Website Accessibility: What the Law Requires of Businesses in Israel, What to Do in Practice, and Why a Widget Alone Isn't Enough
Website accessibility in Israel: what the law requires, what Standard 5568 covers, a practical checklist, why a widget isn't enough, and what it costs.
Website accessibility is one of the few legal obligations that apply to almost every business website in Israel, and most business owners only discover it when a letter from a lawyer arrives. Beyond the law, this is a large public: people with visual, hearing, motor or cognitive disabilities, whom an inaccessible website simply leaves out. In this article we explain what the law requires, what making a website accessible actually involves, why a floating widget alone doesn't fulfill the obligation, and what it costs. Every section is written so you can check your own website today.
What the law requires: the Equal Rights Law, the regulations and Standard 5568
The foundation is the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, and under it the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities (Service Accessibility Adjustments) Regulations. The regulations state that a service provided to the public over the internet must be accessible, and the obligation for existing websites took effect in October 2017. The technical level the regulations refer to is Israeli Standard 5568, which adopts the international WCAG guidelines from W3C at level AA.
What this means in practice: the website has to meet the WCAG level AA criteria (screen reading, keyboard navigation, contrast, forms and more), and also publish an accessibility statement. The regulations include relief and exemptions for very small businesses based on turnover and for certain bodies, but an exemption is not the default and not something you assume. Check the exact conditions with the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities or with a certified accessibility consultant.
The risk: the law allows people to sue for compensation even without proving damage, and in recent years accessibility lawsuits against small business websites have become routine. So an inaccessible website isn't just a user-experience problem; it's a legal exposure that is relatively easy to prevent.
Who has to make their website accessible
The regulations apply to anyone who provides a service to the public, including private businesses. In practice, that means stores, clinics, offices, service providers, and websites that sell or receive inquiries. If your website presents services and lets people contact you, assume you're covered, and check whether you fall under one of the exemptions. Even a business that benefits from turnover-based relief still needs to show reasonable effort and keep an accessibility statement up to date, so our recommendation is the same either way: build it accessible from the start, because that's cheaper than fixing it.
If you're at the website-building stage, our guide to website building for small businesses lists the legal obligations you must not skip, and accessibility is first on the list.
What making a website accessible actually involves: the checklist
This is what an accessibility tester checks, and it's what a good developer does before the website even goes live:
- Semantic structure. Headings in the correct hierarchy (one H1, followed by H2 and H3), marked navigation and content regions, and lists that are actually lists. Screen readers navigate by this structure.
- Alternative text for images. Every image that carries information has a description (alt). Decorative images are marked so the screen reader skips them.
- Keyboard navigation. Every link, button and field can be reached with Tab alone, in a logical order, and you can see where the focus is.
- Color contrast. A ratio of at least 4.5:1 between text and background (the WCAG AA requirement). Light gray text on white almost always fails.
- Forms. Every field has a clear label, error messages explain what to fix, and users can correct mistakes without losing what they typed.
- Text resizing. The website stays readable and working when the text is enlarged to 200%.
- Video and audio. Captions for videos, and no autoplay that can't be stopped.
- Motion and animation. Carousels and animations can be paused, and nothing flashes.
- Clear links. Link text that explains where it leads ("Get a quote," not "click here").
- Documents. PDF files published on the website are accessible too, or have an alternative on the page.
- Accessibility statement. A dedicated page with the accessibility level, what has been adapted, what hasn't yet, ways to contact the accessibility coordinator, and the date it was last updated.
- Manual testing. Automated tools catch only some of the problems; you have to go through the main pages with a keyboard and a screen reader.
The full criteria, with an explanation for each one, are in WCAG 2.1.
Why an accessibility widget alone isn't enough
A widget is the floating button that lets visitors enlarge text, switch the contrast or highlight links. It's a useful tool, and it's part of most accessible websites in Israel. But it doesn't turn an inaccessible website into an accessible one: it doesn't write alternative text for images, doesn't fix a form without labels, and doesn't repair broken keyboard navigation. A screen reader "sees" the website's code, not the widget.
The right order: first fix the foundations (structure, alt, keyboard, contrast, forms), then add a widget as a personalization layer, and finally publish an accessibility statement that describes the real situation. A website that relies on a widget alone fails a professional audit, and it fails in a lawsuit too.
Accessibility, speed and SEO: the same work
Most of what accessibility requires also improves your Google rankings: a correct heading structure, alternative text, clear links and clean HTML are exactly what Google asks for. An accessible website also tends to be faster, because it's built with tidy code and without layers of plugins. If you're already opening up the website for fixes, do all three together: a speed test, accessibility, and maintenance and security. And if the website has forms that collect personal details, it's also the time to check compliance with Amendment 13 to the Privacy Protection Law.
How much website accessibility costs
There are three components, each with a different cost:
- Accessibility widget. A monthly subscription, in the Israeli market usually tens to a few hundred shekels a month, depending on the provider and the size of the website. This is the cheap component, and as we said, it isn't enough on its own.
- Professional accessibility audit. A certified tester goes through the website manually and with automated tools and produces a report. The market price depends on the size of the website, and we recommend an audit for every existing website that wasn't built accessible.
- Accessibility fixes for an existing website. It depends on the situation: from a website that only needs alt text and contrast, to one whose forms and navigation need to be rebuilt. We price this in a quote based on scope, after an audit.
A new website built accessible from the start doesn't cost more, because accessibility is part of the specification and the code, not an add-on at the end. That's the big difference in cost: build it right once, or fix it after a warning letter.
What Simple Web does about it
We are an AI-first marketing agency from Bnei Brak, certified Meta partners and Google advertising experts, with 200+ clients and 28 five-star Google reviews. Every brand website we build is built with the help of AI on a clean foundation, with a correct heading structure, alternative text, keyboard navigation, contrast that meets AA, a widget and an accessibility statement, as part of the specification rather than an add-on. A brand website starts from ₪5,000 (₪5,000–15,000+ depending on scope), is ready in about 3 weeks (14 business days), and includes 6 months of free SEO articles (a ₪4,500 value). Making an existing website accessible starts with a free discovery call and is priced in a quote based on scope.
Website accessibility is a legal requirement, but it's also an investment that pays for itself: a website that more people can use, that's easier to read, and that Google understands better. Go through the checklist above, check your accessibility statement, and if something is missing, talk to us and we'll review your website together.
Sources
- Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities — the government body responsible for implementing the Equal Rights Law and the accessibility regulations
- W3C — WCAG overview — the international guidelines that Standard 5568 adopts
- WCAG 2.1 — the full criteria for level AA (contrast, keyboard, forms and more)
