Text alternatives for informative images
Alt text describing what the image conveys, and empty alt for decorative ones so screen readers skip them. The most commonly cited failure and among the easiest to fix.
Delhi NCR
Website accessibility in Delhi without the overlay widget.
Accessibility overlays are sold as one-line compliance. They do not work, disabled users consistently report they make things worse, and they have attracted litigation abroad.
Overview
What actually makes a site accessible
Accessibility means people using screen readers, keyboards or magnification can use your site. The standard is WCAG 2.2 AA, and it is achieved through the underlying markup: text alternatives, contrast, keyboard navigation, labelled form fields and correct heading structure. Overlay widgets that claim instant compliance do not deliver it.
Sufficient contrast
4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text and interactive elements. Light grey on white is the most frequent failure we find, and it is usually a design preference rather than a decision.
Keyboard navigation
Everything reachable and operable without a mouse, with a visible focus indicator. Developers routinely remove focus outlines because they dislike how they look, which breaks the site for keyboard users.
Labelled form fields
Every input with a properly associated label, not just placeholder text, which disappears when typing and is not announced reliably.
Correct heading structure
One H1, no skipped levels, headings used for structure rather than for making text large. Screen reader users navigate by heading, so a broken outline makes a page genuinely hard to use.
Why overlays fail
Widgets promising instant compliance sit on top of inaccessible markup. Disabled users report they frequently interfere with the assistive technology they already use, and they have been named in litigation abroad rather than preventing it.
What to avoid
Highest impact fixes first
| Fix | Effort | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Alt text on informative images | Low | High |
| Contrast on body text | Low | High |
| Visible focus indicators | Low | High |
| Labelled form fields | Low | High |
| Heading structure | Medium | High |
| Keyboard operable menus | Medium | High |
| An overlay widget | Low | Negative |
The first four are usually a day's work on a typical business site and address the majority of what an audit will find.
Detail
Before you sign anything
| Ask them | What good sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Can you show a Core Web Vitals score? | Real numbers on a live URL | Our sites are all fast |
| What does month two cost? | A number, before you sign | We can discuss that later |
| Built for this sector before? | Named clients you can look up | We work across all industries |
| How will we know it worked? | A metric agreed before work starts | Activity reports |
Write the answers down. Six months in, nobody remembers what was said on the call.
FAQ
Common questions
What accessibility standard should we meet?
WCAG 2.2 AA is the widely referenced target and what most legislation points to. It covers text alternatives, contrast, keyboard operability, labelling and structure.
Do accessibility overlays work?
No. They sit on top of inaccessible markup rather than fixing it, disabled users consistently report they interfere with the assistive technology they already use, and abroad they have featured in litigation rather than preventing it.
What are the most common failures?
Missing alt text on informative images, insufficient colour contrast, removed focus indicators, and form fields labelled only by placeholder text. All four are usually fixable in a day on a typical business site.
Is accessibility a legal requirement in India?
Requirements vary by sector and by the markets you serve, and organisations serving international users frequently face stricter obligations. Beyond compliance it is a straightforward usability improvement that also helps search engines parse your site.
Does accessibility help SEO?
Indirectly and genuinely. Alt text, heading structure and semantic markup help search engines understand the page for the same reasons they help screen readers. They are largely the same underlying work.
How do we test accessibility?
Automated tools catch perhaps a third of issues and are a useful start. The rest needs manual testing: navigate your site using only a keyboard, and check contrast on real text. Those two exercises find most of what matters.
Next step
Alt text on informative images?
Send us what you have now and we will tell you what the gap is. There is no obligation and no follow-up sequence.