A care website addresses a special group: older people in need of care, their relatives who are often no longer young themselves, and care staff looking for a reliable employer. This is precisely where accessibility is far more than an obligation under the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG). It determines whether a visually impaired prospect can even find your contact form and submit it. In Germany, around 74 percent (Bitkom) of people aged 65 and over now use the internet - so the audience is online, but it needs accessible offerings. This article does not stop at general BFSG awareness; it shows step by step how to put contrast, large type, keyboard operation, alt text, accessible forms and read-aloud or easy-language options into practice - and why each of these steps can bring in more enquiries.
Key takeaways
- For care websites, accessibility is not only a BFSG obligation but a direct conversion lever: a clearly readable, operable site lowers the hurdle to submitting an enquiry.
- The audience consists disproportionately of older people with declining eyesight, fine motor skills and concentration - exactly the groups that benefit most from accessibility.
- The most important levers are high contrast, large scalable type, full keyboard operation, meaningful alt text and an accessible contact form.
- A read-aloud function and easy language are sensible additions for comprehension, but they do not replace cleanly implemented foundations in the code.
- Accessibility is not a one-off project: every new page and every new image can introduce barriers, so testing belongs in ongoing maintenance.
Why Accessibility in Care Is a Conversion Lever
Anyone discussing accessibility quickly ends up among paragraphs and test criteria. For a care service, however, the decisive question is a business one: how many people who need your help reach the contact form - and can fill it in? The answer depends directly on how accessible the site is. A website with small, low-contrast type and tiny buttons excludes precisely the people you want to reach. Every invisible barrier is therefore a lost enquiry.
This audience is large and growing. At the end of 2023, around 5.69 million (Destatis) people in Germany were in need of care, and projections expect a further marked increase in the coming years. The majority are cared for at home: 86 percent (Destatis) of those in need of care received their support in their own homes, a considerable share of them with the help of home-care services. These are precisely the families searching online for support - and they choose the provider whose website they can use without obstacles.
On top of that, researching a care service usually happens under time pressure and emotional strain. A relative who needs a quick solution after a hospital stay has no patience for a site they cannot read or operate. An accessible care website reduces this friction at every point - from the first impression to the submitted form. The economic effect is therefore directly measurable in the number of incoming enquiries.
Distinction: more than BFSG awareness
Step 1: Contrast That Even Tired Eyes Can Read
The most effective and most frequently violated lever is colour contrast. The WCAG 2.2 standard requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 (WCAG 2.2) between text and background for normal body text, and at least 3:1 for large type from 18 points. Light-grey text on a white background may look elegant in a design draft, but for a 75-year-old eye it is often simply unreadable. With age, contrast sensitivity declines, and lens clouding such as cataracts amplifies this effect.
How widespread age-related vision impairments are is shown by a simple figure: between the ages of 65 and 75, over 90 percent (Woche des Sehens) of people are affected by lens clouding, and age-related macular degeneration is considered the most common cause of blindness in older people. In total, the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted estimates around 1.2 million (DBSV) people with visual impairment or blindness in Germany, a large share of them over 60. For this group, high contrast is not a comfort feature but the prerequisite for using the site at all.
- Body text with a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against the background, large headings with at least 3:1
- No colour coding alone: do not mark required fields or errors only in red, but also with text and a symbol
- Important buttons with strong colour contrast instead of pale pastel on a white background
- Measure contrast with a checking tool rather than judging it by eye - appearances often deceive
In practice this means: define a calm, high-contrast colour scheme during the design stage rather than repairing it afterwards. This is not a sacrifice of aesthetics. Clear typography and generous spacing look serious and high-quality to all visitors - and incidentally, strong contrast is also a gain on a smartphone in sunlight.
Step 2: Large, Scalable Type
Closely tied to contrast is font size. Body text that is too small forces older users to zoom in or to give up entirely. WCAG 2.2 requires that text can be enlarged to up to 200 percent (WCAG 2.2) without losing content or breaking the layout. A solid baseline is a base font size of around 18 pixels instead of the smaller values often used - for an audience with declining eyesight this is not a matter of taste but of pragmatism.
What matters is implementation with relative units. Font sizes defined in relative measures rather than fixed pixels respect the browser's personal settings. If a user has set a larger default font in their browser - which many older people do - the page scales with it. A page that ignores this breaks apart when zoomed, overlaps or cuts off text. This technical care belongs in any solid technical implementation.
Don't forget line length and spacing
Step 3: Full Keyboard Operation
Not everyone operates a website with a mouse. People with tremor, limited fine motor skills or a motor disability often use the keyboard, a special input aid or a screen reader. WCAG 2.2 therefore requires that the entire page can be operated using the keyboard alone - every link, every button, every form field must be reachable with the Tab key and triggerable with the Enter key. Whatever works with a mouse must also work without one.
Equally important is the visible focus indicator. Anyone moving through the page with the keyboard must be able to see at all times where they are. A clear outline around the active element is mandatory - many sites hide it for design reasons and thereby render keyboard operation unusable. In addition, WCAG 2.2 requires a minimum target size for most controls of 24 by 24 pixels (WCAG 2.2), so that shaky hands can hit them reliably too. Larger click areas also help everyone who operates a smartphone with their thumb.
Everything reachable by Tab
Every interactive element is reachable via the keyboard and arranged in a sensible, logical order.
Visible focus
The currently active element is clearly outlined, so orientation without a mouse succeeds at all times.
Large target areas
Buttons and links offer at least 24 by 24 pixels of area, so that uncertain hands can hit them reliably.
Step 4: Alt Text and a Meaningful Structure
A screen reader reads out a page by interpreting the underlying code. Images without alternative text remain silent or are read out with an incomprehensible file name. For a care website this means: every content-relevant image - the team, the care vehicle, the building - needs a short, descriptive alternative text. Purely decorative graphics, by contrast, are deliberately marked as decorative so that the screen reader skips them and does not hold up the user with trivia.
At least as important as alt text is a clean heading structure. Screen-reader users often jump from heading to heading to get an overview. A logical hierarchy of a main heading and clearly subordinate subheadings is therefore essential - as are correctly marked-up lists, tables and navigation areas. This semantic cleanliness pays off twice, because search engines also value clear structures, which can have a positive effect on local visibility.
For a screen-reader user, an image without alternative text does not exist. What is not described cannot be perceived.
Step 5: The Accessible Contact Form
The contact form is the most important place on a care website, because this is where the enquiry is created. Yet it is precisely here that many sites fail on accessibility. A form is only accessible if every field has a firmly linked, visible label - a placeholder inside the field is not enough, because it disappears as you type and is not reliably read out by many assistive tools. Required fields must be clearly identifiable as such, and not only through colour.
The error messages are also decisive. If a field is filled in incorrectly or incompletely, it must be explained clearly, in understandable language and right next to the field, what needs to be corrected. A blanket message such as input invalid helps no one. For screen-reader users, the message must also be marked up so that it is read out automatically. This care determines whether a relative successfully submits their enquiry or abandons it in frustration - a point closely linked to data protection on care websites, because both concern trust at the most sensitive point of the site.
- Every field has a visible, permanently shown label instead of a disappearing placeholder
- Required fields are marked with text and a symbol, not by colour alone
- Error messages appear in clear language directly next to the affected field
- The form can be completed and submitted entirely with the keyboard
- After submission there is a clear, clearly visible confirmation
- Disruptive time limits while filling in are avoided, so that slower typing is no problem either
The form is the moment of truth
Step 6: Read-Aloud and Easy Language as Additions
Beyond the technical foundations, there are two options that noticeably increase comprehension for the care audience. The first is a read-aloud function: content that is read out loud helps people with visual impairment, with reading difficulties or with declining concentration. What matters is that such a function uses the clean semantic structure of the page rather than replacing it - it is an addition, not a substitute for accessible code, which already lets every screen reader read the content aloud.
The second option is easy or plain language. In care in particular, complex topics - care levels, benefits, applications - meet an audience that takes in this information under strain. An additional explanation of the most important content in plain language, with short sentences and without jargon, considerably lowers the comprehension hurdle. It does not replace the detailed content but complements it - an approach that fits well with a thoughtful content strategy for relatives.
| Measure | What it achieves | Especially valuable for |
|---|---|---|
| Read-aloud function | Content is played back out loud | People with visual impairment or reading difficulties |
| Easy language | Short sentences, clear words, no jargon | People with cognitive impairments or under strain |
| Clear visual language | Symbols and photos instead of a wall of text | Everyone seeking quick orientation |
| Consistent navigation | The same operation on every page | Older users and people with cognitive impairments |
Be careful with pure overlay widgets
Step 7: Test, Document and Maintain
Accessibility is not a one-off project but a state that must be maintained. Every new subpage, every new image and every functional extension can introduce new barriers. That is why regular testing belongs in ongoing website maintenance. Automated tools reliably cover part of the criteria - such as missing alt text or contrast that is too weak. Other points, such as whether an alternative text is meaningful or whether the language is understandable, require a manual assessment. The combination of both keeps the level permanently stable.
Conformity also includes an accessibility statement. The BFSG expects providers to inform users about the state of accessibility and to provide a feedback mechanism through which users can report barriers. This statement names the applied standard, the date of the test and a contact option. It is not a mere obligatory document but a signal of trust. Our page on accessibility in care shows what such a statement and the corresponding implementation look like.
From over 50 website projects (project experience) we know that the biggest lever lies not in expensive special technology but in solid foundations: a well-considered design, clean code and consistent care with images and forms. Most WCAG criteria are not rocket science but craftsmanship. Anyone who plans for them from the outset achieves a high level of accessibility without breaking the budget - and lays the foundation for a website that convinces both legally and on a human level. Anyone replacing an outdated site anyway should think about accessibility, mobile-friendliness and data protection together rather than tackling them one after another.
- Stocktaking: test the current site automatically and manually against WCAG 2.2 AA and document all barriers.
- Prioritisation: order the points by severity and effort - critical operability first, cosmetic details last.
- Implementation: adjust contrast, type, keyboard operation, alt text and the contact form, or rebuild the site.
- Additions: use a read-aloud function and plain language where they concretely help the audience.
- Statement: publish an accessibility statement with the standard, test date and a feedback channel.
- Ongoing maintenance: test new content regularly and secure accessibility permanently within maintenance.
Recruiting also benefits from this approach. An accessible career page with easily operable forms reaches more applicants - for example, when the quick application without a cover letter is implemented cleanly and is keyboard-operable. Accessibility thus affects both central goals of a care website: more enquiries from people in need of care and their relatives, as well as more applications from care staff.