6 Expert Strategies for Crafting Accessible Websites
Creating websites that work for everyone requires more than good intentions—it demands strategy, discipline, and practical know-how. This article gathers insights from accessibility professionals who have spent years refining their approach to inclusive design. Their six proven strategies offer a clear roadmap for building sites that serve all users, regardless of ability or assistive technology.
Build Inclusion from Day One
Our strategy for designing websites that are both aesthetically pleasing and accessible is rooted in a 'design-for-all' philosophy from the very beginning of the project, not as an afterthought. We view accessibility not as a checklist item but as an integral part of user experience that benefits everyone.
This involves several key steps:
Early Accessibility Audits: We conduct preliminary accessibility checks during the wireframing and prototyping phases, rather than waiting for the final build.
Color Contrast & Typography: We meticulously select color palettes that meet WCAG 2.1 contrast ratios and choose readable fonts with sufficient sizing. This ensures legibility for users with visual impairments but also provides a clearer experience for all.
Keyboard Navigation: We prioritize ensuring all interactive elements are fully navigable and operable via keyboard, which benefits not only users who can't use a mouse but also power users.
Semantic HTML & ARIA Attributes: Our developers are trained to use semantic HTML properly and apply ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes where needed to convey meaning to assistive technologies.
For example, on our own Ronas IT website, we deliberately chose a clean, high-contrast design with clear headings and logical navigation. When implementing our project portfolio, we ensure that images have descriptive alt-text and that interactive carousels can be controlled via keyboard. This attention to detail means our site is not only visually appealing but also ensures that visitors using screen readers or other assistive technologies can fully understand and interact with our content, demonstrating our commitment to inclusive digital experiences.
Treat Constraints as Creative Fuel
Our design philosophy prioritizes COLOR CONTRAST and readable typography as the foundation, then builds aesthetics around those accessibility requirements. We use WebAIM's contrast checker during initial design mockups instead of retrofitting accessibility afterward. One healthcare client's site redesign achieved WCAG AA compliance while winning a design award because we treated accessibility as a creative constraint, not a limitation.The specific approach: we establish a color palette with 4.5:1 contrast ratios minimum, then explore creative layouts within those parameters. The healthcare site used bold typography hierarchy and generous white space to create visual interest without sacrificing readability. Their bounce rate decreased 34% because users with visual impairments could actually navigate the site, while conversion rates improved 28% across all users.The example proves accessible design benefits everyone, not just users with disabilities. Clear hierarchy, readable text, and intuitive navigation improved metrics universally. We now pitch accessibility as PERFORMANCE optimization because sites meeting WCAG standards consistently outperform visually complex designs that sacrifice usability for aesthetics.
Put Usability before Looks
One thing we've learned is that good-looking websites often fail because they rely too much on visual cues that only work for some users. If someone has trouble reading text, finding buttons, or understanding what to do next, the design doesn't matter.
Our approach is to design for usability first, then layer the visuals on top. For example, we worked with an accounting firm whose site used thin fonts and subtle color contrasts that looked modern but were hard to read, especially for older clients. Instead of redesigning everything, we increased font weight, improved color contrast, and made buttons more obvious while keeping the same layout and brand style.
After the changes, users stayed on service pages longer and support calls about "where to click" dropped. The site still looked clean, but it stopped making people work to use it. When accessibility is built into the structure, the design feels better, not more restrictive.
Lead with Clarity and Tests
Accessibility is good design. I want the website to look great, feel easy to use, and make the message clear right away, because clear beats "flashy" every time.
I start with a detailed questionnaire and a discovery call. This helps us understand who the site is for, what success looks like, and what people are trying to do. Clarity early on compounds throughout the project. Next, we create wireframes before we focus on colours or styling. This makes sure the layout is clear and the site is easy to move through. After that, we design the look of the site in Figma. We then code the site itself and keep improving it using conversion tracking and A/B testing.
To make the site both aesthetically pleasing and easy to read, we use clean fonts and a simple colour system that stays the same across the whole website. We check colour contrast and font readability early. We also avoid clutter and big blocks of text. Instead, we break content into short sections with clear headings and plain language. We often aim for a 6th-grade reading level, which varies based on your ideal customers. In our experience, this has improved conversion rates for many clients, because visitors feel confident and know what to do next. Attention spans are short; you need to get your message across to those who are skimming through. Save paragraphs for articles and purely informational pages. You need to choose whether the page is transactional or informational.
Finally, we test with real people of different ages, friends, family, and grandparents. We look for places where they get stuck or confused, then we fix those problems. We also run quality checks like Lighthouse and make sure the site works well with screen readers. The result is a modern website that is built around clear communication and a smooth experience for everyone.
An example we often deal with is a service business homepage that looked professional but wasn't performing. We simplified the hero section, clearly showing what the service is and who it's for. We also added a primary call-to-action (call/book/enquire) that's visible immediately, broke long paragraphs into scannable sections, and tightened the font and colour system for consistency and readability. The site still felt branded and professional, but the message became instantly understandable, which led to stronger enquiry rates.
Choose Hierarchy over Trendy Aesthetics
I've managed to stop trying to make design for accessibility look like some trendy agency portfolio, and its the clients who actually seem to appreciate the results more.
Last year I worked on a SaaS dashboard where the product team were adamant they wanted every thing in pastels and soft gradients just because thats what their competitors were using. I had to push back pretty hard & use a good solid high-contrast colour scheme with a clear visual hiearchy instead.
Interesting thing was that after launch, the number of support tickets complaining about not being able to figure out where to click dropped by a whopping 60%. Goes to show that when buttons are actually, you know, button-like and important bits of info really stand out, people dont get lost as much.
Now the trick I've started using to help with all this is to design in greyscale first. If the layout doesnt make sense without any colour at all then it's unlikely to work for people with colour blindness or even when someone's using it in bright sunlight outdoors. It really makes you think about relying on size, weight & spacing of elements rather than just slapping red or orange all over the important things.
Honestly I think most of those 'beautiful but inaccessible' designs are lazy. It's just so much easier to go with trendy low-contrast styles than actually putting in the work to build a proper visual hiearchy .
Let Function Drive Enterprise Sites
I design websites for enterprise SaaS companies, so aesthetics have to serve function first—not the other way around.
My strategy: Strip out anything that competes with the primary action. Most SaaS marketing sites fail because they're trying to look impressive instead of helping users decide quickly. Beautiful typography and generous whitespace matter more than fancy animations that slow load times and break screen readers.
For accessibility, I start with semantic HTML and high-contrast ratios (WCAG AA minimum), then test with keyboard navigation before adding any visual polish. If users can't tab through your site logically, your aesthetics are irrelevant.
The best-designed sites I've worked on—including work for Deutsche Telekom and IQVIA—succeed because they're boring in the right ways: clear hierarchy, obvious CTAs, fast load times, zero accessibility barriers. Aesthetic choices reinforce clarity, not compete with it.
Design that actually converts doesn't need to scream. It just needs to get out of the way.
