Website Accessibility: A Checklist for Inclusive Event Marketing
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Website accessibility isn't just about compliance—it's about creating inclusive experiences that welcome all potential attendees. When your event website is accessible, you're not only meeting legal requirements but also expanding your reach to the millions of people who rely on assistive technologies or have varying abilities. More importantly, accessible design principles often result in better user experiences for everyone.
For marketing teams managing event websites, accessibility can seem daunting. Where do you start? What are the most critical areas to address? This checklist breaks down the essential steps to audit and improve your website's accessibility, helping you create a more inclusive digital experience that reflects the welcoming nature of your events.
The Website Accessibility Checklist
Content & User Experience
- Conduct a comprehensive audit of your current website content and user journey for potential accessibility barriers
- Test your booking and registration processes with different user scenarios in mind, including keyboard-only navigation
- Walk through your entire event information flow from discovery to post-event communication
- Ensure all content uses plain English and is easy to understand
- Provide event information in multiple formats where possible
- Use descriptive link text that explains where the link leads - avoid generic phrases like "click here" or "read more"
- Structure your content with proper heading hierarchy (main titles, sections, subsections)
Visual Design & Colours
- Review your brand colours and design elements to ensure sufficient contrast between text and backgrounds - you can change your colours on the WebAIM Contrast checker
- Pay particular attention to buttons, links, and key information areas
- Verify that important information isn't conveyed through colour alone (consider adding text labels, icons, or patterns as well)
- Test your design in different lighting conditions and on various devices
- Choose readable fonts - prioritise sans-serif fonts like Arial, Helvetica, or Verdana for body text
- Avoid decorative fonts for speaker information, event schedules, and other important details
- Use actual text rather than text-in-images for pricing tables, schedules, and key information
- Ensure any flashing or animated content doesn't exceed 3 flashes per second to avoid triggering seizures
Media & Documents
- Write meaningful alt text for all images - avoid redundant phrases like "image of" as screen readers already announce it's an image
- For speaker photos: "Dr Sarah Johnson, keynote speaker, smiling in professional headshot"
- For venue images: "Grand ballroom with round tables set for 200 guests, stage with projection screen visible"
- For event graphics: Describe key information rather than just "event poster"
- For sponsor logos: Include the sponsor name and context
- For charts and infographics: Describe the data being presented
- Add captions to promotional videos, speaker interviews, and event highlights
- Include audio descriptions for videos where visuals convey essential information that isn't covered in the audio
- Provide audio transcripts for podcasts, recorded sessions, or audio announcements
- For live events, provide real-time captions or transcripts to ensure accessibility during the event
- Audit any PDFs, documents, or files hosted on your site (speaker bios, schedules, venue maps, terms & conditions) to ensure they're accessible or have accessible alternatives
- Ensure programme PDFs use proper headings, alt text for images, and logical reading order
- Use real text rather than scanned images of text in all documents
- Give documents descriptive file names that explain their content (e.g., "TechConf2025-Speaker-Bios.pdf" rather than "Document1.pdf")
Third-Party Content
- Review any third-party links or embedded content to understand their accessibility status
- Verify compliance responsibility for third-party plugins, booking systems, or payment services you're using
- Maintain a list of all external services and their accessibility commitments
- Have fallback options available if third-party services aren't fully accessible
- Include accessibility requirements in contracts with all vendors
Documentation & Communication
- Create and publish a comprehensive Accessibility Statement that outlines your commitment to accessibility, current compliance status, and contact information for reporting issues
- Ensure the Accessibility Statement is easily findable from your main navigation or footer
- Establish a clear, responsive process for users to report accessibility issues and request assistance
- Include known accessibility issues you're working to resolve
- Commit to regular accessibility statement updates
- Use inclusive imagery across all communications
Professional Support & Training
- Consider engaging professional accessibility consultation and content review services
- Provide basic accessibility training for all team members who create or manage website content
- Include accessibility requirements in contracts with web developers, designers, and content creators
- Create a pre-publication checklist to systematically review content before it goes live
- Embed accessibility considerations into your content briefs and use templates with built-in accessibility features
- Test real scenarios using keyboard-only navigation and screen reader software to understand the user experience
Important Reminder!
Third-Party Services:
While you maintain overall responsibility for site compliance, third-party services can be valuable partners in your accessibility journey.
You retain legal accountability for your website's accessibility, which means carefully evaluating and managing third-party services, plugins, and platforms to ensure they align with your accessibility goals. When selecting third-party solutions, look for providers that prioritise accessibility and offer robust compliance features.
Third-party accessibility tools can provide significant value as part of a comprehensive accessibility strategy. However, they work best when combined with foundational accessibility practices like proper alt text, well-labeled form fields, and semantic HTML structure. Consider these services as powerful supplements to, rather than replacements for, accessible design and development practices.
By partnering with accessibility-focused third-party providers and maintaining strong internal standards, you can create a more inclusive web experience while meeting your compliance obligations.
Additional Resources for Ongoing Management
Establishing Regular Reviews
- Schedule quarterly accessibility audits to catch issues before they become problems
- Create an accessibility testing routine for new content before it goes live
- Train your team on basic accessibility principles so everyone can contribute to maintaining standards
Building a Long-term Accessibility Culture
- Document your accessibility standards so all team members understand expectations
- Include accessibility requirements in contracts with web developers and content creators
- Regularly update your accessibility knowledge as standards and best practices evolve
Useful Links for Accessibility Testing Tools
- WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluator
- WebAIM Color Contrast Checker
- Colour Contrast Analyser
- NVDA Screen Reader (free)
Ready to make your event website more accessible?
Your commitment to inclusive design will set your events apart and ensure every potential attendee can engage with your content from their very first click.
Start with this checklist, and don't hesitate to ask us if you need more help. We also have a dedicated accessibility hub which gives you even more info...