Mobile & Accessibility
Google uses mobile-first indexing. Accessibility failures expose you to ADA lawsuits. Both are measured by the same Lighthouse engine that powers Google's ranking signals.
Ludwig Makhyan · Founder, WebsiteCoach ·
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Executive Overview
Google's mobile-first indexing means the mobile version of your site determines your search rankings — even for desktop searches. Lighthouse SEO checks confirm your pages are properly configured for Google's crawler. Accessibility scores measure compliance with WCAG standards, which are the basis for ADA Title III lawsuits in the United States and equivalent legislation in the EU and UK.
Business Impact
ADA accessibility lawsuits against websites reached over 4,600 in the US in 2023, with average settlement costs of $25,000–$100,000 per case. Poor mobile SEO directly reduces organic traffic. Poor accessibility excludes an estimated 15% of the global population who have a disability affecting their web use.
Source: Google Lighthouse mobile audit via PageSpeed Insights API.
Score Components Explained
- SEO score (0–100) via Google Lighthouse
- Lighthouse checks selected technical SEO rules. Its score is not a Google ranking or an indexing guarantee.
- Accessibility score (0–100)
- Automated accessibility checks cover only some barriers. Add keyboard, screen-reader, and task-based testing.
- Best Practices score (0–100)
- This Lighthouse category summarizes selected implementation checks. Investigate the individual failures.
- Images missing alt text (ADA/WCAG risk)
- Meaningful images need useful alternatives; decorative images usually need empty alt text. Inspect the image's purpose.
- Images missing width/height attributes
- Image dimensions help reserve layout space. Preserve the intended aspect ratio and responsive sizing.
Role-Specific Action Plan
- →Commission an accessibility audit to establish WCAG 2.1 AA baseline compliance
- →Add accessibility remediation to the product roadmap with a delivery deadline
- →Review ADA compliance posture with legal counsel — proactive audits are a defence in litigation
- →Fix colour contrast failures — use Colour Contrast Analyser or browser DevTools
- →Add descriptive alt text to all informational images
- →Ensure all forms have associated <label> elements
- →Test keyboard navigation through all interactive flows
- →Fix console errors — each error is a Best Practices deduction
- →Establish a colour palette that meets 4.5:1 contrast for all text/background combinations
- →Design minimum 44px tap targets for all interactive elements
- →Include focus states in all component designs (visible keyboard focus ring)
- →Ensure all pages have unique <title> and <meta description> tags
- →Verify robots.txt is not blocking key pages from Google's crawler
- →Ensure canonical tags are correct and not self-defeating
- →Add descriptive alt text to all images — describe the content and context
- →Use proper heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3) — do not skip levels
- →Ensure link text is descriptive ('Read more about pricing' not just 'Read more')
Frequently asked questions
What is Mobile & Accessibility?
Google uses mobile-first indexing. Accessibility failures expose you to ADA lawsuits. Both are measured by the same Lighthouse engine that powers Google's ranking signals.
Why does Mobile & Accessibility matter?
ADA accessibility lawsuits against websites reached over 4,600 in the US in 2023, with average settlement costs of $25,000–$100,000 per case. Poor mobile SEO directly reduces organic traffic. Poor accessibility excludes an estimated 15% of the global population who have a disability affecting their web use.
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