Caitlin de Rooij is a Web Accessibility Specialist. She works as an Accessibility Consultant for Level Level and provides training and workshops for enhancing digital accessibility. Caitlin’s expertise lies in ensuring that websites and digital content are designed and developed to be inclusive and usable for individuals with diverse abilities and disabilities.
Creating websites that work well for everyone is a wonderful goal, but putting cognitive accessibility into practice can feel overwhelming. You might be asking yourself: “How do I make my complex web app easier for people with different cognitive needs?”
First, you need to understand that the core ideas behind cognitive accessibility benefit everyone. Whether someone has a diagnosed condition or is just having a busy, stressful day, good cognitive accessibility makes their life easier by creating websites that are genuinely easy to understand and use.
For example, think about the last time you tried to fill out a complicated form while tired or struggling to navigate an unfamiliar website in a rush. These moments give us a tiny glimpse into the challenges that people with cognitive disabilities face every day when using the web.
In this guide, we’ll walk through practical ways to improve your website’s cognitive accessibility. You’ll learn:
- How to apply WCAG 2.2 guidelines specifically for cognitive accessibility.
- Real solutions for common accessibility barriers.
- Practical design patterns that work for everyone.
- Testing approaches to ensure your improvements actually help users.
By the end, you’ll have concrete strategies you can use right away to make your websites more accessible for people with different cognitive needs. Let’s get started!
Understanding cognitive accessibility in web design
Creating accessible websites means recognising how different people process information. Research shows that 12.8% of adults have cognitive disabilities, but the real number of people who benefit from cognitive accessibility is much higher.
In general, web designers face several common challenges when implementing cognitive accessibility. The biggest hurdle? Managing how much information users need to process at once. This includes:
- Organising content sensibly.
- Cutting down on distracting elements.
- Making sure navigation stays consistent across pages.
- Handling errors clearly.
- Giving users enough time to complete tasks without rushing.
These challenges directly connect to how our brains work. Some people process information more quickly or slowly than others. Many of us can only keep a few pieces of information in our working memory at once. Reading comprehension varies widely, as does how we process visual information and plan our actions.
It’s also important to remember that there isn’t a universal solution – different cognitive disabilities affect how people use websites in very specific ways:
| Disability type | Main challenges | Design need |
|---|---|---|
| ADHD | Staying focused, filtering distractions | Clear, structured layouts |
| Dyslexia | Processing written text | Multiple content formats |
| Autism | Processing sensory information | Predictable patterns |
| Memory impairments | Remembering steps and information | Clear guidance and reminders |
In the past decade, the push for better cognitive accessibility has grown stronger for several reasons.
Firstly, since more people use mobile devices, their cognitive load is constantly increasing. There are also a lot of web and mobile services related to our daily lives that require people to perform certain operations – think of online banking, sending applications to your local government, or shopping online when you can’t go in person. Young people might not have a problem with that, but our ageing population needs more accessible designs in order to participate in these operations.
This is why the latest WCAG 2.2 guidelines put more emphasis on cognitive accessibility than ever before.
Essential WCAG guidelines for cognitive accessibility
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 provides standards to make websites accessible for everyone. Here are some of the most important guidelines for cognitive accessibility:
- Captions (Prerecorded) (Success Criterion 1.2.2: A) – Captions are provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such. This will benefit everyone in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, but also people with Auditory Processing Disorders.
- Input Purpose (Success Criterion 1.3.5: AA) – Forms and input fields should be properly marked up to enable autofill capabilities. This means:
- Using correct HTML5 input types and attributes.
- Adding autocomplete attributes to form fields.
- Implementing proper labels and ARIA attributes.
- Supporting password managers and browser autofill features.
- Timeouts (Success Criterion 2.2.6: AAA) – When implementing timeouts:
- Notify users about the timeout duration at the start.
- Preserve user data for at least 20 hours of inactivity.
- Allow users to extend time limits.
- Provide clear warnings before timeouts occur.
- Save progress automatically when possible.
- Page Titled (Success Criterion 2.4.2: A) – Each webpage should have a meaningful title. This will help users easily identify what the page is about in different contexts:
- Multiple open tabs on a browser.
- Site maps.
- Search results pages.
- List of downloaded pages on a local drive.
- Multiple Ways (Success Criterion 2.4.5: AA) – Offer at least two ways to find content:
- Site-wide search functionality.
- Site map or table of contents.
- Clear navigation menus.
- Consistent page structure.
- Breadcrumb navigation.
- Labels or Instructions (Success Criterion 3.3.2: A) – Provide forms with labels and instructions instead of just placeholder text, which disappears when you start typing in the field. This allows everyone to double check their input is in the correct field and includes the required information.
- Accessible Authentication (Success Criterion 3.3.7: AA) – Make logging in easier by:
- Allowing password managers to fill credentials.
- Supporting copy-paste for passwords and codes.
- Offering alternative login methods like biometrics.
- Not blocking password manager functionality.
- Avoiding CAPTCHAs or providing alternatives.
- Making two-factor authentication simple to use.
These guidelines focus on reducing memory load, simplifying processes, and providing flexibility in how users interact with your site.
How different cognitive disabilities affect web usage
We mentioned some examples of cognitive disabilities and how they affect people, but it’s important to understand that some challenges can cover more than one disability. This is why, instead of focusing on “finding solutions for people with ADHD,” think about the broader issues.
Let’s take a look:
| Cognitive challenge | Common barriers | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Memory processing | Multi-step processes overwhelm users.Complex password requirements.Unexpected session timeouts. | Break processes into small steps with progress indicators.Support password managers.Add auto-save features. Provide clear timeout warnings. |
| Focus and attention | Distracting animations. Frequent notifications. Cluttered layouts. | Add animation controls.Group and manage notifications. Create clean, consistent layouts. Use clear visual hierarchies. |
| Text processing | Complex language and jargon. Dense text blocks. Unclear form instructions | Write in plain language. Use headings and white space.Add inline help in forms.Include supporting visuals. |
Each of these changes helps create a better experience for everyone, whether they have been diagnosed with cognitive disabilities or are simply tired, stressed, or overwhelmed.
Implementing cognitive accessibility best practices
So, now you’re aware of the main challenges, but how do you address them? Your best starting point is following the WCAG guidelines, which provide a framework for creating accessible websites through seven key principles.
Each principle needs specific implementation, so let’s take a look:
- Adaptable: Create your content in a way that allows it to be presented in different ways (e.g., text-to-speech or simpler visual layout) without losing information or structure.
- Distinguishable: Make content as easy to perceive as possible, especially when it comes to separating foreground information from the background.
- Enough time: You need to give users enough time to read and understand the content.
- Navigable: Provide visitors with multiple ways to navigate, find content, and determine where they are on your website.
- Readable: Make your text content readable and understandable – no matter how that text content is consumed.
- Predictable: Make web pages appear and operate in predictable ways, e.g., keep important elements in the same place.
- Input assistance: Help users avoid and correct mistakes by making it obvious when that happens and allowing them to fix whatever is needed.
Now, let’s see how you can apply these principles to your website’s content, design, and structure.
Content clarity
The most important rule here is to write content in plain language, avoiding technical terms unless necessary. When you do have to include complex terms, define them inline.
Structurally, you can make the content clearer by breaking information into small chunks – forget about long paragraphs that take up half a page. Besides that, make sure to use clear headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points to help users scan and understand content quickly.
Navigation and structure
As we mentioned, it’s very important for users to navigate through your website with ease, including when they’re relying on assistive technology. To help them do that, you need to consistently place navigation elements across pages like the search bar, author bio, or home button and use descriptive labels for menu items.
Avoid automatic refreshes or content changes that might disorient users. Give people control over any moving content and provide clear ways to move forward and back.
Forms and input
Forms are everywhere – from signing up to ordering online, so it’s essential for them to be completely accessible. To achieve that, you need to:
- Start forms with clear instructions.
- Show exactly what went wrong if users make mistakes.
- Add confirmation steps before important actions.
- Let users review their information before submission.
- Make error messages helpful and specific.
- Add suggestions to the error message to help the user correct their mistake.
Visual and interactive elements
There’s a lot that goes into accessible design, but the main ideas are very simple:
- Always include proper colour contrast in all elements (use tools like WebAim Contrast Checker if you’re not sure).
- Keep animations minimal and add controls to stop motion.
- Keep the designs consistent across the website to avoid confusion.
Looking for more ways to create truly accessible designs?
Our “Accessible design, the basics” course covers everything you need to visually enchant visitors while keeping everything fully accessible!
Time management
Time constraints are one of the biggest issues users face online, especially when they’re trying to sign up, purchase a product, or book a service. To help them out, you need to either remove time constraints where possible or let users extend the time limits when needed.
If a time limit is approaching, warn users, save their progress automatically, and show how much time remains.
Memory assistance
Cognitive support is one of the most important parts of accessibility, and it includes multiple strategies:
- Add breadcrumb navigation to show location and progress indicators for multi-step processes.
- Use familiar icons consistently and keep terminology the same throughout the site.
- Let users save their preferences.
Content presentation
Finally, you need to be creative about how you present your content. Whenever possible, support text with relevant visuals and diagrams. However, that doesn’t mean that visual content can replace text – you must always have essential information in a written format.
The main idea of this is to just give people the choice to consume content in whatever format is most comfortable for them, use clear labels for all elements, and break complex processes into simple, numbered steps.
Testing and implementing cognitive accessibility features
Creating accessible websites requires a combination of automated testing and human evaluation. A thorough testing plan includes automated scans using tools like Axe DevTools, AccessibilityCheker.org, Google Lighthouse, and Microsoft Accessibility Insights to catch basic issues quickly.
But automated tools can’t catch everything. Manual testing by accessibility experts helps identify issues that affect real users. This includes testing with keyboard navigation and screen readers to verify that content flows logically and makes sense.
The most valuable insights come from user testing with people who have cognitive disabilities. They can highlight practical barriers that automated tools miss, like confusing navigation or unclear instructions.
Regular testing should include:
- Running automated scans after content updates.
- Testing forms and interactive elements with assistive technology.
- Checking content readability scores.
- Verifying colour contrast meets WCAG standards.
- Confirming navigation paths are intuitive.
The A11Y Collective offers comprehensive accessibility audits that combine all these approaches. Our detailed reports provide specific recommendations to improve accessibility, reduce legal risks, and create better experiences for all users. The audit includes testing with multiple assistive technologies and thorough WCAG compliance verification.
Transform your accessibility expertise with our accessibility courses
Ready to put accessibility principles into practice? The A11Y Collective’s courses teach you practical skills for creating accessible websites. Our courses focus on real-world implementation rather than just theory.
- Accessible design, the basics covers interface design fundamentals, helping you create layouts that work for everyone. You’ll learn how to design intuitive navigation systems and clear visual hierarchies.
- Our Accessible Code course teaches you to write HTML that supports assistive technologies and create interactive elements that work for all users.
- In Writing accessible content for the web, you’ll master techniques for clear communication, proper heading structure, and content organisation that supports different cognitive styles.
These skills directly address common barriers like confusing navigation, complex forms, and unclear content structure. By applying these practices, you’ll create websites that work better for everyone – leading to higher user satisfaction and better conversion rates.
