A user goes to your website looking for one simple thing: an answer. Maybe it’s a bus schedule on a phone in the drop-off line, a calendar update after work, or athletic information read through a screen reader, but for visitors using keyboard navigation, captions, or mobile devices, any barrier can become a problem.

Accessibility helps remove those challenges, but you also create a stronger, more effective website as a result.

And that’s the bigger point: accessible school websites support people with disabilities, but they create faster, smoother, more helpful experiences for every parent, student, staff member, and visitor to your site— including multilingual households, mobile users, and busy teachers.

It's not too complex: here are six (easy!) website accessibility best practices every school should follow to get closer to ADA compliance while building a website that serves everyone better, including:

1. Use a responsive design
2. Write meaningful alt text
3. Make link text descriptive
4. Follow heading structure
5. Test links before publishing
6. Use HTML instead of PDFs 

1. Start with a Responsive, Mobile-friendly Design

Accessibility starts with a website that works no matter how someone reaches it. Whether a parent is checking a calendar on their phone or a visitor is using assistive technology on a desktop, your content should stay easy to read, navigate, and use.

A responsive website adjusts to different screen sizes, devices, and display settings so visitors don't have to pinch, zoom, scroll sideways, or struggle to tap the right button. It also creates a more consistent experience for people who rely on keyboard navigation, screen magnification, or other accessibility tools.

So much website traffic happens on mobile devices. If your site is hard to use on a phone, it's harder to use for everyone, especially visitors who already face barriers online. A mobile-friendly, responsive design helps create a smoother, more accessible experience from the very first click.  

2. Add Alt Text to Every Image

Alt text (Alternative Text) is essential for website visitors who use assistive technology, such as screen readers, and is first and foremost necessary for web accessibility. Screen readers will read alt text to users who are visually impaired so that they have an experience equal to those with sight. A user with sight sees a photo of a classroom with children. Without alt text, a blind person hears: "image 34578."

This can be a very time-consuming and tedious project, but fortunately, Finalsite’s Resources and Posts modules have tools and settings in place to make this easier. For example, in Resources, when you upload an image and add the alt text, you only have to add it that first time, and it will be automatically added to any place you use that image. (YES!)

To save time, Finalsite’s AI-powered alt text generator can help draft image descriptions for you, giving your team a strong starting point that can be quickly reviewed and refined before publishing.

And, alt text does double duty! While improving accessibility for visitors using screen readers, adding descriptive alt text can support SEO, especially image SEO. Google says alt text is one of the most important pieces of image metadata and uses it, along with computer vision and page content, to understand what an image shows.

Keep in mind that not ALL images will need alt text. Not every image will need alt text. If an image is truly decorative (think of how a line might be used to divide content), then it should have null/empty alt text (alt="" or alt).

3. Make Sure Your Links Provide Context

“Click here” and “view now” have never been at the top of the list of web design UX best practices or high-converting call-to-action buttons. However, they’re often a crutch in moments when we lack creativity and simply “need to get a link on the site.” 

If you’ve ever listened to a screen reader announce the links on a website, you’d immediately feel compelled to update your site. Most screen readers have a feature to announce the links on a given page — so a list of “click here” links isn’t helpful. This type of structure is confusing to screen-reading technology and most website visitors.

Re-thinking how you present links on your website actually provides the opportunity to lower bounce rates, improve the user experience, and increase conversions because you are providing context to what will happen when they click.

PRO TIP: When structuring your links, either change your “click here” links to the content they will see when they click, or create a full sentence. For example, a “click here” link under a heading for the school calendar can be changed to “click here for our academic calendar,” or just “academic calendar.” 

4. Follow Standard Page Structure

Screen reading technology reads pages in a logical order: H1 (Header 1), H2, H3, etc., which means that appropriately structuring your page helps people relying on assistive technology understand your content more effectively.

However, in all cases, this is also a best practice for creating scannable, easy-to-digest content. No one enjoys reading paragraphs of text, especially on mobile devices. 

When building your website pages, follow this simple outline to improve the readability of your content for everyone:

• H1: This is your page title. It is important for SEO and to help website visitors identify where they are on your site off the bat. You should only have one H1.
   
• H2: This is your page’s subtitle, value proposition, subheader, etc. Depending on the length of your page, you may have more than one (like this blog post!), but it is okay to also have just one.
   
• H3: These are used to divide up chunks and segments of content. Having two or more on a page to break up a paragraph, lists, etc. is helpful.
   
• H4 and H5: If you find yourself needing your H4 or H5, be sure they are used for structural purposes and not design purposes. 

5. Test Before Publishing

A page isn't ready to publish because it looks finished. It's ready when it works the way visitors expect it to work. Before you hit publish, take a few minutes to test the experience from a visitor’s point of view.

• Click every link to make sure it goes to the right destination.
• Check every button to confirm it is labeled clearly and easy to spot.
• Run through every form to make sure fields are easy to complete, instructions make sense, and submission confirmations are easy to understand.

Then, test the page on your phone. A page that works well on desktop can still create problems on mobile if buttons are too small, layouts break, or forms are hard to complete. Since so many families visit school websites from their phones, mobile checks should be part of every publishing routine.

These quick reviews can catch mistakes and spot any accessibility barriers before your users run into them. Broken links, unclear buttons, confusing forms, and clunky mobile experiences can frustrate any visitor, but they create even bigger challenges for people using assistive technology or keyboard navigation. 

6. Use HTML Instead of PDFs Whenever Possible

Use HTML whenever possible. It allows you to create more accessible content that can be easily updated as needed.

PDFs are rarely a good idea for school and district websites — from responsiveness and accessibility issues to the cumbersome nature of adding them to your site.

Key Takeaway

An accessible website is simply a better website. Adhering to WCAG guidelines can help you avoid a fine, but when your content is easier to navigate, read, and understand, you're improving the experience for everyone who depends on your school’s site.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. At Finalsite, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.