A website that works for most visitors may fail entirely for others, and those failures cost businesses customers they never knew they lost. WCAG 2.2 sets the requirements designers use to prevent those failures, covering form labels connected in code, menus that work without a mouse, closeable popups, text contrast, and video captions, with AA as the commonly used target level. Accessibility work also overlaps with SEO in practical ways: alt text helps screen readers and gives Google better information about images, heading structure helps both customers and search engines understand page content, and descriptive link text tells users and Google where a link leads before anyone clicks it. Beyond users with permanent disabilities, accessible design benefits anyone dealing with a temporary injury, a difficult screen environment, or a situation where audio isn’t possible, making captions, contrast, keyboard controls, and clear form labels useful to a much wider customer base. The legal stakes are real: the ADA requires businesses serving the public to provide equal access through their websites, and businesses have faced lawsuits and enforcement over inaccessible sites. WCAG provides designers with specific requirements to follow for ADA compliance, even without a universal federal mandate. Accessibility is always easier to address during the build than after customers are already using the site — and a plugin alone cannot guarantee a website is fully accessible.
source: https://www.utahmarketers.com/is-poor-website-accessibility-costing-you-customers/
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