By Ben Henshall, UX Lead, Brandwidth
B2B buyers have changed dramatically. They are digitally savvy, time-starved and demand the same seamless experiences they have when they’re shopping as consumers.
Accessibility issues can be a source of frustration. A Forrester study reveals 57% of buyers abandon a purchase due to usability and accessibility issues. Two of the most common complaints are low colour contrast, making text unreadable, and forms which are hard to complete. Problems also arise when keyboard navigation, where tab keys can be used to move around a page, is overlooked.
Adding friction in any form to online journeys raises the prospect of B2B buyers looking elsewhere to find what they need, fast and with minimal fuss. By contrast, an inclusive experience results in faster journeys, wider reach and improved loyalty.
Accessibility is no longer a tick-box exercise. It’s a business imperative that drives efficiency, builds trust and converts customers.
Accessibility at the heart of great experience
Small fixes such as cleaner design, more readable content and intuitive navigation make a big difference to usability, and can add up to major gains. McKinsey states better accessibility leads to a 20% rise in customer satisfaction and a 15% boost to brand loyalty.
With this in mind, B2B organisations should focus on five key areas of accessibility to provide a high-quality user experience:
Empathy – Understand the real needs of B2B buyers by investigating how they like to interact with your brand online, and use your products and services. Don’t rely on assumptions. Build customer personas and analyse user data to bring context to their accessibility needs.
Simplicity – Clear, uncluttered pages, easy-to-read text and forms which put convenience first should be baked into accessibility design. This approach provides faster, frictionless journeys for all users, improving their experience and prompting better conversion rates.
Trust – Pages developed from a mindset of accessibility prove that an organisation hears and values its users. Better inclusivity builds trust, which in turn drives customer loyalty and a desire to buy again.
Performance – Accessibility also improves visibility. Google – the web’s biggest ‘blind user’ – relies on accessible code to understand sites. Good accessibility therefore supports a successful SEO strategy so a brand is seen ahead of its rivals.
Continuity – Accessibility is never complete. Don’t consider it fixed and simply move on to the next issue. Make it an ongoing priority for every sprint or release. Observe developments across the B2B marketplace, consider compliance and test innovations that will power incremental gains by constantly improving user experience.
It’s important to note that while these improvements are essential for users with specific access needs, they almost always make the experience better for everyone.
Protect your brand with accessible design
Some B2B brands have already placed accessibility at the heart of their digital strategy. Microsoft, for example, has built accessibility into its design system from the ground up, even flagging contrast levels for brand colours so its developers keep readability front of mind.
GOV.UK, though not commercial, is another benchmark. The UK’s digital one-stop-shop for government-run services manages vast amounts of content and functionality, while maintaining high accessibility standards.
It’s true that large organisations may have more resources to implement these frameworks, but smaller brands can also benefit from adopting the same principles. Accessibility doesn’t require enterprise-level budgets, just awareness and consistency.
Meanwhile, it’s crucial to recognise accessibility has become a legal requirement. As lawsuits and enforcement actions rise a ‘fix it later’ attitude is no longer an excuse.
The European Accessibility Act, which took effect in June 2025, mandates accessibility for most digital products and services, including B2B e-commerce. Even though the UK is no longer in the EU, UK-based companies that market to or sell within Europe still fall under its scope.
Globally, similar frameworks are already in place: the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 in the US, and parallel standards across Canada and Australia.
All of these regulations align with the same benchmark, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This provides a clear, measurable standard for compliance. Although WCAG is widely recognised, around 96% of the world’s top one million websites still have detectable failures according to the standards.
While that startling statistic proves there’s a long way to go on the accessibility front, many organisations are waking up to the fact that it’s becoming standard practice. Ultimately, this points to a more satisfying experience for B2B buyers and better outcomes for organisations.
