For many organisations, web accessibility can feel like a daunting checklist. A mountain of technical requirements under the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) umbrella. But in practice, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution on how to improve website accessibility and to create an inclusive digital experience.
Depending on your starting point – whether you’re planning a new website or managing a legacy platform, different approaches will make sense. At Mainstay Digital, we help organisations find the best path toward meaningful accessibility outcomes. Sometimes that means embedding accessibility into a site from day one. Sometimes it means auditing and remediating existing issues. And sometimes, it’s about focusing efforts on the most impactful improvements based on user needs.
In this guide, we’ll explore four practical approaches to website accessibility:
- Designing for accessibility from the outset
- Retrofitting accessibility to an existing site
- Prioritising key WCAG criteria based on users
- Focusing on screen reader and keyboard access
Each approach comes with its benefits and considerations. In many cases, a combination is the most effective route.
Designing for Accessibility from the Outset
The most efficient and effective way to meet WCAG compliance is to integrate accessibility from the beginning. This means it’s not just a developer’s responsibility, but a shared commitment across design, development, content, and QA.
In early stages, accessibility starts with inclusive design choices: sufficient colour contrast, readable typography, consistent heading structures, clear navigation, and thoughtful layout decisions. During development, semantic HTML and ARIA roles play a key role in ensuring assistive technologies interpret content correctly.
Planning accessibility also means building a design system or component library with accessibility baked in. Every button, form field, or modal needs to be built and tested with accessibility in mind – once, and then reused.
At Mainstay, we include accessibility testing at every phase. We run automated tests, but also include real-device manual checks during development sprints. This reduces risk and cost later in the process and ensures that when the site launches, it already meets a strong compliance baseline.
Retrofitting Accessibility: Audit, Test, Remediate
For many organisations, accessibility isn’t something that was considered when their site was built. That’s okay. Retrofitting is valid, and often a necessary approach.
Our retrofitting workflow starts with a full accessibility audit. We use automated tools to scan for quick wins, but the real value comes from our manual review. We assess each page, content block, and interface component against WCAG 2.1 Level AA criteria.
This includes:
- Keyboard-only navigation testing
- Screen reader checks using tools like NVDA and VoiceOver
- Manual inspection of headings, ARIA roles, tab order, focus indicators
- Interaction testing for forms, menus, carousels, and dynamic content
We then build a detailed matrix showing pass/fail status for every applicable WCAG criterion. This isn’t just a report, it becomes a practical roadmap for remediation. Our developers use the matrix to implement fixes, and we re-test manually to confirm resolution.
At Mainstay Digital, we don’t just scan and hand over a checklist. We manually test and validate every identified issue, then remediate it against WCAG success criteria. Our goal is not just to meet standards, but to create a demonstrable, documented standard of compliance that holds up under scrutiny, and serves real users.
Retrofitting takes time, but it’s effective. It also creates a baseline for future improvements, and gives organisations clarity around where they stand.
Tools and Techniques: Automated vs Manual Testing
Automated testing tools like Axe, WAVE, and Lighthouse are excellent for catching surface-level issues – such as missing alt text, low contrast, or empty form labels. They’re fast, scalable, and provide useful starting points.
However, they only catch around 30–40% of WCAG issues.
That’s why manual testing is non-negotiable. Screen reader use, keyboard-only navigation, focus management, and ARIA role verification all require human judgment. At Mainstay Digital, we blend both — using automation to flag and prioritise issues, and then manually testing every interface element to validate compliance and usability.
Prioritising Key Criteria Based on User Needs
Full WCAG compliance is ideal — but sometimes, time, budget, or legacy system limitations make it unrealistic to tackle everything at once.
That’s where a prioritised approach comes in. By understanding who your users are and what they need, you can focus on the criteria that will have the greatest impact.
For example:
- If your audience includes older users, ensure clear typography, strong colour contrast, and readable content.
- For users with motor impairments, ensure keyboard navigation is smooth and all interactive elements are reachable.
- For users with cognitive challenges, simplify layout, reduce distractions, and ensure clear instructions.
This kind of triage helps you take action quickly and incrementally. We often recommend starting with core page templates (home, navigation, forms) and expanding outwards from there. A phased roadmap allows for practical improvements while keeping the bigger goal in sight.
This approach is particularly useful in environments where compliance is a long-term goal, but immediate usability improvements are critical.
Focusing on Keyboard and Screen Reader Access
If you had to choose one area of accessibility to focus on first, this would be it.
Keyboard and screen reader access unlocks usability for a wide range of users, including those who are blind, have low vision, or have motor impairments. It also covers a surprising number of WCAG criteria, including:
- 2.1.1: Keyboard
- 2.1.2: No keyboard trap
- 2.4.3: Focus order
- 2.4.7: Focus visible
- 4.1.2: Name, role, value
We ensure users can tab through content in a logical order, see where focus is, activate all controls via keyboard, and understand what’s on the screen with a screen reader.
This isn’t just about meeting WCAG, it’s about enabling real users to interact with your site. Once keyboard and screen reader support is in place, you’ve already solved many of the hardest problems.
At Mainstay Digital, we treat this as a foundational layer for any accessibility effort, whether it’s a new build or a retrofit. It’s an efficient way to uncover barriers that affect critical functionality and build toward deeper compliance.
Accessibility and WCAG in the Australian Context
In Australia, web accessibility isn’t just best practice, it’s a legal expectation. The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) mandates equal access to information and services, including those provided online.
The Australian Human Rights Commission has endorsed WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the benchmark for digital accessibility. Failing to meet this standard could result in legal complaints or reputational damage, especially for public sector organisations.
That’s why choosing the right approach – and being able to demonstrate real effort and progress – is critical for compliance and risk mitigation.
Where to Start: A Quick Accessibility Action Checklist
Not sure which approach is right for your organisation? Start here:
✅ Identify your key user groups and accessibility needs
✅ Conduct a quick automated scan to uncover surface issues
✅ Choose one path: full audit, retrofit, or a focused remediation
✅ Set WCAG 2.1 Level AA as your minimum goal
✅ Engage accessibility professionals for manual testing
✅ Build accessibility into future content and code workflows
Making a start, even if small, is better than standing still.
Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Accessibility Approach
Every organisation’s journey toward accessibility is different. What matters is not doing everything at once, but doing something meaningful now.
Whether you’re starting from scratch, fixing a legacy site, or targeting your efforts based on user needs, the key is to approach accessibility intentionally and iteratively.
At Mainstay Digital, we don’t chase checklists. We combine automated scans with deep manual auditing, remediation, and validation, ensuring our clients achieve outcomes that are not just compliant, but genuinely inclusive.
To learn more about how we help organisations achieve WCAG compliance, visit our Website Accessibility Services page, or get in touch.
Accessibility isn’t a one-off task. It’s a long-term commitment to your users, and a way to build better digital experiences for everyone.
