What It Is
Accessibility means making a website usable by everyone, including people who are blind or have low vision, are deaf or hard of hearing, or have trouble using a mouse. WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, is the widely used international standard for this, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It covers things like readable color contrast, text descriptions for images and full keyboard navigation. It is the web version of a ramp beside the front steps.
Why It Matters for Your Business
An accessible site welcomes more customers, and many fixes also help everyone, such as clearer text and larger buttons. In the US, businesses have faced complaints and lawsuits over websites that people with disabilities could not use. A contractor whose quote form cannot be completed with a keyboard, or a salon whose menu is only an image, shuts some customers out.
Good to Know
Start with the basics: add alt text to images, use strong color contrast, label every form field and make sure the site works using only a keyboard. Free online checkers can flag many common problems in minutes. They will not catch everything, but they are a sensible first step for any small business site.