Why Small Businesses should prioritise Website Accessibility.

In recent years, environmental and social responsibility have become a huge part of small businesses and their products. While huge steps have been taken to ensure packaging is sustainable and premises are accessible, the digital world is often overlooked.

Why digital accessibility matters.

When we talk of responsibility within our businesses, we often think of environmental sustainability, but in truth, we should also be considering our social responsibility to ensure that our digital spaces—especially our websites— are accessible to all.

For those with visual, auditory, cognitive or motor impairments, neglecting accessibility on our websites creates barriers which excludes them from joining your customer base. Were these same barriers to exist in the physical world, they just wouldn’t be acceptable.

The accessibility gap for small and micro businesses.

Large corporations often have the resources to ensure that their websites are accessible to all and have the right people available to them with he right expertise to ensure their websites are open to all. However, small and micro businesses simply may not be aware of the barriers they are creating when building their websites alone. Common, easily fixable issues include.

A lack of alternative text in images for screen readers
Poor colour contrast, which can make reading difficult for the visually impaired
Missing or incorrect heading structure, which can make navigation confusing
Videos missing captions for those who are deaf or hard of hearing
Websites that are hard to navigate with a keyboard or other assertive device

What steps can a small business take?

Luckily, improving website accessibility doesn’t actually have to be expensive or difficult. Here are some steps you can take today

Use Google Lighthouse to carry out an accessibility audit on your site
Add alternative text to images. Improve contracts and readability.
Use a high contrast colour scheme for text and use legible fonts.
Try using your site with a keyboard to see how easy it is to navigate

How do i know if my site has accessibility problems?

Probably the quickest and easiest way to audit your site is to use Google Lighthouse. Here's How...

1. Open your website in Google Chrome.

2. Right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect to open Developer Tools.

3. Navigate to the Lighthouse tab.

4. If it's not already, select the Accessibility checkbox

5. Click Analyze page load

6. Review the report to identify areas needing improvement, such as contrast issues, missing alt text, or keyboard navigation problems.

The Business Case for Accessibility

Apart from just being the right thing to do, web accessibility also makes good business sense. An accessible website:

Expands your customer base by including people with disabilities.
Improves SEO, as search engines favour well-structured, readable sites.
Enhances brand reputation, demonstrating commitment to inclusivity.

Conclusion

Small businesses have shown that they can be leaders in sustainability, but their efforts should extend beyond environmental concerns to include digital inclusivity. By prioritising web accessibility, they can create a more equitable online experience while unlocking new opportunities for growth.

Sustainability isn’t just about being green—it’s about ensuring that everyone has equal access to goods, services, and information. Now is the time for small businesses to close the accessibility gap and build a truly inclusive digital presence.

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