Web Accessibility and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Consultancy
Simply Black and White is a web accessibility and Answer Engine Optimization consultancy. We help businesses make their websites accessible to everyone — people who use screen readers, keyboard navigation, screen magnification, and other assistive technologies — while also improving how AI search engines read, understand, and recommend those businesses.
We approach accessibility as a helpful ally, not an intimidating auditor. Most accessibility problems come from inherited templates, third-party plugins, and previous agencies — not intentional neglect. We provide clear, plain-language remediation plans.
A comprehensive accessibility audit with a full scan report, plain-language breakdown of human barriers, an AEO citation readiness check, and a prioritized developer checklist. Best for businesses that want a clear picture of where they stand.
Full architectural remediation planning. We produce developer-ready workbooks with code-level fix specifications and platform-specific guidance that your team or agency can execute directly. Best for businesses ready to fix issues comprehensively.
Continuous accessibility monitoring with recurring re-scans, AEO citation tracking, and quarterly compliance tune-ups. Best for businesses that want to stay accessible as their site changes over time.
Most private businesses that serve the public fall under ADA Title III, and courts have increasingly applied it to websites. (ADA Title II is separate — it covers state and local government entities like schools, courts, and public agencies.) While there is no single federal regulation specifying exact technical requirements for private businesses, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1/2.2 Level AA are the widely accepted standard courts reference. Making your site accessible reduces legal risk and opens your business to more customers.
A failed audit is not a penalty — it is a starting point. It identifies the specific barriers preventing some visitors from using your site. The real risk comes from ignoring known issues: businesses with inaccessible websites can face demand letters or lawsuits under the ADA. The practical response is to prioritize the issues by severity and remediate them, starting with barriers that completely block access.
AEO stands for Answer Engine Optimization. It is the practice of structuring your website content so that AI-powered search engines — like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews — can read, understand, and recommend your business when people ask questions. As more people use AI assistants instead of traditional search, businesses with well-structured, semantic, and clearly written content are more likely to be cited in AI answers.
Accessibility overlay tools (widgets that claim to make a site compliant automatically) are widely criticized by the disability community and accessibility experts. They often fail to fix underlying issues and can even introduce new barriers. Genuine accessibility comes from fixing the site's actual code and content. A consultant identifies real issues and provides real fixes, rather than masking problems with a script.
An audit is a point-in-time assessment that identifies existing issues. Ongoing monitoring is continuous — it re-scans your site regularly to catch new issues that appear as you add content, update plugins, or change templates. Accessibility is not a one-time fix because websites change constantly. An audit gets you to a baseline; monitoring keeps you there.
Real accessibility consulting is more effective. Overlay tools apply a surface-level script that attempts to patch issues in the browser, but they do not fix the underlying code. Real consulting addresses root causes in your site's structure and content, producing durable accessibility that works with all assistive technologies. Overlays can create a false sense of compliance while leaving real barriers in place.