Design Accessibility Checklist [2026]

Design accessibility means making products, services, and spaces easy for everyone to use, no matter their abilities or disabilities. Good accessible design follows key ideas like being fair for all, easy to adjust, simple to understand, clear to see and hear, forgiving of mistakes, not physically demanding, and comfortable to use.

This article explores effective strategies and best practices for creating an inclusive design experience.

What is Design Accessibility?

Design accessibility refers to creating products, services, and environments that everyone can use, regardless of their abilities. It ensures that people with disabilities can access and interact with these designs effectively. This approach promotes inclusivity and equality by making sure all users can understand and benefit from the design.

Design Accessibility Principles

Before diving into the actual Design Accessibility Checklist itself, it is important to understand the Four Key Principles of Accessibility

• Perceivable: Make sure all content can be easily accessed by everyone, including providing text descriptions for images, captions for videos, and ensuring the site works with assistive tools like screen readers.
• Operable: Ensure that all features can be used with a keyboard, allow enough time for users to interact with the content, avoid anything that could cause seizures, and make navigation simple.
• Understandable: Use clear and easy-to-read text, make sure the content behaves in a way users expect, and provide help for users to correct mistakes.
• Robust: Make sure the website works well with both current and future tools, ensuring it remains accessible over time.

Importance of Accessibility in Web Design

Here’s why Accessibility in Web Design is important:

• Inclusive User Experience – Accessibility ensures that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access and use a website, promoting equality and inclusion for all users.
• Legal Compliance – Many countries have laws and regulations, such as the ADA and WCAG, that require websites to be accessible to people with disabilities. Complying with these guidelines helps avoid legal issues.
• Wider Audience Reach – By making a website accessible, businesses can reach a broader audience, including people with disabilities, older adults, and individuals using different devices or assistive technologies.
• Improved SEO – Accessible design often improves website structure and content, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index. This can enhance the site’s visibility and rankings.
• Enhanced User Satisfaction – Websites that are accessible and easy to navigate improve the overall user experience, leading to higher satisfaction, engagement, and retention rates.

Design Accessibility Checklist

The following design accessibility checklist highlights key considerations to ensure your product or interface is usable by individuals with disabilities.

Designing for Visual Impairments

When designing for visual impairments, it’s essential to focus on creating interfaces that are easily navigable and comprehensible for users with varying degrees of vision loss.

Color Contrast and Visibility

• Test text and background contrast using tools like WebAIM Contrast Checker to ensure readability.
• Avoid red-green or blue-yellow color combinations for better accessibility for colorblind users.
• Make sure hover and selected states are clearly visible with distinct visual cues (like, borders, color changes).

Conveying Meaning Without Colors

• Always include text labels with color-coded elements (like, “Error: Invalid Email” instead of just red text).
• Use patterns, borders, or icons to differentiate elements, not just color.
• Ensure all interactive elements (buttons, links) are easy to identify and distinguish.

Typography and Readability

• Use readable fonts with a minimum font size of 16px.
• Avoid using decorative fonts for body text.
• Set line height to at least 1.5x to enhance readability.
• Keep line length between 50-75 characters per line for easy reading.
• Use left-aligned text instead of justified text for better readability.

Including Alt Text

• Provide meaningful alt text for all images that describe their content and purpose.
• Use empty alt=”” for purely decorative images to prevent screen readers from reading them.
• Offer detailed descriptions for complex images (such as, charts or graphs).

Keyboard Accessibility

• Ensure all interactive elements (links, buttons, forms) can be navigated using the keyboard.
• Avoid trapping users in modal dialogs without an escape option (such as, an “X” to close).
• Ensure all interactive elements have a visible focus state (such as, outline or highlight).
• Support tab navigation in a logical and predictable order for seamless keyboard navigation.

Descriptive Link Text

• Avoid vague link text like “Click here” or “Read more.”
• Use descriptive text that clearly indicates the link’s destination (like, “View our accessibility guide”).

Proper Use of Headings

• Use headings (h1 to h6) in a proper, hierarchical order for structure.
• Avoid skipping heading levels (like, going from h1 to h3).
• Ensure headings clearly describe the content of the section they introduce.

Semantic HTML

• Use the correct HTML elements for their intended purpose, like <button> for buttons and <nav> for navigation.
• Avoid excessive use of <div> and <span> tags for structuring content when semantic elements are more appropriate.
• Ensure forms use <label> elements properly to associate labels with form controls.

Designing for Audio Impairments

When designing for audio impairments, it’s important to provide visual cues and alternative text to ensure that users can fully engage with content without relying on sound.

ARIA Labels & Roles

• Add ARIA attributes like aria-labels and aria-describedby to improve screen reader accessibility.
• Ensure ARIA landmarks are applied correctly for easier page navigation by screen readers.

Media and Video Accessibility with Subtitles

• Provide closed captions for all video content and ensure they are synchronized accurately.
• Manually review auto-generated captions to ensure they are accurate.
• Offer sign language interpretations where necessary for important content.
• Allow users to control video playback speed to accommodate different needs.

Text-Based Alternatives for Audio Content

• Provide captions for all video content, ensuring they are accurate and readable.
• Offer transcripts for podcasts, webinars, and other audio media to ensure accessibility.
• Make sure live captioning is available for video calls or live streaming events.

Visual & Haptic Feedback

• Use visual indicators in addition to sound-based notifications for important actions or alerts.
• Provide vibration or haptic feedback on mobile devices to help users interact with content.

Sign Language & Multimodal Support

• Offer sign language interpretation for important content or services, where applicable.
• Allow users to customize subtitles in terms of font size, color, and background opacity for better readability.
• Ensure videos don’t autoplay with sound to avoid disruptions for users with audio impairments.

Designing for Motor Impairments

When designing for motor impairments, it’s important to ensure that interfaces are easy to navigate with assistive technologies, offering options like larger buttons, keyboard shortcuts, and customizable controls for better accessibility.

Error Prevention and Recovery

• Provide clear error messages with simple instructions on how to fix the issue.
• Allow users to review and confirm critical actions before submission to avoid mistakes.

Avoid Complex Gestures

• Provide alternatives to multi-touch gestures like pinch-to-zoom (like, zoom buttons or shortcuts).
• Ensure swipe actions have keyboard or mouse-based alternatives for accessibility.

Provide Drag-and-Drop Alternatives

• Offer buttons or keyboard shortcuts for tasks that usually require dragging and dropping.
• Ensure that interactive elements can be selected and moved using the keyboard.

Accessible Interaction Methods

• Ensure all actions can be performed without a mouse, using alternatives like keyboard shortcuts or voice control.
• Offer alternative input methods, such as voice commands, joystick support, or adaptive devices.

Minimizing Complex Actions

• Avoid requiring drag-and-drop for critical functions; provide buttons or keyboard shortcuts instead.
• Allow users to click instead of hover to trigger dropdown menus or tooltips.
• Ensure clickable areas (buttons, links) are large enough (at least 44×44 pixels) to prevent misclicks.

Time & Precision Considerations

• Avoid time limits on tasks or allow users to extend session times if needed.
• Implement sticky navigation to reduce excessive scrolling and enhance usability.
• Reduce the need for precise cursor movements by using larger, easier-to-click interface elements.

Error Recovery & Prevention

• Provide undo options for accidental actions, especially for irreversible actions like form submissions or deletions.
• Offer confirmation before submitting important actions (such as, “Are you sure you want to delete this?”).
• Ensure interactive elements have enough space to prevent misclicks and errors.

Designing for Cognitive Impairments

When designing for cognitive impairments, it’s crucial to simplify navigation, use clear language, and provide consistent layouts to help users easily understand and interact with the content.

Forms and Input Fields

• Label all form elements clearly and concisely, using simple and straightforward language.
• Provide inline error messages immediately when an error occurs, instead of waiting until the form is submitted.
• Ensure that autofill and autocomplete options are supported to reduce the cognitive load on users.

Navigation and Link Accessibility

• Keep menus simple and well-structured with clearly labeled links.
• Provide clear feedback for user interactions, such as highlighting selected or hovered items.

Mobile and Responsive Accessibility

• Ensure touch targets are large enough (at least 48×48 pixels) for users with motor impairments.
• Support both portrait and landscape orientations to ensure ease of use on mobile devices.
• Test layouts on multiple screen sizes to ensure content remains accessible on all devices.

Content Presentation & Readability

• Use short sentences and paragraphs to improve readability and comprehension.
• Avoid overly complex terms and provide explanations or tooltips for technical words.
• Use bullet points and whitespace to break up large chunks of text and make it easier to scan.

Task Simplification & Guidance

• Break down complex tasks into simpler, step-by-step processes (e.g., checkout flow, form submission).
• Provide progress indicators (e.g., “Step 1 of 3”) to help users track their progress.
• Minimize the number of required fields in forms to reduce cognitive strain.
• Offer undo/redo options so users can recover from mistakes without frustration.

Memory & Focus Support

• Avoid requiring users to memorize information by using pre-filled form fields or reminders.
• Allow users to pause, stop, or hide moving elements (e.g., carousels or animations) to prevent distractions.
• Implement auto-save functionality so users don’t lose their progress.

Error Handling & Confirmation

• Use plain language to explain errors and provide easy-to-understand solutions.
• Highlight errors clearly and in context (e.g., red borders on incorrect form fields).
• Provide confirmation messages for irreversible actions (e.g., “Are you sure you want to delete this?”).
• Offer multiple recovery options (e.g., back buttons, undo functions) to help users correct mistakes.

Customizable User Preferences

• Allow users to adjust interface elements such as text size, contrast, and layout to suit their needs.
• Offer reading modes like dark mode or simplified text mode for users with visual or cognitive impairments.
• Provide a distraction-free mode that removes unnecessary elements for users with attention difficulties.

Talk to an Expert

Testing Design Accessibility of Website

Testing the design accessibility of a website ensures it is usable for everyone, including individuals with disabilities. This involves evaluating compliance with standards like WCAG, checking for issues such as missing alt text, poor color contrast, and keyboard navigation barriers. Both automated tools and manual testing play a role—automated scans quickly identify common problems, while manual tests uncover complex usability challenges.

BrowserStack Accessibility Testing is an excellent tool for this purpose. It offers features like a Website Scanner for quick scans, Assisted Tests to detect advanced issues without requiring expertise, and Screen Reader compatibility checks. Additionally, its Workflow Analyzer enables efficient testing across multiple pages or states in a single scan. With BrowserStack, developers can ensure their websites meet accessibility standards and provide inclusive experiences for all users.

Why use BrowserStack Accessibility for Design Accessibility?

BrowserStack Accessibility is a platform that helps identify accessibility issues on your website quickly and efficiently. It’s a one-stop tool to test, report, and track web accessibility. Here’s why it’s a great choice for Design Accessibility testing:

1. Detailed Analysis – It offers more than just basic WCAG checks, identifying a wide range of accessibility issues, including screen reader compatibility and smooth keyboard navigation.
2. Choose Your WCAG Version – You can pick the WCAG version that fits your project, whether it’s WCAG 2.0 or 2.1, allowing you to meet the specific requirements for your website.
3. Find Compliance Issues – It helps detect if your site violates any WCAG standards, letting you fix issues before they become bigger problems.
4. Test with Real Screen Readers – You can test how your site works with popular screen readers like VoiceOver on Mac, NVDA on Windows, and TalkBack on Android, ensuring better accessibility for users.
5. Automate Testing – It makes automation easy, saving time and resources by running accessibility checks on different browsers and devices without manual effort.
6. Continuous Monitoring – You can set up scans to test your website regularly, schedule future scans, and get detailed reports to stay on top of accessibility issues and remain compliant.

Try BrowserStack Now

Conclusion

Incorporating accessibility into your design is crucial for creating inclusive and user-friendly digital experiences. By following a comprehensive checklist, designers can ensure their websites and applications meet the needs of all users, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments. However, manually testing every aspect can be time-consuming and challenging.

This is where the BrowserStack Accessibility testing tool becomes invaluable. It streamlines the process by offering automated tests, real-device screen reader checks, and detailed reports, all tailored to WCAG standards. Using BrowserStack in conjunction with an accessibility checklist allows you to efficiently catch and fix accessibility issues, ensuring your design is not only compliant but also offers a seamless experience for all users.