Digital inclusion is no longer optional. It is a baseline expectation for users, regulators, and funding bodies. In Australia alone, 1 in 6 people live with a disability that can impact how they access and interact with websites. Yet despite growing awareness and initiatives like Global Accessibility Awareness Day, many organisations still treat accessibility as an afterthought. They fall into common traps: assuming accessibility is too complex or expensive, deferring it until after launch, or applying a one-size-fits-all approach. The result? Missed audiences, fragmented compliance, reduced engagement, and even legal or reputational risk.
Designing for accessibility isn’t just about compliance or checking off WCAG boxes. It is about thoughtful, user-first design that solves broader challenges. It makes digital services more usable across devices, demographics, and cognitive conditions. It also improves content discoverability, site performance, and stakeholder trust.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through:
- What “designing for accessibility” really means
- The most common accessibility mistakes to avoid
- Best practices and examples for building inclusive user experiences
- Tools and techniques trusted by accessibility specialists
What “Designing for Accessibility” Really Means
Designing for accessibility means making digital products usable for the broadest range of people, including those with vision, hearing, mobility, and cognitive differences. It is not a bolt-on layer of compliance. It is a mindset embedded early in the design and development process.
In practice, accessible design removes friction for all users. A form that works without a mouse benefits users with motor impairments and supports someone using a keyboard on the go. Captions help users who are deaf and improve comprehension for non-native speakers and quiet environments. These outcomes are not side effects. They result from design choices prioritising usability, clarity, and consistency.
Accessibility in design also supports organisational resilience. It helps meet the standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which are increasingly cited in Australian procurement processes, funding frameworks, and legal cases. But beyond compliance, it positions organisations as forward-thinking and ethically grounded.
True accessible design supports people with permanent disabilities. It improves access for those with situational or temporary constraints, like using a phone in direct sunlight or recovering from a hand injury. Designing with these use cases in mind creates experiences that are flexible, robust, and future-ready.
Learn more about Australian accessibility standards here.
Common Accessible Design Mistakes to Avoid
Many accessibility failures are not the result of bad intent. They stem from gaps in process, ownership, and training. These issues compound over time and often surface late in a project, when changes are costly and disruptive.
Here are the most common mistakes seen across mid-sized organisations:
1. Starting Too Late
Accessibility is often considered after design is complete. Retrofitting colour contrast, keyboard navigation, or alt text increases effort and limits effectiveness. As accessibility is deferred, the cost of rework grows. Early planning avoids this.
2. Relying on Visual Cues Alone
Designs that communicate only through colour or shape create barriers. Users with colour blindness or low vision may not distinguish key elements. Red text for an error state is ineffective without supporting text or iconography.
3. Inconsistent Heading Structure
Poor use of heading levels makes it harder for screen readers to parse content. It also affects SEO and on-page scanning. Heading hierarchy should reflect content structure, not visual styling.
4. Neglecting Keyboard Navigation
Interfaces that rely solely on mouse interaction exclude users with motor impairments. Common failures include missing focus states, inaccessible dropdowns, or form fields that cannot be reached with the tab key.
5. Treating Accessibility as One Person’s Job
Assigning accessibility to a single team member — often without authority — isolates the responsibility. Accessible design is a cross-functional commitment across content, design, development, and QA.
6. Confusing Inclusive Design with Accessibility
Inclusive design considers a wide range of user needs, preferences, and backgrounds. Accessibility focuses on removing barriers that prevent participation. Both matter, but they are not interchangeable. Blurring the two leads to incomplete outcomes.
Benefits of Accessible and Inclusive Design
Designing for accessibility and inclusivity has several advantages for people with disabilities, a larger user base, and the general success of products, services, and environment. Among the primary benefits are:
Reach a Wider Audience
Creating a website that is accessible and inclusive helps you reach a range of people. This includes those users with disabilities like visual impairments, hearing impairments, motor-related disabilities, and cognitive disabilities. Considering their needs, you can attract more customers and expand your reach.
Improve Usability and User Experience
Accessible design helps all users, not just those with disabilities. It involves optimising navigation, simplifying interactive content, and offering alternative media formats. These improvements enhance the user experience for everyone, making it easier and more enjoyable.
Enhance Brand Reputation
Showing a commitment to accessibility and inclusivity can improve your brand reputation. Users like it when businesses focus on their needs and remove barriers that prevent them from accessing information or services. Being inclusive sends a positive message that you value all individuals and are dedicated to providing an inclusive experience.
Increase SEO and Website Performance
Accessible design practices can improve search engine optimisation (SEO). Search engines prioritise websites that follow best practices and provide a seamless user experience. Accessible design also improves website performance, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversion rates.
Best Practices and Examples for Inclusive UX Design
Accessible design improves digital experiences for everyone, not just people with disabilities. It creates interfaces that are easier to navigate, understand, and trust. Considering these principles and best practices for developing accessible websites, as well as website development considerations, will help ensure your website is inclusive and user-friendly for all visitors.
Use Descriptive Alt Text
Every non-decorative image should have meaningful alternative text. Alt text enables screen reader users to understand content and improves SEO. Avoid using file names or vague descriptions. Focus on the purpose of the image in context.
Example: Instead of “team.jpg”, use “Butterfly digital team working on accessibility strategy”.
Use Clear and Simple Language
Plain English improves comprehension. It supports users with cognitive disabilities and helps people who speak English as a second language. Break content into short paragraphs. Use bullet points where appropriate.
Structure Content With Semantic Headings
Clear headings improve navigation for screen reader users and visual scanning for all visitors. Use proper HTML tags (H1, H2, H3) to reflect content structure, not just styling.
Example: Don’t use a bold paragraph tag for a heading. Use an H2 or H3 to preserve hierarchy.
Maintain Strong Colour Contrast
Text should stand out clearly against its background. Low-contrast combinations reduce readability for users with low vision or colour blindness. Aim for a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text. Tools like WebAIM’s Contrast Checker can help verify compliance.
Ensure Forms Are Accessible
All form fields should have clear labels. Placeholders are not enough. Error messages should be descriptive and specific. Keyboard users must be able to reach and submit every form field without a mouse.
Example: Instead of “Invalid input”, use “Please enter a valid email address”.
Enable Full Keyboard Navigation
Users should be able to tab through menus, buttons, and form inputs logically. All focusable elements need visible focus states, such as an outline or highlight. Avoid traps where the user cannot escape a modal or dropdown with the keyboard.
Provide Captions and Transcripts for Media
Videos should include closed captions. Audio content should have transcripts. These features support users who are deaf or hard of hearing and benefit others in noisy or quiet environments.
Tools to Help You Design With Accessibility in Mind
Designing for accessibility needs the right tools to evaluate, test, and refine digital experiences. These tools support teams in identifying issues early and building user interfaces that meet WCAG standards.
WCAG Quick Reference
The W3C provides a searchable reference guide to WCAG 2.1. It outlines success criteria and techniques by compliance level (A, AA, AAA). Bookmark this for design and dev reviews.
WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
WAVE is a browser-based tool that identifies accessibility issues on live websites. It flags missing alt text, low colour contrast, and incorrect heading structures. It also visualises these issues directly on the page to support faster resolution.
Use case: Run WAVE during early QA stages to catch common content and markup issues.
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications)
ARIA attributes provide context to assistive technologies. They describe dynamic content, widgets, and controls not native to HTML. When used correctly, ARIA improves screen reader support. When misused, it creates confusion. Follow WCAG guidance when applying ARIA roles and properties.
Lighthouse Audits
Google Lighthouse includes an accessibility audit alongside performance and SEO. It scores each page and provides actionable suggestions for improvement. While not exhaustive, it helps track progress across releases.
Screen Readers for Testing
Real-world testing with screen readers helps verify accessibility. Popular tools include:
- JAWS (Job Access With Speech) — Windows
- NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) — Free, open source for Windows
- VoiceOver — Built into macOS and iOS
Use screen readers to test form flows, navigation, and content reading order.
AXE DevTools
AXE integrates into Chrome or Firefox and works alongside browser developer tools. It detects more advanced accessibility problems, including ARIA violations and keyboard traps. AXE also helps document issues related to development backlogs.
Butterfly Approach to Accessible Website Design
Building an accessible website is not a one-time checklist. It requires collaboration between designers, developers, content teams, and compliance specialists. Even well-meaning efforts can fall short of Australian web accessibility standards or real-world usability without the right expertise.
For-purpose organisations often face added complexity. They must align accessibility with funding requirements, brand reputation, internal policies, and community expectations. Working with a trusted partner saves time and reduces risk in these environments.
Butterfly brings 18+ years of digital delivery experience, including award-winning government, healthcare, and education work. Our team is based entirely in Australia. We understand the specific compliance needs of mid-sized organisations and have a strong track record of building secure, WCAG-aligned websites.
We apply ISO 27001-certified processes, detailed accessibility audits, and inclusive design systems. More importantly, we support your internal stakeholders — from marketing leads to IT managers — with clear communication and evidence-based solutions.
Whether you are planning a website redesign or building a new website, make sure you prioritise accessibility from the beginning for reach, reliability, and real impact.
