Squarespace accessibility

Blocks to open

Set the site language. Describe images in the image block. A product photo needs a description of the product, not the upload name. Give every form field a title and leave it visible. Set heading formats in order so a section title is not body text styled to look big.

Button labels should name the page they open. Link text such as Click here or Learn more, repeated down a page, tells nobody where they are going. If text is baked into a banner image, rebuild it as a heading over the photo.

Colour and focus

Check button contrast in site styles. Pale buttons on a light section fail even when the brand colour looks strong in the logo. Text on photos needs a solid background or a darker colour. Measure it. Do not trust the swatch name.

Keep a visible focus style. Tab from the top of the homepage through a form. If you cannot see where you are, the style needs work. At a narrow width, sections should stack. A horizontal scroll means a block is forcing a desktop width.

Scan the public site

Squarespace previews and the published site can differ. Scan the public URL. Include the homepage, a store page if you have commerce, a form, and a long text page. The free scan covers up to 10 pages and returns a score and the top five groups.

Use the contrast checker while you adjust site styles. Then rescan. The second score should move because the blocks changed, not because a visitor toggled a widget.

What AltGrade adds

You get the issue in plain English and the place to edit it. The £49 audit extends the crawl and gives you a PDF. Monitoring from £19 a month repeats the scan. No tax is added. There is no overlay to install and no claim that the site meets a law because the score moved.

Styles, forms and image blocks

Site styles set the colour for buttons, links and body text in one place. Change the pale grey there and every page picks it up. Then check text that sits on a banner image, because that pair is local to the section.

Form blocks need a title on each field. Placeholder text disappears when someone types, so it is not a label. Image blocks need a description when the picture is the product. Leave decorative backgrounds empty.

Summary blocks and gallery sections often skip a heading level. Set the page title as the only h1 and keep section titles as h2. Scan after you publish. Squarespace preview URLs are not a substitute for the public page.

Product blocks need a description on the image and a real button for the product link. A whole card that is only a clickable image leaves the name off the accessibility tree. Put the product name in text under the image, then scan the collection page. Repeat for the homepage feature if it uses the same block. Check the button label colour in that block too.

Questions