In 2025, if your web applications aren’t accessible, you’re not just behind—you’re actively excluding people. And let’s be honest, no one sets out to build something that locks people out.
But accessibility can feel like this abstract, overwhelming thing—one that’s easy to push down the to-do list until it becomes someone else’s problem.
I’ll show you how to approach accessibility like a pro—covering practical steps and tools you can start using today to ensure your websites and apps are usable by all users.
1. Start with a Shift in Mindset
Accessibility isn’t an afterthought or something you "tack on" after your design is complete. It’s a mindset. Start every project by considering all possible users—those who navigate with a keyboard, those who use screen readers, those with vision impairments, and even people with temporary disabilities like a broken arm or poor internet connection.
Incorporate Accessibility from Day One: Don’t wait until the QA stage to start thinking about accessibility. When you bake it into your process from the beginning, it becomes second nature—and, trust me, it saves a lot of headaches down the line.
2. Follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is your blueprint for building accessible websites. As of 2025, WCAG 2.2 is the go-to standard, and WCAG 3.0 is making its way into the developer landscape. The key principle? Making sure your site is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what that looks like in practice:
Perceivable: All users should be able to perceive your content, regardless of their ability. This means ensuring images have descriptive alt text, videos have captions, and content is clearly visible for those with low vision or color blindness.
Operable: Can users navigate your site with just a keyboard? Is your interface usable for people with motor impairments? Make sure elements like links, buttons, and forms are keyboard-accessible, and provide clear focus states.
Understandable: Your content and UI should be intuitive. Avoid using overly complex language, and ensure form fields have clear labels and instructions. Users should know what’s happening and what’s expected of them without guessing.
Robust: Your app should work well with assistive technologies (AT), like screen readers. This means ensuring that your HTML is semantic and structured properly.
3. Design with Color Contrast and Visual Clarity in Mind
Color contrast isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about readability. The WCAG recommends a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Tools like Color Contrast Analyzer or browser extensions like Tota11y make it easy to check if your design meets these requirements.
Avoid Color-Only Indicators: Ever come across a form that highlights errors in red without any other indication? If someone’s colorblind, they won’t know what’s wrong. Always pair color with another form of identification, like icons or text.
Dark Mode Consideration: With dark mode being a must-have feature in 2025, don’t forget to check accessibility for both light and dark themes. Poor contrast in dark mode can affect readability just as much as in regular mode.
And we’re just getting started. In Part 2, I'll dive deeper into advanced accessibility techniques, tools for testing, and how to integrate accessibility into your team’s workflow seamlessly.
Hope this helps!
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