Web Accessibility: Why Your Dubuque Business Can't Afford to Ignore It

Here's a question most Dubuque business owners never think about: can someone who's blind use your website? What about someone with arthritis who struggles with a mouse? Or someone who's colorblind trying to read your call-to-action buttons?

If you're thinking "that doesn't apply to my business," you're not alone—but you're also wrong. Web accessibility isn't just about doing the right thing (though that matters). It's about avoiding lawsuits, improving your SEO, reaching more customers, and honestly, not being the business that locks out 26% of Americans who live with some form of disability.

What Is Web Accessibility?

Web accessibility means designing and building websites that everyone can use, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. It's about making sure that someone using a screen reader, someone with limited vision, someone with motor difficulties, or someone with cognitive differences can still access your content, navigate your site, and become your customer.

Think about it this way: you wouldn't build a physical store with steps and no ramp, right? (Actually, you legally can't.) Your website should work the same way—accessible to everyone who wants to do business with you.

Why Dubuque Businesses Should Care About Accessibility

The Legal Reality

Let's start with the uncomfortable truth: businesses are getting sued over inaccessible websites, and courts are increasingly ruling in favor of people with disabilities. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), your website is considered a place of public accommodation—just like your physical location.

Web accessibility lawsuits have skyrocketed over the past few years. Companies like Domino's, Beyoncé's website, and thousands of small businesses have been hit with lawsuits ranging from thousands to millions of dollars. And here's the thing: these lawsuits aren't just targeting huge corporations anymore. Small businesses, including restaurants, retail stores, and service providers across Iowa, are getting demand letters and lawsuits.

"But I'm just a small business in Dubuque" doesn't hold up in court. The law applies to businesses of all sizes.

The Business Case

Beyond avoiding lawsuits, there are solid business reasons to care about accessibility:

• Bigger market: 26% of Americans have a disability. That's one in four potential customers you're potentially excluding.
• Better SEO: Many accessibility best practices overlap with SEO. Screen readers and Google bots both love well-structured, semantic HTML.
• Improved usability for everyone: Accessibility features benefit everyone—captions help people watching videos in noisy places, good contrast helps people using their phones outside in bright sunlight, keyboard navigation helps power users who prefer keyboards to mice.
• Aging population: The Baby Boomer generation is aging, and age-related disabilities are increasingly common. Vision problems, hearing loss, and motor difficulties affect more people every year.

When you make your site accessible, you're not just avoiding problems—you're opening your business to more customers.

The Moral Argument

Here's the simple version: excluding people from accessing your website because of a disability isn't cool. If you believe your business provides value, why wouldn't you want as many people as possible to access that value?

Understanding WCAG: The Accessibility Rulebook

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the internationally recognized standards for web accessibility. Think of them as the building code for websites. The current standard most businesses aim for is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

WCAG is built on four principles, summarized by the acronym POUR:

Perceivable

Users must be able to perceive the information being presented. If someone can't see, there needs to be another way for them to access visual content. If they can't hear, there needs to be alternatives to audio content.

Operable

Users must be able to operate interface components and navigation. Not everyone uses a mouse—some people navigate entirely with keyboards, voice commands, or assistive technologies.

Understandable

Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable. Clear navigation, predictable functionality, and readable content matter.

Robust

Content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. As technologies evolve, your content should still work.

Don't panic—you don't need to memorize all the technical standards. But understanding these four principles helps guide decision-making when building or updating your website.

Common Accessibility Issues on Small Business Websites

Let's talk about the most common problems we see on Dubuque business websites—and how to fix them.

1. Missing Alt Text on Images

This is the most common accessibility issue, and it's one of the easiest to fix. Alt text (alternative text) describes images for people using screen readers. When you add a photo of your storefront or your product to your website, that image needs descriptive text.

Bad alt text: "image1.jpg" or "photo"
Good alt text: "Sleepy Cow Media office storefront on Main Street in downtown Dubuque, Iowa"

Bonus: good alt text also helps with SEO, giving search engines more context about your images.

2. Poor Color Contrast

Ever visited a website with light gray text on a white background and struggled to read it? Now imagine trying to read that with a visual impairment or while sitting outside on a sunny Iowa afternoon.

WCAG requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Don't worry about memorizing the math—there are free tools that check this for you (we'll cover those later).

Common problem: businesses use their brand colors without checking if they're readable. Your logo might look beautiful with light purple text on a white background, but if people can't read your call-to-action button, it doesn't matter how pretty it looks.

3. Forms Without Labels

Contact forms, quote request forms, email signup forms—these are critical for converting visitors into customers. But if someone using a screen reader can't tell which field is for their name versus their email versus their message, they can't submit the form.

Every form field needs a clear, associated label. Not just placeholder text that disappears when you start typing—actual labels that stick around. And when there's an error, the error message needs to be announced by screen readers and clearly associated with the problematic field.

4. Keyboard Navigation Problems

Try this right now: visit your website and navigate it using only your keyboard (Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter). No mouse allowed. Can you get to every link? Can you open menus? Can you submit forms? Can you see where you are on the page?

If not, you've got accessibility problems. Many people navigate websites entirely with keyboards due to motor disabilities, and screen reader users also rely on keyboard navigation.

Common problems include:

• No visible focus indicator (you can't tell where you are on the page)
• Keyboard traps (you can Tab into something but can't Tab out)
• Illogical tab order (jumping all over the page instead of flowing naturally)
• Interactive elements that don't work with the keyboard

5. Videos Without Captions

If you're using video on your website (and you should—video is great for engagement), it needs captions. Not just for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, but also for people watching in sound-sensitive environments or people whose first language isn't English.

YouTube can auto-generate captions, but they're notoriously inaccurate. Edit them. Or better yet, upload a proper caption file.

6. Links That Say "Click Here"

Screen readers often let users navigate by pulling up a list of all links on a page. If every link says "click here" or "read more," that list becomes useless. Links should make sense out of context.

Bad: "To learn more about our web design services, click here."
Good: "Learn more about our web design services for Dubuque businesses."

7. Auto-Playing Content

Videos, music, or animations that start automatically can be disorienting for people with cognitive disabilities, anxiety disorders, or anyone using a screen reader. Give users control—let them start media when they're ready.

8. Complex Navigation

If your navigation requires precise mouse movements or has complex multi-level dropdowns with tiny clickable areas, people with motor disabilities (or anyone on mobile) will struggle. Keep navigation simple and forgiving.

Tools for Testing Accessibility

You don't need to be a developer to start testing your website's accessibility. Here are free tools that help identify issues:

WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool)

WAVE is a free browser extension from WebAIM that analyzes web pages and provides visual feedback about accessibility issues. It highlights problems like missing alt text, contrast errors, and structural issues right on your page. Perfect for non-technical business owners.

Lighthouse (Built Into Chrome)

Chrome's DevTools includes Lighthouse, which runs accessibility audits (along with performance, SEO, and best practices). Right-click on your page, select "Inspect," go to the Lighthouse tab, and run an audit. It'll give you a score and specific issues to fix.

Color Contrast Checkers

Tools like WebAIM's Contrast Checker let you input foreground and background colors to see if they meet WCAG standards. Essential when choosing colors for text, buttons, and other UI elements.

Screen Readers

The best way to understand how accessible your site is? Use it the way people with disabilities do. Try NVDA (free for Windows) or VoiceOver (built into Mac and iPhone). Navigate your site with your eyes closed. It's eye-opening.

axe DevTools

Another browser extension that finds accessibility issues. The free version catches many common problems and explains what they are and how to fix them in plain English.

Important note: automated tools catch maybe 30-40% of accessibility issues. They're helpful, but they can't replace actual testing with real users and assistive technologies.

How to Fix Accessibility Issues

Start With the Big Wins

Don't try to fix everything at once. Start with high-impact, relatively easy fixes:

1. Add alt text to all images (highest impact, easiest fix)
2. Fix color contrast issues (improves readability for everyone)
3. Ensure keyboard navigation works (test with Tab key)
4. Add proper labels to forms (critical for conversions)

Build Accessibility Into Your Process

If you're redesigning your website or building a new one, incorporate accessibility from the start. It's way easier (and cheaper) than retrofitting later. When you work with a web designer or developer, ask about their accessibility knowledge. If they don't mention WCAG or seem unfamiliar with accessibility standards, that's a red flag.

Use Semantic HTML

This is technical but important: proper HTML structure helps screen readers and other assistive technologies understand your content. Headings should use H1, H2, H3 tags (not just big, bold text). Lists should use list markup. Buttons should be actual button elements, not divs with click handlers.

If your web developer doesn't know what "semantic HTML" means, you need a better developer.

Test With Real Users

If possible, get feedback from people who actually use assistive technologies. User testing with people with disabilities will uncover issues that automated tools and able-bodied designers miss.

Accessibility and SEO: The Overlap

Here's the good news: many accessibility best practices directly improve your SEO. Both screen readers and search engine bots benefit from:

• Descriptive alt text on images
• Clear, descriptive link text instead of "click here"
• Proper heading hierarchy (H1, H2, H3) that structures content logically
• Semantic HTML that makes content structure clear
• Fast page speed (fewer barriers = faster loading)
• Mobile-friendly design (touch targets that are easy to tap also work for people with motor difficulties)

When you make your site more accessible, you're also making it easier for Google to understand and rank your content. It's a win-win.

Common Myths About Web Accessibility

"Accessible websites look ugly"

False. Some of the most beautiful, modern websites are also highly accessible. Accessibility is about how your site works, not how it looks. You can absolutely have a gorgeous, on-brand design that's also accessible.

"It's too expensive"

Building accessibility in from the start costs barely anything extra. Retrofitting an inaccessible site costs more, but it's still less expensive than a lawsuit. And remember: you're expanding your potential customer base, so it's an investment, not just an expense.

"People with disabilities aren't my target audience"

Unless you explicitly only serve able-bodied people under 60 (which would be weird), disabilities are part of your audience whether you realize it or not. Vision problems, hearing loss, arthritis, cognitive differences—these affect people across all demographics.

"Small businesses don't get sued"

They absolutely do. Accessibility lawsuits increasingly target small businesses. Mom-and-pop restaurants, local retail stores, service providers—nobody's immune.

What If Your Site Isn't Accessible Right Now?

Don't panic. Most websites have accessibility issues. The question is: what are you going to do about it?

Start by running the tests mentioned earlier. Make a list of issues. Prioritize based on severity and impact. Fix the critical problems first—the ones that completely prevent someone from using your site.

If you're using a website builder like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress, check their accessibility documentation. Many platforms have built-in tools and themes designed with accessibility in mind.

If you have a custom-built site, talk to your developer. If they're not knowledgeable about accessibility (many aren't), consider finding someone who is. This isn't optional anymore—it's a fundamental part of modern web development.

The Future Is Accessible

Here's the bottom line: web accessibility is becoming mandatory, not optional. Legislation is expanding. Lawsuits are increasing. Search engines are rewarding accessible sites. And most importantly, it's the right thing to do.

For Dubuque businesses, accessibility shouldn't be an afterthought—it should be baked into every website from day one. When we build sites at Sleepy Cow Media, accessibility is part of our standard process, not an add-on. We use semantic HTML, test with screen readers, check color contrast, ensure keyboard navigation works, and build sites that actually work for everyone.

If your current website has accessibility issues (and let's be honest, it probably does), the time to fix them is now. Not next year when you get a demand letter from a lawyer. Not after you lose potential customers who couldn't use your site. Now.

Want to know how accessible your website is? We offer free accessibility audits for Dubuque businesses. We'll test your site, identify the most critical issues, and give you a clear roadmap for fixing them. Whether you want us to fix them or you want to tackle it yourself, at least you'll know what you're dealing with. Get in touch—let's make sure your website works for everyone.