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An accessible website that everyone can use

Accessibility isn't decided at the end by a testing tool. It's decided while building: in colours, structure and forms. We build your website so it works with a keyboard and enlarged text and a screen reader can follow its structure, and we check it against WCAG 2.2 AA.

Illustration of Accessible Website

In short

An accessible website can be used by people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments – with a screen reader, with a keyboard only or with heavily enlarged text.

The internationally used standard is the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), currently in version 2.2. Most audits test against the middle level, AA: contrast, operability, text alternatives and clean structure.

Swiss federal law sets no technical standard for private companies' websites, but anyone who offers services to the public must not discriminate against people because of a disability.

  • Contrast measured, gradients included
  • Every function works with a keyboard, focus always visible
  • Headings, text alternatives and form fields a screen reader understands
  • Audit against WCAG 2.2 AA with a written report

What an accessible website from us includes

Eight things we build in and check before launch:

  1. Contrast: normal text reaches at least 4.5:1 against its background, large text 3:1 – measured, gradients included
  2. Keyboard: the menu, forms and every button work without a mouse, and focus is visible at all times
  3. Structure: exactly one H1 per page, headings in the right order and the page language set in the code, so a screen reader can navigate the page and pronounce it correctly
  4. Text alternatives: images that carry meaning are described; decorative images are skipped by the screen reader
  5. Forms: every field has a label that a screen reader reads out
  6. Tap and click targets of at least 44 × 44 pixels, so people with limited fine motor control can hit them
  7. Motion: anyone who has turned on «reduce motion» in their operating system sees no animations; anything that runs on its own for more than five seconds has a pause button
  8. An audit against WCAG 2.2 AA with a written report, listed as its own item in the quote

What you get out of it

Not a line on your website claiming it's accessible, but:

  1. A website whose keyboard operation, magnification and contrast have been checked, with a structure a screen reader can read – checked, not assumed
  2. A report showing what was checked against which criterion, and what is still open
  3. Readable text and clear forms that help every visitor, including on a phone in bright sunlight
  4. Accessibility planned into the design, not patched on after launch
  5. No promises nobody can keep: no «100 % accessible» and no legal guarantee

When an accessible website matters most

And when we can't help:

  • Your customers include older people or people who use magnification or a screen reader
  • Municipalities, associations or other clients ask you about accessibility
  • You sell to consumers in the EU and want to keep the European Accessibility Act in view
  • Your website is being planned from scratch, and accessibility should be there from day one
  • Your current website barely works with a keyboard, and a relaunch is due anyway
  • Not a fit: if you're looking for a plugin that makes a finished site accessible at the push of a button – we don't offer that

How we build an accessible website

What happens at each step, what you have afterwards and what you contribute.

The steps follow the stages of ALPENIQ ASCENT, our model for the whole digital ascent. See ALPENIQ ASCENT

  1. 1. Stage 1: Assess

    Clarify the requirements

    Who uses your website, do you sell into the EU, does a client require a particular level? That sets the standard, and whether the audit with a report belongs in the quote.

    Result
    The standard is set, and so is whether the audit with a report goes into the quote
    Your part
    Tell us who uses your website and whether you sell into the EU
  2. 2. Stage 2: Strategise

    Design for accessibility

    Colours, font sizes, focus and target sizes are fixed in the design. We measure contrast before anything is built.

    Result
    Colours, font sizes, focus and target sizes in the design, contrast measured
    Your part
    Approve the designs
  3. 3. Stage 3: Create

    Build it properly

    One H1 per page, headings in order, labels on every form field, text alternatives and reduced motion where it's switched on.

    Result
    A website with clean structure, labels and text alternatives
    Your part
    Supply images and say what they show
  4. 4. Stage 4: Execute

    Check

    With tools and by hand: tab order, magnification, reduced motion and contrast. Whatever a tool can't judge, a person checks.

    Result
    Keyboard, magnification, reduced motion and contrast checked
    Your part
    Nothing on your side
  5. 5. Stage 4: Execute

    Report and sign-off

    You get the report: what was checked, against which criterion, and what is still open. Only then does the site go live.

    Result
    A report: what was checked, against which criterion, and what is still open
    Your part
    Read the report and approve the site

Is this a fit?

Honest up front, so neither of us wastes time.

A good fit if …

  • You're having a new website built or planning a relaunch
  • You want to know which standard it was checked against
  • Customers or clients ask you about accessibility

Not a fit if …

  • You want a guarantee that your website is legally sufficient
  • You're looking for a plugin that makes a finished site accessible at the push of a button

What it costs

Projects with ALPENIQ Growth start at CHF 1,000. We work out the range with you in the strategy call, with every item listed. We name a price once the scope is clear.

See pricing and models

Ways to work with us

  • ProjectFixed price

    Clear scope, fixed price.

  • Growth PartnershipRevenue share

    Online marketing without project fees. We earn from what is left after ad spend.

Common questions

Why ALPENIQ?

We test ourselves first. With every change that goes live on our website, a fixed sample of pages runs automatically through a check based on the WCAG 2.1 AA rules. We also calculate the contrast on our gradients at every colour stop, because standard tools don't measure it there. What the guidelines require and what applies legally in Switzerland is set out in our glossary under Accessibility (WCAG).

And we only promise what can be checked: a standard, an audit and a report – no seal and no legal guarantee. If a new website is due anyway, it starts with website design or a website relaunch.

Your next steps

The strategy call is free. After that, it's your decision.

  1. 1. Strategy call, 30 minutes

    We listen, look at where you stand and which step moves you forward fastest right now. We only name a price once the scope is clear.

  2. 2. Summary and quote

    You get in writing what we understood, plus a quote with every item listed. Whether you accept it is up to you.

  3. 3. Kick-off and delivery

    The kick-off turns everything from the call into the concept. Then we work through the process, step by step.

    See the process

You know there's more in your business.
Thinking higher starts with a conversation.

30 minutes, honest and concrete: we look at where your company stands digitally, and which step moves you forward fastest right now.

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