A free guide for business owners. Write the accessibility description your Google listing is missing. About 20 minutes and a tape measure.
Your customers want more than a checkbox
Google gives you a few yes-or-no boxes for accessibility, like "wheelchair accessible entrance" and "wheelchair accessible restroom." Those boxes can't say your ramp is great but your door is heavy. They can't say your restroom is reachable but tight.
So people call and ask. Or they drive over, look at the door, and leave.
This guide helps you write the paragraph those boxes can't hold. You don't need to be an expert, and your space doesn't need to be perfect. You just need to describe it honestly.
Fill in the blanks
Work through these in order, the way a visitor would arrive. Use real measurements. If something is a problem, say so plainly. Honest details build more trust than a perfect-sounding description.
Getting here
The closest parking is [our lot / street parking / a garage on ___]. There are accessible parking spaces, about feet from our door.
The approach
From the parking or sidewalk to our door, the path is [level / a gentle slope / a ramp / ___ step(s)].
The entrance
Our door is inches wide when open. It is [automatic / light to push / heavy] and opens [in / out]. The threshold is [flush / a ___-inch lip].
Inside
The floor is [level throughout / has a step or ramp at ___]. The narrowest aisle or walkway is about inches.
Ordering and seating
Our counter is inches high [with / without] a lower section. Seating includes [tables with open space underneath / high-tops only / ___].
The restroom
We [have / don't have] a public restroom. Its door is inches wide. Inside, there [are / are no] grab bars, and the space is [roomy enough to turn around / tight].
Help we offer
If you need help, [call ahead at ___ / ring the bell by the door / ask any staff member]. We can also [bring orders to your table / hold the door / ___].
When you're done, read it out loud. If a stranger in a wheelchair heard it, would they know whether they could get in, order, and use the restroom? If yes, you're finished.
What a finished one looks like
From a real Upfront Accessible profile for Nicholas Coffee & Tea Co. on Market Square in Pittsburgh:
Market Square is closed to through traffic and the paving runs level to the shop front, so there is no curb and no step to reach the door. The door itself is the hard part: a pull door that opens toward you, described as heavy by a companion who opened it during the visit, with a half-inch lip at the sill and a 31-inch clear opening when it is held open. Inside, the floor is level all the way to the counter and the aisle is 50 inches at its narrowest fixed point. The service counter is high, at 48 inches, with no lowered section. There is no public restroom.
Notice what it does. It names the hard parts (a heavy pull door, a high counter, no restroom) without apologizing. It uses inches, not adjectives, and says how anything it couldn't measure is known. A wheelchair user can decide in ten seconds whether to go.
Add 8 photos, curb to counter
A photo answers in two seconds what a paragraph takes a minute to explain. Take these with your phone, in this order.
One rule changes everything: hold the phone about 45 inches from the floor, roughly where a seated person's eyes are.
Most photos are taken standing, which hides steps, lips, and high counters.
Parking
The closest accessible space, showing the route toward your door.
The approach
The sidewalk or path to your entrance, including any curb, slope, or ramp.
The entrance door
Your door, straight on and closed, from about 4 feet back, so the handle and any steps show.
The threshold
The door held open, looking straight across the sill, with the floor showing on both sides.
The first view inside
What someone sees just past the door.
The path to the counter
The aisle or walkway, at its narrowest point.
The counter or seating
Where people order, pay, or sit.
The restroom
The door, then the inside if you can fit it in one frame. No public restroom? Skip it and say so in your text.
Shoot in daylight, keep the phone level, and don't tidy anything you normally leave out. People are planning around the real space.
Where to put it
Write it once, then use it everywhere people look before they visit.
- Google Business Profile. Paste a short version into your business description, and add the photos. This is where most people check first.
- Your website. Add an "Accessibility" section to your contact or visit page, or link it in your footer.
- Yelp. Add it to the "From the business" section.
- Social media. Pin a post with the photos and text.
- Your phone answer. Keep a copy by the register so anyone answering the phone gives the same accurate answer every time.
A note, and a next step
Describing your space honestly is good communication. It is not an ADA assessment, and it doesn't make a business compliant or non-compliant. If you have legal questions about your building, talk to an accessibility professional or an attorney.
Want it published for you?
Members take the eight photos and four measurements themselves, with a step-by-step photo guide, in about 30 minutes. Upfront Accessible writes the captions and publishes an accessibility profile you can link from Google, your website, and social media. You review and approve every detail before it goes live.