Three accessibility checks (and improvements) you can make on your website in 2025
There are so many things we could look at to improve the accessibility of your website, but we have selected three accessibility tips that we think will have the biggest impact.
These accessibility tips have not been randomly selected. No Siree. They have been recognised as the most problematic accessibility issues encountered by users who submitted responses to two separate accessibility surveys.
1. Correctly nested and proper headings
The majority of respondents to the Web Accessibility Survey (66%) and the WebAIM Survey #10 (71.6%), indicated that they use the Navigate by headings option most frequently when accessing longer pages to find information, which is why we have placed this accessibility tip at the top of the list. That and the fact that headings are usually in the control of content creators, so they can be easily checked and corrected.
How to check heading levels are correctly nested
By following the guidance below, you can ensure that headings work for all users of your website:
- Every page should only have a single heading level 1 <h1>.
- Make sure your heading level 1 <h1> is unique for every page.
- Section content in a logical manner and only add other heading levels if it will help the user better understand the purpose of the segmented content.
- Avoid nesting heading levels too deep. At a maximum, the deepest heading level should be heading level 3 <h3>, but ideally try not go beyond heading level 2 <h2>.
- Ensure your headings are in a logical descending order from the top of the page. For example, you should not use a heading level 2 <h2> before a heading level 1 <h1> and a heading level 3 <h3> should not be placed before a heading level 2 <h2>.
The following code block attempts to illustrate how to nest headings correctly…
Questions to ask yourself when checking or adding headings
Are all your headings meaningful and do they make sense when read out of context? A screen reader user will be listening to each of the headings to navigate the page, so every heading should accurately reflect the proceeding content.
How many headings does your content contain? If there are too many then consider restructuring your content to reduce the number. Remember that every heading will be listed by a screen reader and no one will have the patience to listen and navigate between 50 headings.
How to check heading levels yourself using an accessibility browser extension
There are many accessibility extensions available. Our favourite is the free Silktide extension available for Google Chrome.
The following video demonstrates how to use the Silktide extension to check the heading levels of any web page. Be warned, I say the word heading a few times.
2 Check links and buttons have understandable labels
Links or buttons that do not make sense was third on the list of problematic items respondents highlighted on the WebAim Survey #10, and it is easy to understand why.
All too often, websites will contain multiple links or buttons that simply say, for example, ‘click here’ or ‘read more’. A news listing page is a prime candidate for this common accessibility mistake. Each article in the listing will have a button that may say ‘Read more’, which is all a screen reader will announce — multiple times.
Furthermore, the rotor (a navigational device used by screen reader users) will contain a list of links that all announce ‘click here’. Not very helpful.
The following video will show you how this affects a screen reader user.
How you can to fix the problem of repeated link text
If you are a content creator in charge of publishing content to your website, just remember to never add a link with non descriptive words like click here and select a combination of words that would make sense if read on its own.
There are some links that you may find you do not have access to like, for example, a news articles listing page, so you will need to ask your web developer to make a change to the markup so the links contain descriptive text or use the aria-label attribute.
Bonus tip. If you link to an external website then avoid simply making the URL alone the link text. Add something like, ‘Learn more about X on the X website’. If the link opens a new window then, better still, indicate that clicking this link will open a new tab/window, e.g. ‘Learn more about X on the X website (opens in a new window).’
3 Lack of alternative text for images
This is an oldie but goodie and it is a sad indictment that it is still a problem experienced by screen reader users in 2025 — especially when it is so easy to fix.
Ranked number eight on the WebAIM Survey #10 and cited regularly in the Web Accessibility Survey, it is clear this still needs to be improved.
When you upload an image to your CMS you need to spend 1 or 2 minutes extra adding alternative text that describes the image. It is that easy, but it seems the hardest task for most content creators to complete.
How can you check the quality of your current ALT text
Again, the Chrome Silktide extension is your friend. On any page, launch the extension and click the Alt text menu option. This will quickly list all images found on the page and their ALT text. Any missing ALT text will be highlighted.
Our advice is to make a habit of conducting a check before you publish any content, so why not make it your New Year’s resolution to add alt text to images.
Bonus Tip. If you are bad at keeping your New Year’s resolutions, then some Content Management Systems can force the ALT text field to be mandatory, which ensures you never publish content without ALT text being added to an image. Speak to your web developer to see if this can be enabled on your website.
Bonus Tip 2. If you have a massive website then you may find your developer can bulk import the alt text for your images.
A quick note about CAPTCHAs
If you are wondering what is the number one problem for a person using assistive technology then look no further than the infamous CAPTCHA.
A CAPTCHA is usually an image presenting text or a puzzle used to verify that you are a human user. They are a necessity as they stop comment/form spam; however, on both surveys they consistently present a barrier to users.
As this is not something a content author can control, we have added it as an endnote, but if your website contains one then check it can be completed using a screen reader.
A conclusion of sorts
There are so many different facets to digital accessibility that a single article, like this one, cannot make your website more accessible. In truth, it needs to be audited by a professional accessibility consultant (hint hint, like Kindera); however, if you follow these accessibility tips then it will mean that you are making the first steps in improving the accessibility of your website. And that is only a good thing.
Any accessibility improvement is a good improvement.
References
Simon Leadbetter,
The Accessibility Guy at Kindera
