One in six people worldwide has a disability. That means a real person — someone's parent, colleague, or customer — is trying to access your content and can't. I help businesses make sure that doesn't happen.
What is web accessibility?
Web accessibility means making sure your digital content works for everyone — including people with disabilities. Those disabilities might be permanent, like blindness or deafness, or temporary, like a broken arm or an eye injury. They might be situational too, like trying to read a screen in bright sunlight or watching a video without sound in a quiet office
The words you use, how you structure your content, and how you describe your visuals all have a huge impact on whether someone can actually use your website. Here’s where content makes the biggest difference.
Make Your Website Accessible
Investing in accessibility shows your commitment and social responsibility to inclusivity and creating equal experiences for everyone.
Accessibility content audit
Before fixing anything, I need to understand where your content is falling short. I’ll review your existing digital content for accessibility issues — plain language gaps, missing alt text, poor link text, inaccessible structure, and inclusive language problems. You’ll walk away with a clear picture of what needs to change and why, prioritized by impact.
Alt text image descriptions
Every image on your website needs a description that tells screen reader users what they’re looking at and why it matters. I’ll audit your existing alt text, write descriptions for images that are missing them, and give your team guidelines for writing good alt text going forward. Decorative images and icons that don’t convey meaning should actually have empty alt attributes so screen readers skip them.
Accessibility training for content teams
Accessibility only sticks when your whole team understands it. I offer practical training for content writers, UX writers, and content designers — covering plain language, alt text, structure, and inclusive language so your team can create accessible content from day one, not as a fix at the end.
Plain language re-writes
Complex, jargon-heavy content excludes people. That’s especially true in regulated industries where the gap between how organizations write and how their audience reads is often significant. I’ll rewrite your content in plain language that’s clear, accurate, and accessible — without losing the meaning or the compliance requirements behind it.
Content structure
How your content is structured is just as important as what it says. I’ll review your headings, lists, and page layout to make sure your content is organized in a way that works for screen readers, keyboard navigation, and users who rely on clear visual hierarchy to understand and navigate your pages.
Inclusive language review
The words you choose send a message about who you’re talking to — and who you’re not. I’ll review your content for language that excludes, stereotypes, or inadvertently marginalizes parts of your audience, and give you clear, practical recommendations for making your content more inclusive.
What a typical accessibility engagement looks like
Every project is different — some clients need a full content audit, others need training or a plain language rewrite. Here’s how I typically approach accessibility work depending on what you need.
Discovery
We start with a conversation about where your organization is at with accessibility. Are you trying to meet a compliance deadline? Have you received a complaint? Are you proactively trying to do better? Understanding your starting point and your goals shapes everything that comes after.
Content fixes and rewrites
Depending on your needs, I can do the fixes myself or work alongside your team to implement the recommendations. That might mean rewriting content in plain language, updating alt text, restructuring pages for better hierarchy, or reviewing your content for inclusive language.
Recommendations and action plan
With audit findings in hand, I’ll walk you through what I found and what it means for your users. You’ll get a clear, prioritized action plan that tells you exactly what needs to change, why it matters, and how to fix it — written in plain language, not technical jargon.
Training and knowledge transfer
Before we wrap up, I’ll make sure your team knows how to maintain accessible content going forward. That means practical training on plain language, alt text, structure, and inclusive language — so accessibility becomes part of how your team works, not something you need to fix again in six months.
What the data says about web accessibility
The numbers tell a clear story. Accessibility isn’t just a nice to have — it’s a business and legal necessity.
1.3 billion
People worldwide live with a disability. That’s a significant part of every audience, in every industry.
94.8%
Of websites still have at least one detectable accessibility failure. Most organizations are behind, and many don’t know it.
5,114
ADA accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025 alone — a 37% increase from the year before. Legal risk is growing fast.
38%
Of images on the web have no alt text — one of the most common and easily fixable accessibility failures.
You're in good hands
With so many content strategists out there, it’s hard to know who to trust. Here’s what sets me apart — and the results to back it up.
10+ years of experience: I’ve been working in content strategy for over a decade across healthcare, financial services, legal, telecom, and beyond. I’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and how to navigate the unique challenges that come with regulated industries.
A journalist’s foundation: I started my career as a journalist — which means I know how to ask the right questions, find the real story, and turn complex information into content people actually want to read. That instinct is at the heart of everything I do.
Real results:
- Helped a healthcare client achieve a 24% increase in return visitors through a content strategy overhaul
- Consolidated over 100 pages for a non-profit, making their site easier to navigate and maintain
- Reduced bounce rate by 15% for a financial services client through targeted content improvements
- Developed a content governance framework for a major healthcare organization
- Contributed to a healthcare website redesign that went on to win a design award
A true partner: I don’t deliver a document and disappear. I work alongside your team, share my thinking every step of the way, and make sure you’re set up to maintain and build on everything we create together.
Where content impacts accessibility
Design and code get a lot of the attention when it comes to accessibility. But content is where most organizations miss the mark. Here’s where it matters most.
- Plain language — writing clearly so anyone can understand, not just subject matter experts
- Structure and hierarchy — using headings and lists so content is easy to scan and navigate
- Alt text — describing images for users who rely on screen readers
- Link text — writing descriptive links instead of “click here” or “read more”
- Inclusive language — using language that reflects and respects the diversity of your audience
- Captions and transcripts — making audio and video content accessible to everyone
Blog Post
5 ways you can make your website content more accessible
Not sure where to start with accessibility? This post walks you through the content changes that make the biggest difference — and the ones you can act on right now.
Related service
You need a content strategy too
Accessibility and content strategy go hand in hand. If you’re rethinking how your content is written and structured, it’s worth looking at the bigger picture too.
Frequently asked questions
What are the web accessibility requirements for businesses in Canada and the US?
Web accessibility requirements vary depending on where your business operates and how large it is. Here’s where things stand in 2026:
A quick note on version numbers
WCAG versions build on each other — nothing gets replaced, just added to. WCAG 2.0 is the legal floor in most jurisdictions. WCAG 2.1 added better support for mobile users and cognitive disabilities. WCAG 2.2, published in 2023, added nine more criteria around mobile usability and authentication. Think of it this way: 2.0 is the minimum, 2.2 is best practice.
Ontario, Canada (AODA)
- Any organization with one or more employees in Ontario must comply with AODA
- Organizations with 50 or more employees must ensure public-facing websites meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA
- Organizations with 20 or more employees must file an accessibility compliance report by December 31, 2026
- Organizations under 50 employees are encouraged but not legally required to meet web standards
- Fines for non-compliance can reach up to $100,000 per day
United States (ADA)
- The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses open to the public to make their digital content accessible
- WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the recognized standard for compliance
- Over 5,100 ADA web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025 — a 37% increase from the previous year
The safest approach for any organization serving customers in Ontario or the US is to aim for WCAG 2.1 Level AA as a minimum — and work toward 2.2 where possible. Not sure where you stand? That’s exactly what an accessibility content audit can help you figure out.
How does accessible content improve SEO?
Accessible content and well-optimized content have a lot in common. When you make your content easier for people with disabilities to use, you’re often making it easier for search engines to understand too. Here’s how the two overlap:
- Alt text — written to help screen reader users understand images, it also tells search engines what your images contain
- Clear heading structure — helps users navigate your page and helps search engines understand your content hierarchy
- Descriptive link text — replaces vague phrases like ‘click here’ with meaningful context, which improves both usability and search signals
- Plain language — content written clearly and simply is more likely to directly answer search queries and get cited by AI tools
- Captions and transcripts — make video content accessible to deaf users and give search engines text to index
Accessibility and SEO aren’t separate goals. When you invest in one, you’re almost always improving the other.
What is plain language and why does it matter for accessibility?
Plain language is writing that your audience can understand the first time they read it — clear words, short sentences, logical structure, no unnecessary jargon. Plain language improves readability, and one way to measure that is the Flesch-Kincaid readability score, which rates content based on sentence length and word complexity. Most accessibility guidelines recommend writing at a Grade 8 reading level or lower.
Who relies on plain language:
- People with cognitive disabilities or learning differences
- People reading in their second language
- People under stress or in a hurry
- Anyone navigating a complex or high stakes decision
In regulated industries like healthcare, financial services, and legal, plain language isn’t optional — your audience needs to understand what you’re telling them clearly and quickly.
How do I write good alt text?
Good alt text describes what an image shows and why it’s there — not just what it looks like. Here are a few principles to follow:
- Be specific and descriptive — ‘Doctor reviewing patient records at a desk’ is better than ‘doctor’ or ‘medical image’
- Include context — explain why the image is relevant to the surrounding content
- Keep it concise — aim for one or two sentences at most
- Don’t start with ‘image of’ or ‘photo of’ — screen readers already announce it’s an image
- Decorative images need empty alt text — if an image is purely decorative and adds no meaning, use an empty alt attribute so screen readers skip it
- Charts and graphs need more detail — describe the key insight the visual is communicating, not just what type of chart it is
What are the risks of not having an accesible website?
The consequences go beyond legal risk — though that’s significant on its own. In Ontario, AODA non-compliance can result in fines of up to $100,000 per day. In the US, over 5,100 ADA web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025 alone. But the legal risk is only part of the picture.
An inaccessible website also means:
- Real people can’t access your content, products, or services
- You’re potentially excluding 1.3 billion people worldwide who live with a disability
- You’re losing customers to more accessible competitors
- You’re signaling to your audience that not everyone is welcome
In regulated industries like healthcare, financial services, and legal, the stakes are even higher. Your audience is trying to make important decisions about their health, money, or legal situation. If they can’t access or understand your content, that’s not just a compliance problem — it’s a trust problem.
