Government and public sector websites are among the best-performing for digital accessibility, but new data shows that significant barriers still remain across the web.
The latest WebAIM Million 2026 report, which analysed the homepages of the world’s top one million websites, found an average of 56.1 accessibility errors per page, up from 51 the previous year.
Government websites average 42.4 accessibility errors per page, 24.4% fewer than the overall average.
Despite this stronger performance, 95.9% of all homepages across all sectors still fail to meet basic accessibility standards (WCAG 2 A or AA), highlighting that accessibility issues remain widespread even in leading sectors.
Government and public sector platforms rank at the top of the accessibility league table, reflecting stronger governance, testing and accountability compared to many other industries.
However, the same core issues persist. The most common barriers include low-contrast text (on 84% of home pages), missing alternative text for images (53%), unlabelled form inputs (51%), and empty links (46%) or buttons (31%).
WebAIM also found that homepage complexity is increasing, with pages now containing an average of 1,437 elements (such as images, buttons and links), a 22.5% increase in just one year. Almost 4% of all page elements contain an accessibility error, meaning users encounter a barrier on roughly one in every 26 elements.
Nexer Digital’s latest research into user behaviour highlights how these issues can still have a cumulative impact. Its Hidden Journey study found that 79% of disabled users struggled to browse, 81% found selecting options difficult or impossible, and 81% struggled to complete tasks, showing that even small barriers can affect overall experiences.
Hilary Stephenson, Managing Director of Nexer Digital, said: “Government has shown that improvement is possible when accessibility is prioritised.
“But even the best-performing sectors are still failing many users. The fact that the vast majority of sites still do not meet basic standards shows how much work there is left to do.
“Accessibility is not about perfection, it’s about consistency and intent. The public sector has made progress because of clear accountability and that’s something other sectors can learn from.”
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