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Website Accessibility

Can every customer actually use your website?

Shepard Consulting audits and remediates small business websites against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard most often used to measure website accessibility under the ADA. The work covers keyboard navigation, screen reader support, color contrast, form labels and error messages, alt text, and a published accessibility statement. We fix the code. We do not sell overlay widgets.

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Everything happens by email. Replies within 24 hours from matt@shepardconsulting.ai.

The Problem

What is actually going on

Try using your own site with the mouse unplugged. Tab through the menu, open the contact form, submit it with a mistake in it. On most small business sites you get stuck by the second step.

That is what the site is like every day for a customer who uses a keyboard, a screen reader, or a phone in bright sun. They do not complain. They leave and call somebody else.

What You Get

What is included

  • WCAG 2.1 AA audit

    Automated scanning plus a manual pass with a keyboard and a screen reader, because scanners miss most of what matters.

  • Fixes in the source code

    Skip links, focus order, visible focus rings, heading structure, landmarks, contrast, alt text, and reduced motion support.

  • Forms that work for everyone

    Labels tied to fields, errors announced to screen readers, and modals that trap and return focus correctly.

  • Accessibility statement

    A published statement with the standard you target, known limitations, and a way to report a problem.

  • Re-check after changes

    Accessibility breaks quietly when pages get edited. I re-test after updates on a schedule you choose.

How It Works

Three steps, all by email

  1. Send me the URL

    I audit the site and email a findings list ranked by how badly each issue blocks a real user.

  2. I fix the code

    On your existing site where the platform allows it. I will tell you up front if it does not.

  3. Publish the statement and re-test

    You get the statement, the test results, and a date for the next check.

I Try It On Me First

Where this has already been proven

This site went through the same retrofit: a skip link, visible focus rings, reduced motion support, labeled form fields with announced errors, focus-trapped modals, and an accessibility statement linked in the footer. Unplug your mouse and try it.

I am not an attorney and none of this is legal advice. I fix websites. Your lawyer tells you what the law requires of your business.

Before any build starts, we write down exactly what done means and we both sign it. I keep working until every item on that list functions. No cutoffs, no close enough.

I am Matt Shepard, a licensed general contractor in Colorado and the owner of Shepard Consulting. Every system I sell is one I run in my own businesses. Read the case studies.

Common Questions

Website Accessibility and ADA Compliance: questions people ask

Is my business website required to be ADA compliant?

That is a legal question and I am not a lawyer. What I can tell you is that the Department of Justice has said the ADA applies to business websites, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the technical standard it adopted for state and local government sites in 2024. Most private businesses use the same standard as their target. Ask your attorney how it applies to you.

Do accessibility overlay widgets work?

An overlay is a script that tries to patch accessibility problems in the browser. It does not fix the underlying code, and screen reader users regularly report that overlays make sites harder to use. I fix the source instead.

What is WCAG 2.1 AA?

WCAG is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the W3C. Version 2.1 at Level AA is the most commonly used target. It covers things like keyboard access, text contrast, labels on forms, captions, and content that works with screen readers.

How much does an accessibility audit cost?

It depends on the number of page templates and forms on the site, not the raw page count. Send the URL in a message and I will reply with a quote by email.

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Tell me what you need fixed

Send a message with your business name and what is not working. I will reply by email with what I would do and what it costs.

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Last updated September 20, 2026.