We’ve all landed on a website and immediately hit the back button because it felt like trying to read a book underwater. You know what I’m talking about, right? Maybe the text was too small, the buttons were impossible to find, or the whole thing just looked like a digital maze with no exit.

That’s not just bad design. That’s poor accessibility. And in our digital world a website looks and functions plays a huge role in whether people can actually use it. Not just the average Joe, but also people with disabilities, older users, or even someone trying to navigate your site while juggling groceries and a ringing phone.

So, how exactly does website design impact user accessibility? Let’s dig into it.

First Impressions Matter

You only get one shot at a first impression. In real life, it’s your outfit or your handshake. Online, it’s your homepage or other landing page.

Imagine walking into a store where the lights are too bright, the signs are upside down, and no one’s around to help you. That’s what a poorly designed website feels like to many users. Good design isn’t just about looking pretty. It’s about clarity, structure, fonts, colors and making sure everyone can find what they need without frustration. All these little things together can be called accessibility.

Here’s a quick example: if your call-to-action button is the same color as the background, guess what? Some users won’t even see it. And that’s not laziness but it’s accessibility failure.

Fonts is The Silent Communicators

Fonts are like the voice of your website. If they’re too fancy, too small, or too spaced out, your voice becomes hard to understand.

Try to think of it this way. If you’re giving a speech, would you read it in Morse code? Probably not. So why make your audience squint at a script font that looks more like a signature than a sentence? Stick to clear, legible fonts. Avoid all caps unless it’s for emphasis (and even then, sparingly). And make sure your line spacing and paragraph length are easy on the eyes. You don’t need Comic Sans to be readable but you do need consistency, clarity and care.

Navigation — The Digital Roadmap

Good website navigation should feel like a well-lit path through a forest. You know where you’re going, you can backtrack if needed, and you don’t feel lost.

That means:

• Clear menu labels (no “Solutions” or “Our Stuff” just be specific)
• Logical structure (don’t hide the contact page under “FAQs”)
• Breadcrumbs or a way to retrace steps
• Keyboard accessibility (because not everyone uses a mouse)

And let’s not forget screen readers. These tools rely heavily on proper HTML structure and alt text. If your navigation is built like a junk drawer, screen readers will struggle and so will the users relying on them.

Pick Colors and Contrast Wisely

Let’s talk about color. You might love that soft lavender button on your site, but if it blends into the background, you’re not doing your users any favors. Color contrast it’s an accessibility necessity. Think of it like sidewalk ramps for websites. Just like how a ramp helps people with wheelchairs navigate the street, proper contrast helps people with visual impairments read your content.

Did you know that about 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some form of color blindness? That’s not a small group. So when you pick your brand colors, make sure they work for everyone and not only for those with perfect vision.

And don’t just rely on color to communicate. Use text labels, icons, or other visual cues. Because if someone can’t see the red error message, they’ll just be confused and probably leave.

Mobile Responsiveness

I’m sure you’ve ever tried to use a website on your phone and ended up zooming in so far you forgot what you were looking for. You’re not alone. Mobile responsiveness isn’t just a nice-to-have but it’s a must. So if your site doesn’t adapt to different screen sizes, you’re not just hurting accessibility, in reality you’re losing traffic.

But mobile accessibility goes beyond resizing. It’s about touch targets that are big enough to tap without frustration, text that doesn’t shrink into oblivion, and forms that don’t make you zoom in just to type your name.

Because no one wants to pinch-zoom their way through a checkout process.

Forms — The Gateway to Connection (or Frustration)

Contact forms are like digital handshakes. They’re how users connect with you — to sign up, contact support, or buy a product. But if your form is a mess, that handshake turns into a wrestling match.

Let’s look at labels. They should be clear. Error messages should be helpful, not cryptic. And required fields should be obvious but not a guessing game. Also, don’t make users retype their phone number just because you want it formatted a certain way. Let them type naturally and handle the formatting on your end. Nobody wants to fill out a form twice.

Don’t Forget Alt Text

You’ve probably seen those little descriptions under images when the picture doesn’t load. That’s alt text. But it’s not just for broken images. It’s for screen readers, too. Alt text tells users what the image is about, whether they’re using assistive technology or just a slow internet connection. So instead of using the default name “img_12345.jpg,” describe what the image shows. “A smiling woman working on a laptop at a coffee shop” is way better than nothing or worse, a random filename.

And if the image is purely decorative? Just leave the alt text empty. Because sometimes silence is golden.

Real Tools, Real Help

You don’t have to build accessibility from scratch. There are tools out there that can help you test and improve your site’s accessibility.

WAVE by WebAIM – It checks for accessibility issues and gives you a breakdown of what needs fixing.

AXE DevTools – Great for developers who want to catch issues during the coding phase.

Color Contrast Analyzers – Make sure your text stands out against the background.

And don’t forget to test with real users. Sometimes the best feedback comes from people actually trying to use your site.

Wrapping It Up

When you design with accessibility in mind, you’re not just improving your site for a few, you’re also opening the door for everyone. And that’s something worth celebrating.

So next time you’re tweaking your homepage or launching a new feature, ask yourself: Can someone with limited vision, a slow connection, or a different ability easily use this?

Because good design isn’t just about how it looks. It’s about how it works for every single person who lands on your page. And that’s the real power of thoughtful website design.