Your website is your first port of call for your patrons, your first chance to greet them, show them who you are and provide top-notch hospitality, even before they’ve stepped into your venue. So it’s critical that your site is as welcoming as possible to everyone and that certainly includes people with disabilities or who are neurodivergent.

We’ve recently taken a deep dive into website accessibility best practices, drawing on research and expertise from our partners at Indigo Ltd and Accessible by Design, as well as a recent accessibility study from WolfBrown. Much of our advice has been inspired by presentations from Caspian Turner of Accessible by Design at the 2025 Ticketing Professionals Conference.

In today’s post, we’ve pulled out the five areas you can focus on right away to make your website — and your venue — fully accessible.

Provide Clear Accessibility Information on Your Website

Patrons with disabilities feel uncertain and unwelcome when they can’t easily find information about the accessibility of a show or venue. Sure, many event websites provide basic information about wheelchair access and ticket buying, but all too often that information is hard to find, unclear or limited in scope — not accounting for the variety and intersections of customers’ needs.

• Provide details about what to expect at your venue, which accessibility provisions are readily available (and where to find them), and what additional accommodations your staff can provide. Consider the wide variety of needs that patrons who are neurodivergent or have disabilities may have, including how they would potentially overlap.
• Keep information up to date. Be proactive, even if a change is temporary. Provide notice if an elevator or accessible bathroom is out of order.
• Use clear language and multiple formats. You may need to communicate in multiple ways to reach visitors who are visually impaired, d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing, and neurodivergent.
• Add an AI Assistant to help people find the information they need based on their own requirements.
• Name a contact on your box office team who’s responsible for supporting accessibility inquiries.

See it in Action at Bristol Old Vic

On this venue’s website, their access page does a great job of making information about inclusive services clear and readily available. Visitors can read up on everything from parking options to quiet spaces to seat dimensions. Meanwhile, their listings use tags and filters pulled directly from their Spektrix CRM to make it easy to see which performances include audio descriptions, closed captioning and sign language interpreters.

Set Up an Accessibility Program That Works for You and Your Patrons

In a typical accessibility program, organizers collect information about accessibility needs and store it within their customer records. This can automatically give customers access to reserved spaces for assistive devices or service animals, reduced pricingor free tickets for essential companions. Meanwhile, it provides vital information to venue teams, supporting front-of-house preparation and segmented communications.

This is a great way to help make every trip to your venue feel smooth. But be mindful - many arts patrons have found that the process of proving their eligibility can often be excessive, intrusive and inconsistent across venues. Here's how to prevent frustration:

• Only ask for the info you really need. Keep the focus on what customers need and how you can provide a better service, not on diagnoses.
• Make sure you can record multiple needs. For example, a single visitor may require wheelchair space, a seat for a companion and closed captioning. There is no one-size-fits-all.
• Recognize non-visible disabilities and neurodivergence. Not every disability is apparent from just looking at someone. Ensure your team is trained to understand this as they interact with audience members requesting accommodations.
• Make it simple to register. Customers should only have to do this once. Don’t ask for evidence unless you actually, truly need it. It should be easy for a customer to sign up online, by phone and in person.
• Use your CRM to keep track of customers' details, so your patrons are not forced to make the same request every time they attend.

See it in Action at Scunthorpe Theatres

Teaming up with Nimbus Disability, Scunthorpe Theatres allows users to register their needs through a Nimbus Access Card (which maintains a record across multiple venues) or through a free Scunthorpe Theatres Digital Access Pass Number. It’s all set up so that customers only have to go through the process of entering their information once.

Design Your Website With Accessibility as a Priority The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) say that content should be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. That means visitors should be able to see and/or hear content, navigate through your site and understand what everything means, even if they’re using assistive technology.

Unfortunately, many live events and arts organizations are falling short when it comes to ensuring that their websites are in line with WCAG standards. But the good news is that many improvements don't even need a web developer:

• Prioritize color contrast. Design with images and color palettes that have the right contrast ratios to be visible to users with visual impairments. There are plenty of free contrast checking tools that can let you know what to adjust.
• Provide alt text. Alt text can be added to your website’s imagery to help users who rely on voice assistance to understand what they depict. Every picture should have a simple, relevant description attached to it.
• Add video captions and transcripts. This used to be much more of a lift, but today's technology makes it a breeze. Most video platforms and editors can auto-generate captions for you. Don't forget to check the captions to ensure that they make sense and that names and titles are spelled correctly. Include a transcript to give viewers the option to engage with the content that way.
• Use hierarchical headers. Assistive technology is most effective when it can navigate through a logical header structure. That means a single H1 header at the top of the page, then the next level of section headings set to H2, then the next level of subheadings set to H3 and so on. You can establish these in the style drop-down of most what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) or word processors, or by adding a <h1> tag to your content's source code.

See it in Action at PAC NYC

PAC NYC has one of the best event websites out there, and accessibility plays a huge role. Working with the web developers at Substrakt, their design features clear user journeys, high-contrast text and easy-to-find accessibility information.

Reduce Cognitive Load

A growing demographic of audience members identify as neurodivergent, signaling that we should all be more conscious of cognitive load when inviting audiences to events. Quiet spaces and relaxed performances are great ways to support these patrons, but your website also has a part to play.

Complex navigation, animation overload and inconsistent language can prevent people from being comfortable using your site.

• Write using simple, human language. Complexity will make it difficult for everyone to engage with it.
• Provide clear instructions. Help visitors understand what to expect and how to progress through your buying journey.
• Use customer-first design. Start with the needs of your customers.
• Don’t rush customers. If you’re not expecting a massively high demand, there’s no hurry. Make sure customers have the time they need before their cart times out to interpret an unfamiliar seating plan and navigate the various choices along the way.
• Use reasonable font sizes. If a message matters, don’t hide it in the small print. Start with a minimum of 12pt for your font size. Use headers, lists and visual cues to organize information.

See it in Action at Theatre Royal Wakefield

This theater helps reduce cognitive load by using social stories — a resource that utilizes text and imagery to walk patrons through what a visit to their venue may look like and let them know what to expect. For instance, they have a picture of a staff member beside text that says, “Our stewards in black shirts and burgundy scarves will check your tickets and show you where you where you need to sit.”

Test the Usability of Your Website

A key step to understanding your site’s accessibility is to actually put yourself in the shoes of your patrons and take it for a spin. Here’s how to get started:

• Read copy aloud. Where are you stumbling? Reading your website’s text should feel as natural as speaking to a customer out loud.
• Ask testers to buy a ticket on your site. You're probably very familiar with your website, but you need to know what it feels like to someone who's brand new to it. Reach out to colleagues from other teams, customers or even friends and family. Ask them to buy a ticket from your site and report back on where they got stuck or felt unsure. How much time did it take for them to navigate the process? Then, make improvements and test again. Make sure your testers include a range of ages, backgrounds and neurodiversity.
• Check for abbreviations or jargon. It's easy to fall into language like "will call" or "accessible seat" without realizing that it can be vague or have multiple meanings. For example, an accessible seat could mean space for a wheelchair, or it could mean an actual chair. Often, descriptions are better than titles:
  • “Will Call ticket” — “Collect your ticket from the box office when you arrive at the event”
  • “Accessible Seat” — “Space for a wheelchair” or “Reserved seating for best view of the ASL interpreter”

Accessibility shouldn't be an afterthought. In fact, Indigo Ltd cites that 56% of audiences identify as disabled. By putting these strategies in place and pulling your accessibility up to a higher standard, you're not just helping those patrons to feel more comfortable — you're enabling your organization to sell more tickets, create better connections and build up your community.

If you're not sure where to get started, talk to our team at Spektrix. We’re here to set you up with the right technology to streamline your box office and reach wider audiences.

This article was sponsored by Spektrix.