Let’s get one thing straight: if your SharePoint site looks sleek but isn’t accessible, it’s failing. Accessibility isn’t an optional feature—it’s a baseline requirement. And now that Microsoft is baking Accessibility Assistant into more tools (including SharePoint), we’re officially out of excuses. Making your content usable for everyone should be non-negotiable, not an afterthought.

Too many intranet sites still suffer from one fatal flaw: looking good but working poorly for people with different visual or cognitive needs. Want to avoid that? Start with color contrast. If your text is floating in a sea of brand-approved pastel gradients, chances are it’s unreadable. My go-to resource—and one I constantly recommend—is this fantastic post by Stefan Bauer: Accessible colors in Microsoft List formatting. It walks you through how to make sure your color choices not only match your brand but also respect your users’ eyes. Bright isn’t better if no one can read it.

Headings: hierarchy, not just style

Let’s talk about headings. No, making something bold and slightly larger doesn’t magically turn it into a proper heading. If your page jumps from a Heading 1 to a Heading 4, or worse, has no semantic headings at all, screen readers are going to have a field day—and not in a good way. This brilliant write-up on mastering accessible headings lays out the importance of using structured hierarchy for real—not just visual—organization.

When you structure your content logically, it benefits everyone, not just screen reader users. It makes your pages easier to scan, navigate, and understand. And if you’re doing all that manually with bold text and line breaks… well, stop.

Images: more than decoration

Modern SharePoint pages practically beg for big, beautiful images—but they also make it easy to get them wrong. Poor cropping, weird scaling, missing alt text… it adds up fast. If your header image looks amazing on desktop but turns into a mess on mobile, congratulations: you’ve just confused half your audience.

Take five minutes and read this guide on image sizing and scaling in SharePoint modern pages. It’s short, clear, and will save you from the “why is this image so blurry” support tickets.

Also, alt text isn’t optional. If the image adds value, describe it. If it’s purely decorative, mark it that way. Don’t make users guess.

Custom fonts: don’t ruin a good thing

Look, I get it. You want your intranet to stand out, and custom fonts seem like a good way to show off your brand’s personality. But here’s the deal: the moment you start swapping out the default SharePoint fonts for something “unique,” you’re playing with fire. Many custom fonts weren’t designed with accessibility in mind. Some are hard to read at small sizes, others lack clarity for people with dyslexia or visual impairments, and a few just break completely on mobile.

Before you go all-in on typography flair, ask yourself: is this font legible at every size? Does it render cleanly in all modern browsers? Does it meet contrast and weight standards? Have I tested it with screen readers? (Spoiler alert: you probably haven’t.) If not, step away from the design tools and embrace the perfectly acceptable modern defaults. Fonts like Segoe UI and Aptos exist for a reason—they work. They’re clean, accessible, and already optimized for Microsoft 365 environments.

If you absolutely must use custom fonts, make sure they’re fully web-safe, embedded properly through SharePoint’s Brand Center or theme management, and tested extensively. You’re not just designing for your marketing team—you’re designing for every employee, in every role, on every device. Don’t let your typography trip up your usability.

The unsuck checklist: accessibility edition

• Use high-contrast colors that meet WCAG standards.
• Apply headings in a logical and semantic order (H1, H2, H3… no skipping).
• Add alt text to all meaningful images—and mark decorative ones properly.
• Avoid using tables for layout. Seriously.
• Make sure your site can be navigated entirely by keyboard.
• Test with browser accessibility tools or screen reader emulators. Just do it.

Final thoughts

Accessibility isn’t about checking a box to satisfy a policy. It’s about respecting your users and giving them equal access to the content they need to do their jobs. The tools are available. The knowledge is out there. Let’s not forget to use both.