Building an Inclusive Web Experience That Google (and Your Users) Will Love
You’ve spent months perfecting your website’s design, crafting compelling content, and fine-tuning every detail for conversions. On your MacBook Pro, it looks perfect. But here’s the reality – nearly 20% of New Zealanders live with some form of disability. If your site isn’t accessible, you’re not just failing Google’s Accessibility audit – you’re turning away one in five potential customers.
Google’s PageSpeed Insights Accessibility score isn’t just another number to chase. It’s a benchmark for how well your site serves all users, regardless of their abilities, assistive technologies, or browsing environments. Scoring 100/100 means you’ve created an inclusive, legally compliant, and genuinely better digital experience.
At Red Jet, we help Kiwi businesses achieve exactly that – fast, fully accessible, and SEO-friendly sites that work for everyone.
Why Accessibility Goes Beyond a Score
- Legal compliance – The NZ Human Rights Act supports equal access to services, and global trends are moving towards mandatory digital accessibility.
- Market reach – The global disability market has over $13 trillion in disposable income. Accessible sites open the door to this underserved audience.
- Universal benefits – Captions help in noisy cafés, high contrast aids reading in bright sunlight, and logical navigation benefits all users.
- SEO synergy – Semantic HTML, alt text, and clear heading structures improve both accessibility and search rankings.
How Google Tests Accessibility
Google Lighthouse audits your site across areas including:
- Visual accessibility – Colour contrast, focus indicators, and visual hierarchy.
- Motor accessibility – Full keyboard navigation and touch target sizing.
- Auditory accessibility – Captions and transcripts for multimedia.
- Cognitive accessibility – Clear navigation, consistent layouts, and readable content.
- Screen reader compatibility – Semantic markup, ARIA labels, and proper heading order.
Every failure isn’t just a lost point, it’s a real barrier for a real person.
Key Fixes for a 100/100 Accessibility Score
1. Colour Contrast & Visual Clarity
- Meet or exceed WCAG’s 4.5:1 ratio for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- Avoid relying on colour alone to convey meaning — use icons or labels too.
- Test across devices and in different lighting conditions.
2. Keyboard Navigation & Focus Management
- Ensure all interactive elements are reachable via Tab and Shift+Tab.
- Use clear, consistent focus indicators – not just the default dotted outline.
- Add a “skip to content” link for quick access past navigation menus.
3. Alt Text & Media Alternatives
- Write descriptive alt text for informative images.
- Use alt=”” for decorative images to skip them in screen readers.
- Provide captions and transcripts for all videos and audio content.
4. Accessible Forms
- Use <label> tags linked to form fields with for and id.
- Give clear, specific error messages and input guidance.
5. Semantic HTML & ARIA Support
- Use HTML elements for their intended purpose (<header>, <nav>, <main>).
- Apply ARIA labels sparingly – native HTML is better where possible.
- Announce interactive element states (expanded/collapsed, selected, error).
WordPress Accessibility Best Practice
At Red Jet, we recommend:
- Choosing accessibility-ready WordPress themes.
- Testing all plugins for keyboard and screen reader compatibility.
- Training your content team on alt text, headings, and link descriptions.
We build WordPress hosting NZ environments with accessibility baked in, so your site is faster to load and easier to use for everyone.
Testing & Ongoing Maintenance
- Automated tools – Use Lighthouse, WAVE, and axe DevTools regularly.
- Manual testing – Navigate your site with a keyboard, use screen readers, and zoom text to 200% to check layout.
- User feedback – Encourage disabled users to report barriers and act on their suggestions.
Accessibility isn’t a one-off project. Every theme change, plugin update, or content upload can introduce new issues – so schedule quarterly audits and keep your team trained.
The Business & Human Case
- Better SEO – Accessibility improvements help Google index and rank your content.
- Wider audience – One in five Kiwis lives with a disability.
- Reduced legal risk – Meet obligations under NZ law.
- Inclusive brand image – Show customers you care about all of them.
But above all, accessibility is about respect, ensuring that no one is excluded from your digital space.
📩 Request a free accessibility audit and find out how Red Jet can get your site to a perfect 100/100 in Google’s Accessibility score – while making it faster, more engaging, and open to all.
