Websites · 7 min read
One in five UK customers may be unable to use your website properly.
What the Equality Act actually requires, and the fixes that don't need a full rebuild.
The short answer
Website accessibility UK small business obligations come mainly from the Equality Act 2010, which requires reasonable adjustments for disabled customers, including online. There's no small business exemption, though what's 'reasonable' scales with your size. The practical standard to aim for is WCAG 2.2 AA — covering readable text, keyboard navigation, alt text and sufficient colour contrast.
By Raja Wahab, Co-founder, Fixby Studios · Published · Updated · 7 min read
Does website accessibility law apply to small businesses in the UK
Yes. The Equality Act 2010 requires businesses to make reasonable adjustments so disabled people aren't put at a substantial disadvantage, and this duty extends to websites, not just physical shops or offices. There's no specific size threshold that exempts small businesses, although what counts as a 'reasonable' adjustment can take your size and resources into account.
WCAG 2.2 AA followed
- — Recognised practical benchmark
- — Covers contrast, alt text, keyboard nav
- — Strong evidence of reasonable steps
No standard followed
- — No clear benchmark to check against
- — Common issues go unnoticed
- — Weaker defence if a complaint arises
What standard should a small business website meet
WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.2 at level AA is the widely recognised practical benchmark, used by public sector accessibility regulations and referenced in most UK accessibility guidance. Private small businesses aren't legally required to meet WCAG specifically, but it's the clearest evidence of having taken reasonable steps if a complaint ever arises.
Common accessibility problems on small business sites
- Images with no alt text, so screen readers can't describe them.
- Low colour contrast between text and background, hard to read for many users.
- Forms and menus that can't be used with a keyboard alone.
- Tiny text or buttons with no way to zoom or resize.
- Video content with no captions or transcript.
“The Equality Act 2010 covers websites, not just physical premises, with no blanket small business exemption.”
Practical fixes that don't need a rebuild
- Add meaningful alt text to every image that conveys information.
- Check text and background colour contrast meets WCAG AA ratios.
- Test that every page can be navigated using only a keyboard (Tab and Enter).
- Use proper heading structure (H1, H2, H3) rather than just bold text.
- Add captions or a transcript to video content.
- Make sure buttons and links have clear, descriptive labels, not just 'click here'.
Why website accessibility UK small business owners should care beyond the law
Around one in five people in the UK has some form of disability, so an inaccessible website is turning away genuine customers, not just a compliance risk. Many accessibility fixes — clear headings, good contrast, fast-loading pages — also improve search engine results, since both disabled users and search crawlers benefit from clean, well-structured content.
Testing your own site quickly
You don't need specialist tools to spot the biggest issues. Try navigating your own site using only the Tab key, zoom the text to 200% and check nothing breaks, and run a free automated checker such as WAVE or Lighthouse to flag missing alt text and contrast problems. These quick checks catch the majority of common issues.
Who to involve if you need more certainty
For businesses handling sensitive services, payments or large volumes of public traffic, a more thorough accessibility audit against WCAG 2.2 AA from a specialist, or building accessibility checks into your web designer's process from the outset, gives far more confidence than a one-off automated scan.
Sources
Your questions
- Is my small business website legally required to be accessible?
- The Equality Act 2010 requires reasonable adjustments for disabled customers, which applies to websites. There's no small business exemption, though 'reasonable' can reflect your size and resources.
- What's the accessibility standard my website should meet?
- WCAG 2.2 AA is the widely used practical benchmark referenced across UK accessibility guidance, even though private businesses aren't legally required to certify against it specifically.
- Can I get sued for an inaccessible website?
- A disabled customer could bring a claim under the Equality Act if they're put at a substantial disadvantage and no reasonable adjustment was made. Taking practical accessibility steps reduces this risk.
- Does accessibility help SEO too?
- Yes, often. Clear heading structure, descriptive alt text and fast pages benefit both accessibility and how search engines read and rank your site.
Raja Wahab is co-founder of Fixby Studios, a Huddersfield studio building websites, SEO, social media and business software for small, owner-managed businesses across West Yorkshire.
Next step
Let's get your business seen.
A free plan for your website: pages, booking and what to fix first.
Fixby Studios builds websites, runs SEO and manages social media for small businesses across Huddersfield and West Yorkshire. Web design in Huddersfield
Prefer to talk it through? Contact Fixby Studios, email info@fixbystudios.co.uk or call 07737 067552.
