Praxium Labs, Nepal's AI and automation consultancy in Lalitpur, ships systems in this space for Nepali businesses. Building accessible websites in Nepal is not yet a legal requirement, but it is rapidly becoming a procurement requirement — government tenders, INGO sites, and tech companies serving international clients increasingly require WCAG 2.1 AA conformance.
The WCAG 2.1 AA shortlist
The full WCAG 2.1 standard has ~80 success criteria. The 15 that move the needle:
- 1. Semantic HTML: use real
<button>,<a>,<nav>,<main>,<header>,<footer> - 2. Alt text on images: describes the image; empty alt="" for decorative
- 3. Headings hierarchy: one h1 per page, hierarchical h2-h3-h4 (no skipping)
- 4. Colour contrast: text 4.5:1 minimum, large text 3:1
- 5. Focus indicators: visible outline on every focusable element
- 6. Keyboard navigation: every interactive element reachable and operable via keyboard
- 7. Form labels: every input has a real
<label>withfor - 8. Error messages: programmatically associated with the field
- 9. ARIA where needed: only where semantic HTML can't do the job
- 10. Skip-to-content link: first focusable element bypasses repetitive nav
- 11. Language declared:
<html lang="en">or<html lang="ne"> - 12. Resizable text: page works at 200% zoom
- 13. No autoplay audio (or auto-pause within 3s)
- 14. Form validation: errors described in text, not just colour
- 15. Touch targets ≥ 44×44 pixels
Tools
- axe DevTools (browser extension) — automated audit, ~30% of issues
- Lighthouse Accessibility (built into Chrome DevTools) — automated audit
- WAVE — visual feedback on accessibility issues
- NVDA (Windows screen reader) — free, the standard test target
- TalkBack (Android) — test mobile screen-reader experience
- Keyboard-only navigation test: unplug your mouse for an hour
Nepali-specific considerations
- Devanagari + screen readers: Android TalkBack handles Devanagari well. NVDA on Windows depends on installed voice — espeak-ng is decent, Vocalizer Nepali is commercial. Real-world: most Nepali users with screen readers are on Android
- Language declaration on bilingual sites: use
lang="en"on the English parts and inlinelang="ne"on the Nepali parts so screen readers switch voice correctly - Romanised Nepali: never tag with
lang="ne"— the screen reader will try to read it as Devanagari. Keep itlang="en"with phonetic-style spelling - Right-to-left: Nepali is left-to-right. Do not apply RTL layout patterns
- Colour-only signalling: Nepali design often uses red / orange — ensure non-colour cues (icons, text) accompany colour
Quick wins to ship today
- Add a "Skip to content" link at the top of every page
- Audit colour contrast on your primary text and buttons (Stark, Figma plugin)
- Replace generic "click here" with descriptive link text
- Add proper labels to every form input
- Test the homepage with keyboard only — Tab through every interactive element
When to invest in a full audit
For consumer-facing brands worth NPR 10 crore+ revenue, or for any organisation serving people with disabilities: invest in a full WCAG audit (typically NPR 50,000–200,000). For smaller sites, integrate the 15-item shortlist into your development workflow and you cover 80% of real-user issues without dedicated audit cost. For related context, see our Cost of Web Development in Nepal: Complete 2026 Pricing Guide post.
Frequently asked questions
Is WCAG legally required in Nepal?
Not currently for the private sector. Government / public-service websites are increasingly expected to follow international guidelines. Procurement-driven enforcement is more common than legal enforcement.
Do automated tools catch all issues?
No — they catch ~30-40% of WCAG violations. The rest require human review: meaningful alt text, sensible reading order, accurate ARIA. Plan a manual review on every site.
What's the lift over time?
If accessibility is a development habit, the per-page lift is < 5%. If retrofitted: 30-50%. The investment is in team practice, not per-feature work.
Do screen readers handle Nepali content?
Android TalkBack: yes, well. iOS VoiceOver: yes. NVDA on Windows: requires installing a Nepali voice. Plan to test on Android first; it is the primary Nepali screen-reader environment.
What about colour blindness?
Test with a colour-blindness simulator (Stark, Chrome DevTools). Common Nepali brand palettes (red + green) are particularly risky for the most common forms of colour blindness. Always add non-colour cues for state (icons, text, patterns).
Who can build this in Nepal?
Praxium Labs — Nepal's AI and automation consultancy, based in Lalitpur — designs and builds the systems described in this guide for Nepali businesses and for international teams hiring from Nepal. Start a project or see all services.