentional design.

The Quick Fixes That Matter Most

You don't need to overhaul your entire website to make it more accessible. Some of the biggest improvements come from small, specific changes.

Image descriptions are first. Every image on your site should have alt text. Not just any alt text, but descriptive alt text that explains what the image shows and why it matters. "Logo" isn't helpful. "Square Theory 42 logo with geometric design" is better. "Geometric design showing how layout affects visual hierarchy" is even better. You're describing the image in a way that helps someone who can't see it understand what they're missing. It also helps Google understand what your image is about, which helps your rankings.

Headings need to follow a logical structure. You should have one H1 per page, and your headings should flow in order. H1, then H2s, then H3s. Not H1, then H3, then H2. This structure helps screen readers and keyboard users navigate your content. It also helps Google understand your content hierarchy, which signals that your site is well-organized.

Color contrast matters. Your text should be readable against its background. This helps people with low vision see your content. It also makes your site easier to read for everyone, especially on mobile devices in bright light. Dark text on light backgrounds, or light text on dark backgrounds, with enough visual separation. If you're unsure, there are free contrast checkers online that will tell you if your combination is accessible.

Text should be readable. This means font size matters. Body text shouldn't be smaller than 16 pixels. Line length shouldn't be too wide—around 50-75 characters per line is ideal. Line spacing should give text room to breathe. These aren't arbitrary rules. They're based on how humans actually read. Make text easy to read, and you make it easy for screen readers to parse it too.

Links should make sense out of context. "Click here" doesn't tell anyone where they're going. "Read our template guide" does. When someone is using a screen reader, they often jump from link to link without seeing the surrounding text. Your link text needs to make sense on its own. This also helps Google understand what you're linking to, which helps your internal linking strategy.

The Design Psychology Behind Accessibility

Here's something most people don't realize: accessible design is actually better design.

When you create with accessibility in mind, you're forced to think about clarity. Clear labels. Clear hierarchy. Clear navigation. Clear color usage. All of these things make your site easier to understand for everyone, not just people with disabilities.

This is design psychology at work. When your site has clear structure, your audience's brain can process information more easily. When your navigation is intuitive, people don't get lost. When your text is readable, people actually engage with your content instead of bouncing because it's too hard to read.

Accessibility isn't a constraint. It's actually a design discipline that makes everything better.

Ready to make your site work better for more people? Explore our web design templates built with accessibility and user experience in mind.

The best approach is to pick one thing and fix it properly.

If your site has lots of images, start with image descriptions. Go through your most important pages and add detailed alt text to every image. This is quick, it makes a real difference, and Google notices.

If your headings are all over the place, fix your heading structure. Make sure you have one H1 per page. Make sure your H2s and H3s follow logically. This takes an hour or two per page, but it fundamentally improves how both humans and search engines understand your content.

If your text is hard to read, bump up your font size and improve your contrast. Check readability tools. Get honest feedback from people you trust about whether the text is actually easy to read.

Start with one of these fixes. Implement it across your site. Notice how it changes not just your accessibility, but your user experience and your search visibility. Then move to the next fix.

Accessibility isn't an all-or-nothing proposition. Small, consistent improvements add up to a site that works better for everyone.

The Real Benefit

At the deepest level, accessibility is about respect. It's about respecting that people use the web in different ways. Some use mice, some use keyboards. Some can see perfectly, some can't. Some have fast internet, some don't. Some are multitasking while they browse, some are giving you their full attention.

When you build for accessibility, you're building for the reality of how people actually use your site.

And here's the business part: when your site works better for more people, more people use it. More people stay longer. More people convert. More people come back.

Google rewards this. Your audience rewards this. Your business rewards this.

Accessibility isn't a nice-to-have. It's a smart business decision that also happens to be the right thing to do. Start with one fix this week. Then make another fix next week. Your site will be better, your SEO will improve, and you'll be reaching more people with your work.