In today’s digital world, almost every brand, business, and service depends on a website or web application. Designers and developers often talk about performance, aesthetics, animations, and responsiveness but one crucial aspect is still ignored by most: accessibility.
The truth is simple. Most websites are not designed with accessibility in mind, even though global standards exist to guide us. One of the most overlooked audiences in web design is people with color vision deficiencies, commonly referred to as color blindness.
The Purpose of a Website Is to Communicate, Not Just Look Good
A website’s primary purpose is to convey information clearly. If a user cannot understand what is being shown, clicked, or read, the design has failed—no matter how visually appealing it looks.
Roughly 99% of websites are not built for color-blind users. Designers often choose colors based on personal taste, brand palettes, or trends, without checking whether text, buttons, or indicators are actually distinguishable for everyone.
Here’s the irony:
If you design for color blind users first, normal vision users will still be able to read, see, and interact with everything comfortably. But the reverse is not true.
Why Designing for Color Blindness Benefits Everyone
Color blindness doesn’t mean people see no color it means they see colors differently. Red and green, blue and purple, or low-contrast shades can blend together, making key actions invisible.
When designers prioritize accessibility:
-Content becomes clearer
-CTAs become more recognizable
-User trust increases
-Bounce rates reduce
-Products become usable for a wider audience
Good accessibility is not a compromise in design it is better design.
WCAG Exists for a Reason, Yet Rarely Followed
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) clearly define how digital products should be built to ensure accessibility for all users, including those with visual impairments.
Yet in real-world projects, WCAG is often treated as optional or ignored completely.
You can explore the official WCAG standards here:
https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/
These guidelines cover contrast, color usage, readability, navigation, and interaction things every web product should already be doing.
Contrast Is Not Optional It’s a Responsibility
One of the easiest accessibility checks designers can do is contrast testing. Poor contrast between text and background is one of the biggest reasons content becomes unreadable for color-blind users.
Thankfully, tools exist to help designers and developers validate their choices before shipping a product.
A reliable contrast ratio checker can be found here:
https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
Using such tools takes seconds but saves users from frustration.
Accessibility Should Start at the Design Stage
Accessibility should not be an afterthought or a developer’s problem. It must begin at the design stage from wireframes to final UI.
When accessibility is baked into the design process:
-No redesigns are needed later
-Development becomes smoother
-Products scale better
-Compliance becomes effortless
Designing with empathy leads to products with purpose.
Our Perspective at Brahmative Design
At Brahmative Design, a design driven studio based in Coimbatore, we believe accessibility is not a feature it is a foundation.
A website is successful only when everyone can use it, understand it, and interact with it without barriers.
Designing for color blind users is not about limiting creativity. It’s about expanding reach, clarity, and impact.
If we can design for those who struggle the most, we automatically design better for everyone else.
You can learn more about our approach to meaningful, accessible design at:
https://brahmative.com
Final Thought
If your website works only for people with perfect vision, it is incomplete.
But if it works for someone with color blindness, visual strain, or accessibility challenges it works for everyone.
Accessibility is not extra work.
It is responsible design.