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Cognitive accessibility for small-business websites: easier for ADHD, autism, dyslexia and memory differences

How to make a small-business website easier for people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia or memory differences: consistent pages, plain writing, fewer distractions, no retyping, forgiving forms and enough time, with copyable code, WCAG 2.2 references and a 5-minute check.

Many visitors find a website hard to use not because they can't see or hear it, but because it asks too much of their attention, memory or reading. That includes people with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, brain injuries, anxiety or memory loss, and anyone who is tired, stressed or reading in a second language. The W3C has a whole guide on this, Making Content Usable for People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities. Below are the changes a small-business site can make this week, with the WCAG 2.2 success criteria they relate to.

1. Make every page work the same way

Keep the menu in the same order on every page (3.2.3 Consistent Navigation), call the same thing by the same name everywhere, for example always "Book now" rather than "Book", "Reserve" and "Schedule" on different pages (3.2.4 Consistent Identification), and put your phone, email or contact link in the same place on every page (3.2.6 Consistent Help). Give each page a title that says what it is (2.4.2 Page Titled) and headings that describe the section below them (2.4.6 Headings and Labels).

<header>
  <nav aria-label="Main">
    <ul>
      <li><a href="/services">Services</a></li>
      <li><a href="/prices">Prices</a></li>
      <li><a href="/book">Book now</a></li>
      <li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li>
    </ul>
  </nav>
  <p class="help">Questions? Call <a href="tel:+15555550100">555-555-0100</a> (example number)</p>
</header>

2. Write short, plain and in order

Lead with what the visitor came for: the price, the hours, the next step. Use short sentences, everyday words, one idea per paragraph, and numbered steps for anything with an order. Explain or avoid jargon and abbreviations. WCAG treats a lower-secondary reading level as an AAA goal (3.1.5 Reading Level), which is a good target even if you don't aim for AAA. Make links say where they go, "See our prices" rather than "Click here" (2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)). Let people change spacing without breaking the page (1.4.12 Text Spacing); see our readability guide.

<h2>How to book</h2>
<ol>
  <li>Choose a service and a time.</li>
  <li>Enter your name and phone number.</li>
  <li>Check the details and press "Confirm booking".</li>
</ol>
<p>You'll get a text within 5 minutes. To change it, reply to that text.</p>

The steps and timings above are examples; write your own real process.

3. Cut distractions you control

Anything that moves, blinks or plays by itself for more than 5 seconds needs a way to pause or stop it (2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide), and nothing should flash more than three times a second (2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold). A warning screen doesn't replace these: the content still has to be pausable and below the flash limits. Respect the "reduce motion" setting (2.3.3 Animation from Interactions, AAA). Don't open pop-ups the moment the page loads or when someone moves into a field, and don't change the page just because a choice was made (3.2.1 On Focus, 3.2.2 On Input). See our animation and motion guide and pop-up and chat widget guide.

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  *, *::before, *::after {
    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    scroll-behavior: auto !important;
  }
}

4. Don't make people remember or retype

Don't ask for the same information twice in one process; fill it in or let people pick it (3.3.7 Redundant Entry). Keep labels visible above fields instead of placeholder text that disappears when typing starts (3.3.2 Labels or Instructions). Use autocomplete so browsers fill names, emails and addresses. Don't make login depend on remembering a password or solving a puzzle with no alternative; allow password managers and paste, or offer an email link (3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum)). See our login and CAPTCHA guide.

<label for="email">Email</label>
<input id="email" name="email" type="email" autocomplete="email">

<label for="ship-same">
  <input id="ship-same" type="checkbox" checked>
  Billing address is the same as delivery address
</label>

5. Forgiving forms and enough time

Say what went wrong in words and how to fix it (3.3.1 Error Identification, 3.3.3 Error Suggestion), keep what people already typed, and show a review step before a payment or booking is final (3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data)). If a booking hold or session times out, warn people and let them extend it (2.2.1 Timing Adjustable). See our form error messages guide and time limits guide.

<p id="timeout-msg" role="alert" hidden>
  Your booking hold ends in 2 minutes.
  <button type="button" id="extend">Give me 10 more minutes</button>
</p>

The times above are examples; match them to your real booking system.

Platform notes

Settings change often, so check your platform's own help pages for the current options.

Common mistakes

A 5-minute check you can do today

  1. Open three pages. Is the menu in the same order with the same names, and is the contact link in the same place?
  2. Read your homepage's first screen. Can you tell in 10 seconds what you sell and what to do next?
  3. Wait 10 seconds. Does anything still move or play? Can you pause it?
  4. Fill your main form with one deliberate mistake. Is the error in words, and is the rest of your typing kept?
  5. Zoom to 200% and check nothing is cut off. See our keyboard test too.

What a scan can and can't check here

An automated scan finds only part of the barriers on the pages it visits. Here it can flag missing page titles, empty or skipped headings, unlabelled fields, missing autocomplete on some fields, vague link text and some autoplaying media. It can't judge whether your wording is plain, whether pages feel consistent, or whether a pop-up is distracting, which is why the 5-minute check above matters. Our Fix-Pack reports include copy-paste fixes for what the scan finds on up to 10 pages.

Building sites for several clients? The agency 5-pack gives you five white-label reports to use within 12 months.

Related: link text and buttons, accessible contact forms, accessibility statement template, WCAG 2.2 explained.

This is general technical guidance, not legal or medical advice, and it doesn't certify compliance with the ADA or any law, or protect against claims.

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This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it does not certify compliance with the ADA or any law.

Related guides

All guides

This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.

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14-day refund promise. See a sample report first. A technical report, not legal advice; automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.