Designing an accessible website means making it usable for people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments. While web accessibility can be a complex topic, there are a few simple and foundational design tips that can make a huge impact for a wide range of users.

Here are three simple tips for designing a more accessible website:

1. Ensure Sufficient Color Contrast
Color is a powerful design tool, but relying on it alone to convey information can exclude a significant portion of the population, including people with color blindness or low vision.

Tip: Always ensure a strong contrast between text and its background. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. This makes it easier for people to read your content without straining their eyes.

How to do it: Use a color contrast checker tool (many are available for free online) to test your color combinations. Also, avoid using color as the only way to convey meaning. For example, if you use a red font to indicate an error message, also include an icon or text like "Error" to make it understandable to everyone.

2. Use Proper Heading Structure
Headings are more than just a way to make text big and bold. They provide a structural outline of a web page that is crucial for users who rely on screen readers. A screen reader navigates a page by "reading" the headings, allowing a user to understand the page's layout and jump to the sections they are interested in.

Tip: Use HTML heading tags (<h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc.) in a logical, hierarchical order. Start with a single <h1> for the main title of the page, then use <h2> for major sections, <h3> for subsections, and so on. Never skip heading levels (e.g., jumping from <h1> to <h3>), as this can confuse screen reader users.

How to do it: When you're building a website, especially with a CMS like WordPress, use the built-in heading styles in the editor to correctly apply the tags. This ensures your content is scannable and logically organized for all users.

3. Provide Alternative Text for Images
Many users, particularly those with visual impairments, cannot see the images on your website. Alternative text (or "alt text") is a simple but critical attribute that provides a text-based description of an image. A screen reader will read this text aloud, giving the user context for the visual content.

Tip: Write concise and descriptive alt text for every meaningful image. The alt text should convey the purpose or content of the image. For purely decorative images (e.g., a simple line break or a background pattern), you can use an empty alt attribute (alt=""), which tells screen readers to skip over them.

How to do it: In a website editor, you will find a field to add alt text when you upload an image. A good practice is to describe what the image is and why it's there. For example, for an image of a team meeting, a good alt text would be: "The 12 Points Technologies team collaborating on a project in their office."