Is Your B2B Website Accessible Enough?

In B2B, digital accessibility is still sometimes treated as a “nice to have”. Many people associate it primarily with public sector or government websites, overlooking its importance for B2B digital platforms. Even though accessibility is typically included during website development, many businesses overlook it and aren’t aware that ensuring ongoing digital accessibility is their responsibility once the site is live. With new legal requirements in the UK and Europe, rising expectations for inclusion, and the realities of how people use digital products, accessibility is now a must for B2B websites.

Here’s how Beach breaks it down.

Digital accessibility means designing and building websites that everyone can use, including people with visual, hearing, motor, cognitive, or neurological impairments (AbilityNet, 2026). In practice, this means users can navigate with a keyboard or assistive tools, understand content easily, interact with forms, menus, buttons, and documents, and access information in different formats. The above requirements are defined by Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), with Level AA being the widely accepted benchmark for most organisations.

In fast-paced B2B environments, accessibility is too often treated as an afterthought. According to the World Health Organisation (2025), around 16% of the global population – roughly 1 in 6 people live with a significant disability. In the UK alone, 1 in 4 people have a disability (House of Commons Library, 2025). Disabled users are part of your B2B audience – procurement managers, engineers, decision-makers, or any employees using the internal systems – whether you acknowledge them or not.

Accessibility requirements depend on an organisation’s sector and legal obligations. In the UK, public sector websites must comply with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which implement the Equality Act 2010 in the digital space. Other organisations, including private businesses, charities, and independent education and healthcare providers, are covered directly by the Equality Act 2010, which requires reasonable adjustments to make digital services accessible to disabled users (DPW, 2026).

According to various sources, here is a breakdown of the importance of accessibility by website type:

Starting 28 June 2025, UK businesses providing services in the EU that meet the size (more than 10 employees) and turnover thresholds (over £ 2 million) must comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA), or risk fines and exclusion from the market (Accessibility, 2025).

One of the biggest misconceptions is that accessibility only helps a small group of people, when it actually offers a better user experience for everyone, including mobile users, people in bright sunlight, those with temporary impairments, and users on unstable internet connections. For businesses, accessibility can expand your reach, increase procurement opportunities, reduce bounce rates, build trust and brand credibility, and support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments.

Accessibility is typically built into design systems, development processes, and QA and handover checks. However, specialist accessibility audits can uncover issues that standard workflows may miss (Reciteme, 2026).

At Beach, accessibility is embedded into the workflow of every department.

Our Studio and Design team sets the foundations for accessibility by considering colour contrast, legibility (font choice, size, and spacing), and predictable layouts – all with real users and assistive technologies in mind, not just aesthetics.

Our SEO & Content team ensures all best practices are followed so both users and search engines can interpret the content correctly – including meaningful alt text, clear heading structures, descriptive link text (not just “click here”), and content that is easy to scan and understand.

The development team ensures accessibility is technically sound by implementing semantic HTML, keyboard navigation, and assistive technology compatibility.
Accessibility should never be an afterthought – it needs to be built in from the very start. While the web design agency is responsible for the technical accessibility of the build, the business is responsible for overall accessibility and legal compliance.

• Run an accessibility audit – Use free tools like WAVE, the Axe DevTools browser extension or Google Lighthouse (available in Chrome DevTools). These tools help identify common issues like missing alt text, colour contrast problems, and structural errors.
• Aim for WCAG Level AA – This level provides a practical balance between meaningful accessibility and implementation, while also helping reduce legal risks.
• Fix issues and monitor regularly – Each time you add new pages, publish blog content, or upload images or videos, you could introduce accessibility issues. Regular checks ensure your site remains compliant.

Never assume your third-party tools are accessible

• Cookie banners
• Chatbots
• Booking systems
• Embedded PDFs (tagged pdf, logical reading order, selectable text, accessible headings and links)

If a third-party tool is inaccessible, your website is still non-compliant.

Digital accessibility is no longer just for public sector websites. It is a fundamental principle of an inclusive digital world and increasingly applies to businesses of all sizes, both in the UK and globally.