A customer should be able to read your services and contact you even if they use a keyboard, magnify the screen, or rely on a screen reader. Accessibility belongs in the same routine as checking hours and testing your enquiry form.
These first checks can reveal barriers worth fixing. They do not establish that a site meets every accessibility requirement. W3C’s Easy Checks makes the same distinction between an initial review and a comprehensive evaluation.
Follow the Main Task With a Keyboard
On a computer, put the mouse aside. Use Tab to move between links and controls, and Shift+Tab to move back. Use Enter for links and the appropriate key for each control, such as Space for a checkbox.
Can you reach the menu, use it, close it, and continue to the contact form? Can you always see which control has focus? Note any place where movement gets stuck or a focused button is hidden behind a banner.
Repeat the task on a service page, not only the homepage. A keyboard-accessible homepage does little good if the booking tool cannot be used.
Enlarge the Text and Check Readability
Enlarge text to 200% using your browser’s zoom or text-size controls. Check whether content remains readable, nothing is clipped, and controls stay available. Compare light and dark themes if your site offers both. Pay particular attention to muted text, text over photographs, and error messages.
A contrast checker measures text against its actual background. For WCAG AA, W3C’s contrast guidance sets a minimum of 4.5:1 for ordinary text and 3:1 for qualifying large text, with defined exceptions. A colour that looks attractive is not necessarily readable.
Check Images and Menus
Information should not exist only inside an image. A restaurant menu needs readable text; a project photo needs an appropriate text alternative when it conveys information. Pure decoration should not create unnecessary spoken descriptions.
Ask your developer to review image alternatives in context. A generic phrase such as “image” tells a screen-reader user little; the useful description depends on why the image is there. Avoid stuffing town names or services into descriptions for search engines.
Try the Contact Form, Including Errors
Every field needs an understandable label. Instructions should explain required information before submission, and errors should identify the problem and how to fix it without relying only on red colouring.
Submit a clearly labelled test enquiry to your own business and verify both delivery and the confirmation message. Ask your developer to check whether screen readers announce errors and success, and whether a failed submission preserves information already entered. Do the same for any third-party booking tool customers depend on.
What Does This Mean for ADA Compliance?
The U.S. Department of Justice’s web accessibility guidance explains its position that the ADA applies to the web content of businesses open to the public. It identifies barriers such as inaccessible forms, missing text alternatives, and poor contrast.
WCAG provides technical criteria for evaluating accessibility. A quick checklist, automated score, or accessibility widget is not evidence that every criterion has been met, and none can guarantee protection from a legal claim. For advice about your business’s specific legal obligations, consult a qualified attorney. This guide is practical website guidance, not legal advice.
Ask for Evidence and a Repair Plan
Ask whoever maintains the site which pages and tasks they tested, which WCAG version and level they assessed, and which barriers remain. Automated checks should be complemented by manual testing and appropriate assistive-technology testing.
Prioritize problems that prevent reading, navigation, or contacting the business. After repairs, repeat the affected tasks. Recheck when you add a menu, change a form, switch booking providers, or publish new content.
RaizHost’s protection-led approach includes building toward WCAG 2.1 AA and ongoing care. Our accessibility statement describes the approach for this website and how to report a problem. If a customer cannot complete a task on your site, send us the page and what went wrong so we can scope the next step.