Accessibility has always been a top priority for us, as we believe barriers shouldn’t exist anywhere, especially in the online world. Sadly, the reality is that barriers do exist, preventing people from accessing shops, websites, and reading blog articles. Building an accessible website isn’t challenging, and something we have discussed in past blog articles. Today, however, let’s discuss the tools available for a website without accessibility features: Google Chrome accessibility settings.
Chrome accessibility is a built-in tool that enables people to experience websites with clearer text, reduced strain, and greater control over their web browsing experience. This tool has a large variety of options available, so our hope today is to make this collection of Chrome extensions and tools more straightforward to use.
Accessibility Matters
At its core, the basics of website accessibility is about usability, creating digital spaces that fit the way people actually see, read, and interact with content every day. We have all used accessibility settings, even if we didn’t realize it at the time. Turning on captions for a video, increasing text size for easier reading, or switching to dark mode at night are all ways that technology and accessibility adapt around us. Still, Chrome offers even more accessibility settings, which we’ll discuss below.
 
Practical Chrome Accessibility Settings to Try
You don’t need to install complex extensions or rewrite code. Chrome includes a handful of built-in tools that can enhance your experience online:
Live Caption
This feature automatically generates real-time captions for any video or audio content in Chrome, including YouTube, podcasts, and webinars. This can be used for either live events (such as sports broadcasts) or pre-recorded media, like a music video.
- Go to the three dots in the top-right corner and select “Settings”.
- Select “accessibility”
- Find the live caption button, and toggle the button to “on”
Reader Mode
Reader Mode removes ads, pop-ups, and background clutter, allowing you to focus on the content. It’s ideal for research, long articles, or late-night reading. To enable it:
- Type chrome://flags into your address bar.
- Search “Reader Mode.”
- Enable and restart Chrome.
Once it’s active, click the book icon in your address bar to view simplified text.
Zoom and Font Adjustments
Text that’s too small slows everyone down. Chrome’s built-in zoom (found under Settings – Appearance – Page Zoom) lets you set a comfortable reading size across all websites.
For finer control, Settings – Appearance – Customize Fonts lets you adjust minimum font size and line spacing.
High Contrast Mode (Extension)
Chrome’s High Contrast extension allows you to adjust brightness, invert colors, or apply filters that enhance readability. Designers often use it to test their own sites and check for color accessibility issues. Go to the Chrome Store and select the High Contrast extension. Click “add to Chrome” and then “add extension”. Once added, an icon will show in the top right to toggle between high and regular contrast mode.
Caret Browsing
Caret browsing is a tool that allows you to navigate through text using only the keyboard. It’s efficient for editing, copying, or simply resting your hands from the mouse. Press F7 to toggle it on or off.
Accessibility and Good Design Go Hand in Hand
At The Valley List, accessibility begins with design. When we discuss user experience, we refer to everyone, including users of screen readers, individuals with slower connections, and those viewing a site on a small screen.
We follow best practices outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and WAI-ARIA to meet the highest standards of web design and development accessibility.
Our sites go through multiple checks:
- Font sizes that scale without breaking layout
- Color contrast that meets WCAG AA standards
- Semantic HTML for screen reader compatibility
- Clear tab order and visible focus indicators
Accessibility isn’t a checkbox. It’s good business and good communication. A well-built site reaches a broader audience and leaves a more lasting impression.
Final Thoughts
Accessibility is a tool that draws people together. When you take the time to adjust settings in Chrome, you’re doing the same thing we do when we design: removing friction. You’re shaping the experience so that it works for you, rather than forcing you to adapt to it.
That’s what good design should do: anticipate people’s needs, make things easier, and leave space for everyone to participate.
At The Valley List, we build websites with that same approach. We offer free website audits for accessibility, so even if your site isn’t brand new, it can still be made accessible. Chrome offers incredible options to increase accessibility, but there is even more that can be done. Reach out to us if you have any questions, and we would be happy to chat with you, anytime.
