An accessible website is one that people with disabilities can use, including people who are blind or have low vision, people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and people who navigate with a keyboard instead of a mouse. In Ontario, accessibility is also a legal requirement for many businesses under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, known as the AODA.
Here is what the law asks of business websites and the practical steps that make a site easier for everyone to use. This is a general overview, not legal advice.
Who has to comply
The website rules come from the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation under the AODA. According to the Government of Ontario's guide on how to make websites accessible:
- Businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees in Ontario must make their public websites accessible.
- The requirement has applied since January 1, 2021, to websites and web content published after January 1, 2012.
- The organization that controls the website, directly or through a contract with a web provider, is responsible for meeting the requirements.
The standard: WCAG 2.0 Level AA
The AODA points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), an international standard. Websites must meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA, with two exceptions: live captions and pre-recorded audio descriptions are not required.
WCAG is organized around four ideas. Content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust, which means it works with the assistive technology people rely on, such as screen readers.
Compliance reports are due this year
Separate from the website rules, businesses and non-profits in Ontario with 20 or more employees must file an accessibility compliance report with the province every three years. The next deadline is December 31, 2026. The report asks if you are meeting your AODA requirements, and websites are part of that for organizations with 50 or more employees.
What if you have fewer than 50 employees?
The website requirement may not apply to you, but accessible design is still worth it. Many of your customers live with a disability, are getting older or are simply using a phone in bright sunlight. The same changes that help them also make your site clearer, faster and easier for search engines to understand.
Practical fixes that make a real difference
Add meaningful alt text to images
Screen readers read alt text aloud. Describe what the image shows and why it matters, such as "Finished kitchen renovation with white cabinets and a quartz island". Purely decorative images can have empty alt text so they are skipped.
Use enough colour contrast
Light grey text on a white background is hard for many people to read. WCAG Level AA asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 for regular text. The free WebAIM contrast checker makes this easy to test.
Make everything work with a keyboard
Try using your site with only the Tab, Enter and arrow keys. You should be able to reach every link, menu and form field, and always see where you are on the page.
Structure pages with real headings
Use one main heading per page and organize sections beneath it in order. Screen reader users often jump from heading to heading to find what they need.
Label every form field
Each field needs a visible label that stays in place, not just placeholder text that disappears when someone starts typing. Error messages should say what went wrong and how to fix it.
Write descriptive links
"Click here" and "Read more" make no sense out of context. Link text such as "View our website services" tells everyone where the link goes.
Caption your videos
Pre-recorded videos with sound need captions. Captions also help the many people who watch videos with the sound off.
Do not rely on colour alone
If a form shows errors only in red, people with colour blindness may miss them. Add text or an icon as well.
A note on accessibility plugins
Some tools promise to make any website compliant by adding a single script. They can help in small ways, but they do not replace building the site accessibly in the first place. The most reliable approach is accessible design and content from the start, then regular testing.
Where to start
- Run a free automated check to find common issues
- Test your site with a keyboard and a screen reader
- Fix the issues on your most visited pages first
- Build accessibility into every new page, image and video you publish
Accessibility works best as part of a well-built site. Read our guides to website speed and what to check before launch, or talk to our website team about an accessibility review. You can also book a discovery call.
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