Accessibility & compliance

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Squarespace websites that work for everyone

Most Squarespace websites fail basic accessibility checks. Not because the platform can't support accessible design (it can), but because the people building them don't know what to look for. Colour contrast that fails on grey-on-white. Buttons that lose focus states when hovered. Images without alt text. Form fields without labels. Carousels that scroll faster than a screen reader can announce them.

We audit Squarespace websites against WCAG 2.2 standards and fix what's broken. For clients building new sites, we design and develop with accessibility baked in from the first wireframe.

Why this matters now

Accessibility used to be a "nice to have." It isn't anymore.

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled users, and a public-facing website counts as a service. In the EU, the European Accessibility Act came into force in June 2025, extending accessibility requirements to private-sector e-commerce, banking, transport and digital services. In the US, ADA Title III lawsuits targeting inaccessible websites have been rising year on year, with Squarespace sites named in cases.

For public sector bodies, NHS Trusts, financial services, educational institutions and any organisation procuring digital services, accessibility compliance is now a procurement requirement, not an optional extra.

The reputational risk is real too. An inaccessible website tells 20% of your visitors, the proportion of UK adults with a disability, that you didn't think about them.

What we do

Accessibility audits We test your Squarespace website against WCAG 2.2 Level AA, the standard referenced by UK and EU law. The audit covers automated checks (using axe and Lighthouse), manual testing (keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility with VoiceOver and NVDA, focus management, ARIA implementation), and visual checks (colour contrast, text scaling, motion preferences). You get a written report ranking issues by severity, with clear remediation guidance for each.

Remediation We fix the issues we find. Most Squarespace accessibility problems are fixable through a combination of design adjustments (contrast, hierarchy, focus styles), custom CSS (skip links, focus indicators, hover states that work for keyboard users), and content changes (alt text, link labels, heading structure). We do the work, retest, and confirm everything passes.

Accessible builds from scratch If you're commissioning a new Squarespace website, we design and develop with WCAG 2.2 in mind from day one. That's cheaper than retrofitting accessibility later, and it produces a better website. Accessibility constraints tend to force good design decisions.

Ongoing accessibility maintenance Websites drift. New blog posts get published without alt text. Marketing teams add images with text baked in. Third-party embeds break keyboard navigation. We offer retained accessibility maintenance for clients who need their site checked quarterly or after major content updates.

What we don't do

We don't issue formal compliance certificates, VPATs, or Accessibility Conformance Reports. Organisations that need those documents (typically US federal contractors and certain EU public-sector bodies) should engage a specialist accessibility consultancy alongside our build and remediation work. We're happy to recommend partners.

We don't install accessibility overlay widgets (like accessiBe or UserWay) as a substitute for proper remediation. Overlays don't fix underlying accessibility issues, and the disability community has been clear that they often make things worse. If you currently have an overlay installed, we'll usually recommend removing it and addressing the real problems beneath.

Who this is for

We work with organisations where accessibility matters either because the law requires it, because the audience demands it, or because the leadership team decided it's the right thing to do.

That includes NHS Trusts, charities serving disabled communities, educational institutions, faith organisations, financial services firms, public sector bodies, and private companies whose procurement teams or legal counsel have flagged accessibility as a requirement.

If you're not sure whether accessibility applies to your organisation, the short answer is: probably yes, and increasingly so.

How it works

  1. Initial conversation. We talk through your site, your audience, your current accessibility posture and any specific requirements (procurement, legal, internal policy).

  2. Scope and quote. We propose an audit scope and timeline. For new builds, accessibility is folded into the project quote.

  3. Audit. Typically 5 to 10 working days depending on site size.

  4. Report. Written findings with prioritised remediation guidance.

  5. Remediation. We fix what needs fixing, or your team does with our written guidance, or a combination.

  6. Retest and sign-off. We verify the fixes and confirm WCAG 2.2 Level AA compliance for the elements within scope.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • WCAG 2.2 became the recommended standard in October 2023. It adds nine new success criteria covering issues like focus appearance, dragging movements, and consistent help. We test against 2.2 by default because it's the current standard, but most of the substantive requirements come from 2.1 and earlier.

  • We guarantee that the elements within audit scope meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA at the point of sign-off. We can't guarantee ongoing compliance if your team publishes new content without applying the same standards, which is why we offer retained accessibility maintenance.

  • Audits start at £1,500 for a focused single-template site and scale up based on site complexity, number of unique templates, and whether you need remediation included. We quote per project.

  • No. Accessibility constraints produce better design, not worse. Clearer hierarchy, better contrast, more thoughtful interactions. These benefit everyone, not just users with disabilities. The "accessibility makes sites ugly" myth comes from cheap retrofits and overlay widgets, not from properly designed accessible websites.

  • Yes, with training. We include accessibility guidance in our standard Squarespace training, and we can deliver a focused accessibility training session for content editors covering alt text, heading structure, link labels, and the things to avoid (text in images, unlabelled buttons, autoplay video).