.avif?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2Fiz9dhx3s%2Fproduction%2F5411d93c15b2fc35f9cff6ff83174d7703aa73c6-1083x271.png&a=w%3D1083%26h%3D271%26fm%3Davif%26q%3D75&cd=a6a1be338e9430cfef00ad8af9339b8d)
There are around 16.1m people in the UK with a registered disability – and if your website isn’t accessible, they could be missing out on your products and services.
As it stands, 80% of UK adults with disabilities feel excluded because of poor website accessibility and believe brands are missing out on millions of pounds worth of sales. Beyond the lost revenue, poor accessibility also risks creating a negative brand experience - something Warbox is designed to help protect.
The purple pound – the spending power of disabled people and their households – is estimated to be worth £274bn each year. But poor accessibility could cause customers to abandon checkouts, service pages or switch to a competitor, which could cost you, especially during peak periods like Christmas. Excluding them is an ethical issue – and a commercial one if it means they're unable to navigate your site and make purchases.
“When accessibility is poor, customers don’t just leave a website, they form a lasting impression of that brand, which can take just seconds. It tells them the brand hasn’t considered their needs, which erodes crucial trust. Accessible design isn’t just about the compliance side, it’s about showing people they matter.”
– Tania Gerard, accessible marketing consultant and founder at Tania Gerard Digital
The government tested over 1,200 public sector websites from 2022-24 and found accessibility issues on nearly all of them, despite some just needing simple fixes such as colour contrast. Public sector sites do need to meet accessibility standards, so they’re raising the bar – but people will increasingly expect the same experience elsewhere.
That said, many organisations are prioritising accessibility in 2025. National Rail launched a new accessible website to coincide with National Inclusion Week, while tech-giant Apple also announced new features such as braille access to help users access crucial information, with its CEO stating “Accessibility is part of our DNA”.
Google’s algorithms are also prioritising accessibility in 2025 – and brands that get it right could have up to 35% better visibility in search results.
As a brand communications agency that champions digital inclusion, we wanted to find out which UK sectors have the best and worst websites. We analysed Google’s PageSpeed Insights Accessibility Scores for over 1,200 websites across 14 sectors to find out which sectors that need the most improvement.
Key findings:
- Nearly half (48%) of all websites analysed need accessibility improvements
- Travel and tourism websites have the worst website accessibility with over three quarters (79%) needing improvement
- Council websites have the most accessible websites with just 8% requiring improvement
The worst UK websites for accessibility
Our research reveals 48% of websites across 14 sectors require accessibility improvements, many of which could be due to issues such as small font sizes, lack of alt-text for pictures and poor navigation.
Percentage of websites requiring improvement broken down by sector:
[Graph shows percentages of websites requiring improvement versus those with good accessibility, split across five sectors. Percentages of those needing improvement as follows: Travel and tourism: 79%. Hospitality: 70%. Fashion retailers: 64%. Retail: 63%. Legal: 61%.]
Travel and tourism websites perform the worst, with more than three quarters (79%) of websites needing accessibility improvements. Experts predict the purple pound in the travel and tourism sector is worth £14.6bn per year in England but poor accessibility could stop customers from booking getaways.
Hospitality websites are the second worst with 70% of sites analysed needing improvement. Hotels in the EU are raising the bar with accessibility because the new European Accessibility Act, which came into effect in June 2025, states they need to offer inclusive digital experiences for all customers. This provides a good opportunity for UK hospitality brands to follow suit.
A smooth user journey is critical and the path to purchase is fast, so retailers have only a small window to generate a sale. Yet 64% of fashion websites need accessibility improvements, which is slightly more than the wider retail sector, where 63% require improvement. Over half (55%) of consumers say they have discarded a purchase in-store and online because of accessibility issues, which experts have predicted could risk losses of £120bn for retailers.
Legal websites ranked fifth worst with 61% needing improvement – despite often dealing with people in vulnerable situations, including disabled clients. The data reveals many fail to meet WCAG (Website Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards and could be falling short on accessibility laws like Equality Act 2010.
A single bad website experience could have big consequences for your brand. Customers today hold brands to account on social media, so if your website isn’t accessible, it could quickly lead to a PR crisis.
The best UK websites for accessibility
Councils have the most accessible websites in the UK with just 8% needing improvement, followed by GP surgeries (22%) and utilities companies (26%).
Public-facing organisations, including the NHS, are legally required to adhere to WCAG standards, which includes publishing an accessibility statement, and ensuring websites and apps are accessible to everyone, including those with vision, hearing, mobility, and thinking and understanding challenges.
Charities and employment websites rank fourth and fifth, with just 39% and 41% of websites needing improvements, respectively.
“Charity and government websites are to the point with their content, with clear paragraph structures and call-to-actions. They need to get the message to their audience quickly and meet WCAG guidelines. On the other hand, sectors like retail often focus more on making the website look pretty. While visual design is important for user experience, it shouldn’t come at the cost of accessibility, otherwise brands risk isolating their audience.”
–Tania Gerard, accessible marketing consultant and founder at Tania Gerard Digital
[Graph shows the five highest ranking sectors for website accessibility. Only 8% of 'Councils' websites require improvement. The next sector websites are: GP surgeries: 23%. Utilities: 26%. Charities and not-for-profit organisations: 39%. Employment: 41%.]
Council websites
Our research analysed over 350 council websites in the UK, which have the best accessibility compared to 13 other sectors. Northern Irish council websites lead the way, with 100% of websites analysed achieving a ‘good’ accessibility score from 90-100, followed by Scotland (93.5%), England (91.8%) and Wales (90.9%). The only council to score a ‘poor’ accessibility rating below 50 is Wyre Forest District Council in England, at 44, with the rest scoring 76 or higher.
“The Website Content Accessibility Guidelines were published over 25 years ago, yet many brands are still struggling to provide an inclusive online experience. As more businesses shift to e-commerce and the search landscape evolves, accessibility is even more important to reaching customers and creating memorable, positive experiences.
“Creating an accessible website doesn’t have to be expensive and it should be built-in from the start. Some simple changes like adding image and video descriptions, making sure buttons are easy to spot and forms have the right labels, are a good place to start. A web developer can handle the technical side but ultimately, it's a brand's duty to champion website accessibility for their customers.”
–Mark Fensom, director at Warbox
[Graph shows all the fourteen sectors explored by Warbox for website accessibility, side by side, with each sector bar split into 'Percentage of websites requiring improvement' versus 'Percentage of websites with good accessibility'. Websites that need to improve online accessibility as percentages: Travel & tourism: 77%. Hospitality: 67%. Fashion retailer: 64%. Retail: 61%. Legal: 60%. Education: 56%. Healthcare: 51%. IT: 49%. Finance: 43%. Employment: 40%. Charity / NFP: 36%. Utilities: 26%. GP surgeries: 20%. Councils: 8%.]
Expert view: Three ways to make your website accessible
While WCAG guidelines aren’t legally mandatory for every website, they are widely regarded as best practice and should be implemented wherever possible. Following them doesn’t mean sacrificing design - it’s about finding the right balance to ensure your website meets the needs of all your customers and provides the inclusive brand experience you hope to deliver.
Our senior developer Owen Mumby-Harrison provides three tips to help brands improve website accessibility.
- Colour contrast: If your website colours are too similar (for example, grey on black text), you could be excluding customers who are visually impaired. The recommended ratio for colour contrast is 4:5:1 and most government sites use black text against a white background. However, I’d advise dark grey with off-white text is a better alternative because it helps to prevent glare. You can also use a colour contrast tool to work out how accessible your website colours are.
- Add alternative text: When using visuals like pictures, videos or infographics, make sure to include descriptive captions/descriptions and alt-text for visually impaired users or people using a screen reader. Also make sure any forms have clear labels, buttons can be easily identified and you include instructions for interactive elements such as image carousels. It’s also helpful to provide transcripts for videos.
- Use plain English: Ensure written content is clear and easy to understand for all website users. That includes avoiding jargon where possible or providing a definition, and spelling out abbreviations. The WCAG recommends using bullet points, having a single topic per paragraph and ensuring sentences are under 25 words.
How a brand communications agency can help
At Warbox we build and design accessible websites that don’t compromise on design. Our team of web developers and designers are well versed in all aspects of accessibility, including WCAG guidelines, to help brands improve their user journey and ensure websites are inclusive.
Find out how Warbox can help you improve website accessibility..
___________
Methodology
Warbox analysed Google’s PageSpeed Insights Accessibility Scores for over 1,200 companies across 14 industries. Scores of 90 or above are good, 50-89 need improvement, and below 50 is poor. Warbox calculated the percentage of companies scoring under 89 in each sector to rank industries needing the most improvement in online accessibility.