Contrast is the start, not the certificate
Failing contrast still fails older eyes and outdoor glare. Fix it. Then keep going. Grey placeholder text on grey fields is a fashionable way to hide the form.
Do not convey state by colour alone. Error must include text and, ideally, an icon. Payment “green vs red” without words fails colour-blind staff in ops tools.
Keyboard, focus, and forms
Visible focus rings are not “ugly.” They are how keyboard and some assistive users know where they are. Custom components that eat Tab order are bugs, not polish.
Every input needs a name. Placeholder is not a label. Associate errors with fields. India-specific fields (GSTIN, PIN) need examples, not only red borders: form UX.
Screen readers and Indian language pages
Set `lang` correctly. Do not put the only Tamil offer inside a JPG. If you mix English UI with Tamil content, say so in the heading structure so the reader does not hear a soup.
Motion, captions, and media
Autoplay hero video with no pause control is an accessibility and data problem on Jio. Respect reduced-motion. Captions are not optional if the offer is spoken. Related media restraint: visual noise.
Icon-only buttons need accessible names. A hamburger that reads as “button” is a closed door.
Touch targets and low-vision on cheap Androids
Small Androids plus chubby fingers plus a sticky WhatsApp widget equals mis-taps. 44px targets, spacing between destructive and primary actions, pinch-zoom not disabled.
Type smaller than 16px in form fields causes iOS zoom and Android squint. That is conversion, not aesthetics.
Legal risk vs conversion upside in India
Government and education buyers increasingly ask for accessible sites. Private SMEs still under-invest because enforcement feels distant. The better argument is lost bookings and lost tenders, not fear.
Do not fake an accessibility widget overlay as a cure. Overlays do not fix unlabelled Figma that shipped as div soup.
WCAG as a checklist, not a poster
Use WCAG 2.2 AA as a punch list on the screens you ship. A framed certificate in reception does not help the form. Prioritise the money path first.
What SMEs can ship in a ₹50,000 pack
For ~12 screens: contrast, type scale, labelled forms, error text, focus states in the file, tap sizes, and reduced-motion notes for developers. That is a honest slice. A full VPAT for an enterprise suite is a different engagement.
Brand colour that cannot pass contrast needs a token change, not a lecture — sometimes that is a branding tweak from ₹25,000.
How we test from Chennai
Keyboard pass, zoom, a screen reader spot-check, and a cheap Android in daylight. We do not pretend that equals a specialist audit of a bank. Engineering follows on website or Next.js.
Consultation or contact with the URL and the job (book, pay, apply).
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