An accessible website is one that people can use regardless of disability: members who are blind and use a screen reader, members who cannot use a mouse, members with low vision, hearing loss, or cognitive differences. For a credit union, whose whole purpose is serving its members, that is a service obligation before it is anything else. It has also been a source of legal demand letters aimed at financial institutions, which is why it tends to land on the marketing team’s desk.
This article is a practical overview, not legal advice. Involve your compliance team and counsel in your approach.
The standard most teams work toward
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, are the recognized technical standard. Most organizations aim for version 2.1 at the AA level. The guidelines are organized around four ideas: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
The most common problems
- Text that does not have enough contrast against its background
- Images, icons, and buttons without text alternatives
- Forms with missing labels or error messages that a screen reader cannot announce
- Menus, sliders, and pop-ups that cannot be used with a keyboard
- Videos without captions
- PDFs such as applications, disclosures, and newsletters that were never tagged for accessibility
- Third-party tools, including loan applications, calculators, chat, and appointment schedulers, that sit outside your site but are part of the member experience
Why overlays are not the answer
Accessibility widgets that promise instant compliance with one line of code are tempting. They do not fix the underlying code, they often interfere with the assistive technology members already use, and they have not stopped organizations from receiving complaints. Fix the site itself.
A realistic plan
- Audit. Combine automated scanning with manual testing by someone who knows how to use a keyboard and screen reader.
- Prioritize. Start with the templates and tasks members use most: home page, navigation, login, product pages, applications, and contact.
- Remediate. Fix issues in the design system and templates so they stay fixed.
- Address documents and vendors. Ask every vendor for their accessibility conformance documentation and build requirements into contracts.
- Publish an accessibility statement with a way for members to report problems and get help.
- Train content editors. Most new issues are introduced one blog post, image, and PDF at a time.
- Re-test on a schedule. Accessibility is maintenance, not a one-time project.
The side benefits are real. Accessible sites tend to be faster, clearer, better on mobile, and easier for search engines to understand. The work you do for members who need it improves the experience for everyone.
Space One Media is a full-service creative agency built for credit unions. If this is on your list for the year, book a discovery call and we will talk through where your members are going.