Accessibility in Web Design: The Practical Standards I Build In From Day One
This article is adapted from the Prateeksha Web Design blog . Accessible web design gets treated as an afterthought on a lot of projects I audit, usually because it's assumed to mean a slow, expensive compliance exercise. In practice, most of what makes a site accessible also makes it faster, clearer, and easier to use for every visitor — not just people using screen readers or keyboard navigation. That's why I build these standards in from the first wireframe rather than trying to retrofit them after launch. Colour Contrast Is Non-Negotiable Low-contrast text over busy background images looks stylish in a mockup and becomes unreadable the moment someone views it on a phone in daylight, let alone for a visitor with low vision. I check contrast ratios against the WCAG 2.1 AA standard as part of the design review, not after a client complains they can't read their own site. This one habit alone fixes a surprising number of usability complaints that have nothing to do wit...