--- title: Website Accessibility Basics for a Small Business url: https://hdiss.net/guides/website-accessibility-basics/ business: High Desert Internet Services (HDISS) phone: 775-575-9593, 775-391-5660 email: info@hdiss.net mailing_address: Home base: 200 S Virginia St, Suite 760, Reno NV 89501 (dispatch office, not a walk-in store). Mail: Billing Dept., PO Box 11353, Reno NV 89510 hours: Office open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, seven days a week. Network watched around the clock. type: Fixed wireless internet service provider (homes and small businesses), web hosting, customer email, domain registration service_area: Northern Nevada - Washoe, Lyon, Storey, Churchill and Douglas counties and Carson City; availability is checked address by address (line of sight to a tower) plans: Bronze $50/mo up to 500 Mbps down, up to 200 Mbps up; Silver $75/mo up to 800 down, up to 200 up; Gold $99/mo up to 1 Gig down, up to 200 up; ask about the up to 1 Gig / 1 Gig ultra-low-latency service no_online_purchase: true (check your address or call; existing customers pay at https://www2.fernley.net/hdiss/onlinepay/paymentform.cfm) since: 2002 --- - [Home](https://hdiss.net/) - [Guides](https://hdiss.net/guides/) - Website accessibility basics for a small business # Website Accessibility Basics for a Small Business An accessible website works for people who use screen readers, captions, keyboards or voice control, and for everyone else too. The Justice Department's ADA guidance lists the common barriers: poor color contrast, missing image descriptions, no captions, inaccessible forms and mouse-only navigation. Sagebrush prairie in the high desert. Stock photo: Adobe Stock. [Photo credits](https://hdiss.net/photo-credits/) On this page - [What does the Justice Department say?](#what-does-the-justice-department-say) - [What is WCAG?](#what-is-wcag) - [Six checks for an afternoon](#six-checks-for-an-afternoon) - [Other quick wins](#other-quick-wins) - [Where this fits](#where-this-fits) Accessibility sounds like a technical subject and mostly is a set of habits. The Justice Department says the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to businesses open to the public, and the World Wide Web Consortium publishes the technical standard, WCAG 2.2. This guide explains what both say, lists six checks, and is not legal advice. ## Takeaways - DOJ guidance (March 18, 2022) says the ADA applies to state and local governments (Title II) and businesses open to the public (Title III). - WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 12 December 2024 and requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text at level AA. - In April 2024, the DOJ published a rule on web content for state and local governments; the guidance page says it does not reflect that rule. - A simple self-test: use your site with only a keyboard. ## What does the Justice Department say? The DOJ's page “Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA,” dated March 18, 2022, says the ADA applies to state and local governments (Title II) and to businesses open to the public (Title III), and that inaccessible web content can exclude people just as steps at an entrance can. It notes that its guidance does not reflect requirements for state and local governments published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2024. It lists examples of barriers: poor color contrast; using color alone to give information; no text alternatives (alt text) on images; no captions on videos; inaccessible online forms that lack labels, clear instructions or error indicators; and mouse-only navigation, lacking keyboard use. The page describes people who are blind using screen readers, people who are deaf or hard of hearing using captions, and people who cannot use a mouse using voice recognition. ## What is WCAG? The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are the technical yardstick most people use. WCAG 2.2 is a W3C Recommendation dated 12 December 2024. It extends WCAG 2.1, and the W3C states that content that conforms to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to WCAG 2.0 and 2.1. Its success criteria are written as testable statements. One example at level AA: the visual presentation of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, with some exceptions. WCAG is a standard, not a law for private businesses, and the DOJ's 2022 page does not name it as the rule for them. Many organizations use it because it is specific. Ask an attorney about your own obligations. ## Six checks for an afternoon Try these on your own site: - Keyboard: unplug the mouse and use Tab, Shift+Tab and Enter. Can you reach every link and button, and see where you are? - Contrast: check text against its background with a contrast checker; aim for at least 4.5:1 for ordinary text. - Images: every meaningful image has alt text that says what it is for; decorative ones have empty alt text. - Forms: every field has a visible label, and error messages say what to fix, not just that something is wrong. - Video and audio: captions on video, a transcript for audio. - Color: do not use color alone, such as red text, to show which fields are required. ## Other quick wins Use real headings in order, so a screen reader user can jump around. Write link text that makes sense alone, such as “view our plans” and not “click here.” Make phone numbers and the check-address form easy to find and use. Let the page zoom without breaking. Avoid text inside images. Test on a phone, since many visitors are on one. If you use a third-party widget, test the page without it too, as widgets do not replace sound page structure. Accessibility also helps older visitors, who are a large share of the customers of rural businesses; see [the seniors page](https://hdiss.net/internet-for/seniors/). ## Where this fits Accessibility belongs with domain, hosting and security on your list; see [website hosting basics](https://hdiss.net/guides/website-hosting-basics-nevada-business/) and [SSL certificates in plain words](https://hdiss.net/guides/ssl-certificates-in-plain-words/). When you hire a designer, ask for WCAG 2.2 level AA in writing and for a keyboard-only test before launch. Choosing a provider starts with an address, so send yours through the check form. The path from the nearest tower is checked by a person, who then calls you. Or call 775-575-9593; someone answers from 9 to 5 every day. ### Sources - [ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/](https://www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/) (U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, March 18, 2022, read 10/15/26) - [w3.org/TR/WCAG22/](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/) (W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2, Recommendation 12 December 2024, read 10/15/26) ### Talk to a person - Call [775-575-9593](tel:7755759593) [775-391-5660](tel:7753915660) Open 9-5 every day - Email [info@hdiss.net](mailto:info@hdiss.net) [Check my address](https://hdiss.net/check-availability/#check) Local since 2002 Fixed wireless from towers in Northern Nevada. Three plans, no contracts, local support, 4.8 on Google from 36 reviews. [About High Desert](https://hdiss.net/about/) ### Keep reading - [Website hosting basics for a small Nevada business](https://hdiss.net/guides/website-hosting-basics-nevada-business/) - [SSL certificates in plain words](https://hdiss.net/guides/ssl-certificates-in-plain-words/) - [Choosing a domain name for a local business](https://hdiss.net/guides/choosing-a-domain-name/) - [Internet for seniors](https://hdiss.net/internet-for/seniors/) - [Internet for home businesses](https://hdiss.net/internet-for/home-businesses/) ## More on email and hosting how-to - [POP3 vs IMAP in plain words](https://hdiss.net/guides/pop3-vs-imap/): POP3 downloads your mail to one device and normally removes it from the server; IMAP leaves the mail on the server so every device sees the same inbox. High Desert Internet's customer email uses a POP3 server, pop.h - [Keeping email when you change devices](https://hdiss.net/guides/keeping-email-when-you-change-devices/): Before you retire the old phone or computer, turn on the setting that leaves a copy of mail on the server, copy or export what is stored on the old device and check what shows in webmail. High Desert's mail uses POP - [What a domain name is and who owns it](https://hdiss.net/guides/what-is-a-domain-name/): A domain name is the address people type to reach your website and the ending of your email addresses, registered through a company called a registrar. The person or business named as the registrant holds it, and keeps i ## Questions people ask ### Does a small business need to worry about this? The DOJ page says Title III covers businesses open to the public. What that means for a specific site is a legal question, so ask an attorney. ### Is an accessibility widget enough? A widget can help some visitors, but the page itself still needs sound structure, contrast, labels and keyboard use.