Accessibility for SaaS – Must Have or Nice to Have

The Case for Accessibility

15% of population has disability.

Legal requirement in EU, US.

Better UX for everyone.

Market expansion opportunity.

WCAG Levels

A: minimum. Rarely enough.

AA: standard target. Legal minimum.

AAA: highest. Not always achievable/necessary.

Aim for AA compliance.

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Keyboard Navigation

Every action reachable by keyboard.

Tab order logical.

Focus indicators visible.

Skip links to main content.

No keyboard traps.

Screen Reader Support

Semantic HTML: use right elements.

ARIA labels for icons.

ARIA live regions for dynamic content.

Descriptive link text (not “click here”).

Alt text on all images.

Color and Contrast

Text contrast: 4.5:1 minimum (AA).

Large text: 3:1 minimum.

Don’t rely on color alone.

Test with color blindness simulators.

Forms

Every input has label.

Error messages associated with fields.

Instructions clear.

Required fields marked.

Success/error feedback accessible.

Motion and Animation

Prefers-reduced-motion respected.

Auto-playing content controllable.

Warnings before animations that could trigger seizures.

Time limits adjustable.

Content Structure

Heading hierarchy: h1, h2, h3.

One h1 per page.

Lists as lists (ul, ol).

Tables with proper headers.

Media

Videos: captions required.

Audio: transcripts.

Videos with important visuals: audio descriptions.

Media controls keyboard-accessible.

Testing Tools

axe DevTools: automatic checks.

WAVE: browser extension.

Screen readers: NVDA (free), VoiceOver, JAWS.

Keyboard-only navigation testing.

Beyond Compliance

Real user testing with disabilities.

Iterate based on feedback.

Consider cognitive accessibility.

Not just visual/motor – broader spectrum.

Common Mistakes

Icons without labels.

Modals not focus-trapping.

Auto-focus on random elements.

Color-only status indicators.

Small tap targets.

Business Case

Legal: lawsuits are expensive.

SEO: accessible sites rank better.

Market: excluded users are potential customers.

Quality: forces better design.

Getting Started

Audit current state.

Fix critical issues first.

Train team on principles.

Include in design system.

Not one-time – ongoing effort.

Based on Real Projects

This guide is based on our work with:

• Platforma365
• Podd

Further Reading

If this guide helped you, you might also want to read our comprehensive guide on UI/UX Design.