This article is part of our complete Wix guide.
Wix accessibility is about making sure everyone can use your website, including people who are blind or have low vision, people who navigate with a keyboard instead of a mouse, people with hearing loss and people with cognitive or motor impairments. An accessible Wix website reaches more customers, reduces legal risk and usually performs better in search, because many accessibility practices, such as clear headings and descriptive alt text, are also good SEO.
Wix gives you solid tools for this, but no platform makes a site accessible automatically. Your design choices and content decide the outcome. This guide shows you exactly how to make your Wix website accessible, step by step.
Key takeaways
- Aim for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) at level AA, the standard most laws and policies reference.
- Use Wix’s built-in accessibility tools and settings, including the Accessibility Wizard where available, as a starting point.
- The biggest wins are proper headings, alt text, colour contrast, keyboard navigation, readable text and labelled forms.
- Automated checks catch only some problems; test manually with a keyboard and a screen reader.
- Accessibility is ongoing: check every new page, image and form you add.
In this guide
- Why does website accessibility matter?
- What is WCAG and which level should you aim for?
- What accessibility tools does Wix provide?
- How to make your Wix website accessible step by step
- Accessible design choices on Wix
- How to test your Wix site for accessibility
- Wix accessibility checklist
- Common Wix accessibility mistakes
- Frequently asked questions
Why does website accessibility matter?
There are three strong reasons to make your Wix site accessible:
- More customers. A significant share of people live with some form of disability, and many more have temporary or situational limitations, such as a broken arm, bright sunlight on a phone screen or a noisy environment. If they cannot use your site, they buy elsewhere.
- Legal expectations. Many countries have laws that cover digital accessibility, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States, the Equality Act in the UK and the European Accessibility Act in the EU. Requirements differ by country, sector and business size, so take local legal advice if you are unsure how they apply to you.
- Better usability and SEO. Clear structure, descriptive links, captions and fast, readable pages help every visitor and help search engines understand your content. Our image alt text SEO guide shows how one practice serves both goals.
What is WCAG and which level should you aim for?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the W3C, are the international standard for accessible websites. They are organised around four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Each guideline has success criteria at three levels.
| Level | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A | Minimum essentials | Alt text for images, keyboard access, no keyboard traps |
| AA | The common target for businesses and most regulations | Sufficient colour contrast, resizable text, visible focus, consistent navigation |
| AAA | Enhanced, not realistic for every page | Very high contrast, sign language for video |
For a small business Wix site, aim for WCAG AA. It is achievable with good design habits and covers the issues that most often block real users.
What accessibility tools does Wix provide?
Wix has built accessibility features into both the Wix Editor and Wix Studio. Names and locations change as the editors evolve, so check the Wix Help Center for the latest, but you can typically expect:
- An accessibility scanner or wizard that checks your pages for common issues such as missing alt text, heading problems and contrast, and guides you through fixes.
- Alt text fields for images and galleries.
- Semantic heading tags (H1 to H6) you can assign to text, separate from visual styling.
- Site language setting so screen readers pronounce content correctly.
- Accessibility settings such as visible focus indicators and ordering of page elements to match the visual layout for screen readers and keyboard users.
- ARIA attributes and labels on certain elements, especially in Wix Studio, for more advanced control.
These tools make Wix one of the more accessibility-friendly website builders, but they rely on you using them correctly.
How to make your Wix website accessible step by step
- Run the Wix accessibility scan. Open your site in the editor, run the accessibility checker and note every issue it lists.
- Set the site language. Make sure the language in your settings matches the content, and set it per language on multilingual sites. See our guide to multilingual Wix websites.
- Fix the heading structure. Give each page one H1 that describes its purpose. Use H2 for main sections and H3 for sub-sections, in order. Never choose a heading level just for its size.
- Add alt text to every meaningful image. Describe what the image shows and why it matters. Mark purely decorative images as decorative so screen readers skip them.
- Check colour contrast. Body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text at least 3:1. Pay special attention to text over images and light grey text.
- Make links and buttons descriptive. Replace “Click here” and “Read more” with labels such as “Book a consultation” or “Read our pricing guide”.
- Label every form field. Use visible labels, not just placeholder text, and write clear error messages. Our guide to Wix Forms covers form setup.
- Test keyboard navigation. Use Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and Space to move through the page. Every link, button, menu and form field should be reachable, with a visible focus outline, in a logical order.
- Caption videos and avoid autoplay. Add captions to videos and give users control over anything that moves, flashes or plays sound.
- Review on mobile. Check that text can be zoomed, tap targets are large enough and nothing important is hidden on small screens.
- Publish an accessibility statement. Explain your commitment, the standard you aim for and how people can contact you if they hit a barrier.
Want this done for you? Our team builds and fixes Wix websites with accessibility checks built into every project.
Accessible design choices on Wix
Many accessibility problems start in the design stage. If you are choosing a template or planning a redesign, keep these principles in mind:
| Design choice | Accessible approach |
|---|---|
| Text over images | Use a solid or semi-opaque overlay so contrast stays high |
| Font size | Comfortable body text, generous line height, short line lengths |
| Animations | Subtle, short and not essential to understanding content |
| Colour to show meaning | Always pair colour with text or icons, for example “Required” not just a red border |
| Menus | Simple navigation that works with a keyboard and on mobile |
| Sliders and carousels | Avoid auto-rotation, or include pause controls |
| Pop-ups | Easy to close with a keyboard, not triggered instantly |
For more ideas on clean, professional layouts, see our Wix website design tips and our guide to choosing a Wix template.
Accessible online stores and booking pages
For ecommerce and bookings, test the whole journey: browse, filter, choose a variant, add to cart, check out, or pick a time slot and confirm. Product images need alt text, variant selectors must work with a keyboard, and error messages at checkout must be clear. Our Wix store conversion tips show how accessibility and sales go hand in hand.
How to test your Wix site for accessibility
Combine automated and manual testing:
- Wix’s built-in checker for platform-specific issues.
- Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools, which includes an accessibility audit. Run it on your homepage and key landing pages and work through the flagged items.
- Browser extensions such as WAVE or axe to highlight contrast, label and structure issues.
- Keyboard-only test of every key page, without touching the mouse.
- Screen reader test using VoiceOver on Mac or iPhone, or NVDA on Windows, on your homepage, a service page and your contact form.
- Zoom test at 200 percent to check nothing overlaps or disappears.
Automated tools typically find only a portion of issues. Manual checks catch the rest, such as confusing link text or illogical reading order.
Wix accessibility checklist
Run through this list before publishing any new page, product or blog post:
- One descriptive H1, with H2 and H3 headings in logical order
- Alt text on every meaningful image; decorative images marked as decorative
- Text contrast at least 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text)
- Descriptive link and button text, no bare “click here”
- Every form field has a visible label and clear error messages
- All interactive elements reachable by keyboard with a visible focus outline
- Videos captioned; nothing autoplays with sound
- Page readable and usable at 200 percent zoom and on a small phone
- Site language set correctly
Common Wix accessibility mistakes
- Using headings for styling. Choosing H1 for a big quote or H4 for small text breaks the page structure.
- Text baked into images. Screen readers cannot read it and it does not resize. Use live text instead.
- Light grey text on white. It looks elegant but fails contrast checks.
- Empty or generic alt text, such as “image1.jpg” or “photo”.
- Relying on overlay widgets. Third-party accessibility overlays do not fix underlying issues in your design and content and are not a substitute for building accessibly.
- Forgetting new content. Each new blog post and product needs the same checks.
Need help with Wix accessibility? Let MIVAQ do it for you
MIVAQ audits and improves Wix and Wix Studio websites so more people can use them. Our accessibility service includes:
- A full audit using automated tools, keyboard testing and screen reader checks
- Fixing headings, alt text, contrast, focus order and form labels
- Design adjustments that keep your brand while meeting WCAG AA goals
- Checks on store checkouts, booking flows and members areas
- A plain-English report and an accessibility statement draft
Get a free consultation and a fixed-price quote. Visit our Wix solutions page and our web design services, then contact us:
- WhatsApp: message us
- Email: hello@mivaq.com
- Form: send your project details
Related Wix guides
- How to make your Wix website mobile-friendly
- How to redesign your Wix website without losing traffic
- Wix website maintenance checklist
- How to create forms that convert on Wix
- Is Wix good for small business?
- The complete Wix guide
Frequently asked questions
Are Wix websites accessible?
Wix provides accessibility tools and settings, but whether a site is accessible depends on how it is designed and what content is added. With good practices, a Wix site can meet WCAG AA goals.
Does Wix have an accessibility checker?
Yes. Wix includes a built-in tool that scans your site for common accessibility issues and guides you through fixes. Pair it with manual keyboard and screen reader testing.
Do accessibility overlays make my Wix site compliant?
No. Overlays may add display options, but they do not fix problems in your structure, content or design. Fixing the site itself is the reliable approach.
Does accessibility help SEO?
Yes, indirectly. Clear headings, descriptive alt text and link text, captions and fast, readable pages help search engines understand your content and improve user experience.
Can MIVAQ make my Wix website accessible?
Yes. We audit your site, fix issues and report on the results for a fixed price. Book a free consultation.
Conclusion
An accessible Wix website welcomes more customers and builds trust. Start with the built-in checker, fix headings, alt text, contrast, keyboard access and forms, then test manually and keep checking new content. Small, consistent habits make a big difference. If you would like experts to audit and fix your site, get in touch with MIVAQ.
