Top 5 mistakes that make websites inaccessible to people with disabilities

The Invisible Barriers – Why Accessibility Is Non-Negotiable for Your Website’s Success

In today’s fast-paced digital world, your website is often the first touchpoint for potential customers, clients, and partners. But what happens if a large segment of your audience simply can’t access it?

Understanding what website accessibility is — and implementing it properly — is no longer optional; it’s a business-critical necessity. This blog explores the Top 5 mistakes that make websites inaccessible to people with disabilities and how you can avoid them using the right web accessibility software and best practices.

Beyond the ethical and legal obligation to provide inclusive access, overlooking accessibility creates invisible barriers that limit your site's performance, user satisfaction, and SEO effectiveness. Search engines like Google prioritize user-friendly and inclusive sites, and accessible websites inherently offer a better experience for all users — regardless of ability.

Why Accessibility Matters: Visibility, Usability & SEO

Many organizations underestimate the value of accessibility or treat it as an afterthought. However, an inaccessible website doesn’t just alienate users with disabilities — it negatively impacts site engagement, increases bounce rates, and lowers your visibility on search engines.

This is where accessibility testing software becomes essential. These tools help uncover barriers that manual reviews might miss, making sure your site not only complies with standards like WCAG but also performs better in search rankings.

This blog will walk you through five of the most common accessibility mistakes — and show you how to fix them — so your site is not only inclusive and legally compliant but also optimized for growth.

The Hidden Costs of Inaccessibility: 5 Common Mistakes

1. The Invisible Image: Missing or Incomplete Alt Text

Imagine using a screen reader to navigate a website — and running into silent, unlabeled images. Without proper alt text, users with visual impairments are left in the dark. It's not just a usability issue — it's an SEO problem. Search engines rely on alt text to index visual content, meaning untagged images are virtually invisible in image search results.

Common Mistake: Using generic filenames like image1.jpg or leaving alt attributes empty.

Solution: Always include concise, descriptive alt text that explains the image in context. For example, instead of: alt="" Use: alt="Golden retriever playing fetch in a sunny park"

Pro Tip: Use web accessibility software like Corpowid to automatically generate optimized, SEO-friendly alt text at scale. Corpowid uses AI to understand image content and generate rich, meaningful descriptions without manual input — boosting both accessibility and search performance.

2. The Blurry Read: Poor Color Contrast

Low contrast between text and background makes content unreadable for users with visual impairments — and even for users on mobile in bright environments. This directly violates WCAG guidelines.

Common Mistake: Light gray text on white backgrounds, or visually jarring color combinations.

Solution: Use contrast checkers (many available via accessibility testing software) to ensure compliance with minimum contrast ratios (typically 4.5:1 for body text). Prioritize readability over design trends that may sacrifice usability.

Accessible color contrast improves readability for all users, not just those with impairments. A small design tweak can significantly boost your website’s clarity and engagement.

3. The Mouse Trap: No Keyboard Navigation Support

Many users rely on keyboards or assistive tech like screen readers, voice controls, or switch devices to navigate the web. If your site can only be used with a mouse, it’s essentially a locked door for those users.

Common Mistake: Interactive elements like buttons, forms, and navigation links that cannot be accessed or operated using a keyboard.

Solution: Ensure that all interactive elements are keyboard-accessible using semantic HTML like button, a, and input. Test your site using only the Tab key — all focusable elements should be reachable, operable, and visibly highlighted.

Keyboard accessibility is not optional — it’s a foundational requirement for creating an inclusive user experience.

4. The Structureless Page: Bad Heading Hierarchy & Missing Semantic Tags

Clear, consistent heading structure helps screen readers and users alike understand your page content and its hierarchy. Headings aren’t just for visual styling — they’re crucial for navigation and comprehension.

Common Mistake: Using large text for appearance without semantic heading tags, or skipping heading levels (e.g., jumping from H1 to H4).

Solution: Use headings semantically to structure your content. Maintain a logical hierarchy — H1 for the main title, H2 for sections, H3 for sub-sections. Also, leverage semantic HTML5 tags such as

to provide clear meaning and navigation cues for assistive technologies.

5. The Form Maze: Inaccessible Forms

Online forms are vital for user engagement and conversions — but can be a major accessibility blocker if not built properly.

Common Mistake: Missing or unclear field labels, complex or non-accessible CAPTCHAs, and error messages that are not programmatically linked to the related fields.

Solution: Clearly label every input field, offer helpful guidance (e.g., placeholder text and instructions), and ensure error messages are tied to specific fields. Use accessible CAPTCHA alternatives that offer audio options or logic puzzles instead of visuals alone.

Using an accessibility testing software can help identify gaps in your form design that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Corpowid: More Than Just Accessibility Software — It's Your SEO Ally

If you’ve ever wondered what website accessibility really means or how it impacts your digital reach, Corpowid makes the answer clear. It’s not just an overlay or visual add-on — it's a complete web accessibility software that empowers you to identify, fix, and optimize real issues affecting both users and search engines.

From automated alt text generation to real-time updates and keyboard navigation validation, Corpowid enables a robust accessibility strategy that aligns with WCAG standards and drives meaningful business results. With support for multiple languages and advanced reporting features, it serves as both an accessibility tool and an SEO enhancement engine.

Real Results, Real Business Impact

Companies using Corpowid have seen measurable improvements in:

  • Organic traffic and Google search rankings

  • Google PageSpeed scores

  • Engagement metrics and time-on-site

  • Legal compliance and brand reputation

Accessibility isn't just about inclusion — it's about creating better experiences and unlocking more value from your digital presence.

Don’t Let Accessibility Mistakes Hold You Back

Digital accessibility isn’t just a legal requirement or social responsibility — it’s a smart business strategy. Addressing the common mistakes outlined above can dramatically improve your website’s reach, user satisfaction, and search visibility.

The right tools make all the difference. With Corpowid, you don’t need to be an expert to build an accessible site — our accessibility testing software and AI-powered automation do the heavy lifting for you.

Ready to Unlock Your Website’s Full Potential?

Discover how Corpowid’s all-in-one web accessibility software can help you fix critical issues, improve SEO, and ensure a better digital experience for everyone.

Visit www.corpowid.com to start your free trial and experience true, intelligent accessibility in action.

Make your website accessible. Make it thrive.



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