Why web accessibility is important
Making our website accessible means making sure it can be used by as many people as possible.
This includes those with:
- impaired vision
- motor difficulties
- cognitive impairments or learning disabilities
- deafness or impaired hearing
Accessibility is not just about permanent or temporary disabilities though. It's making sure people can access services no matter where they are, their level of internet access or what device they use.
For example, people should still be able to access a service when on a train using a mobile device. In this scenario, we need to make sure buttons and links are big enough as the movement of the train can make it difficult to click and operate small buttons on a handheld device. We also need to consider how quickly the website loads due to limited internet connection. Images can make pages load slowly so we want to avoid using them. The brightness of the sun through the train window can also make screens more difficult to see, so text needs to be clear so the size, font and colours all need to be reviewed too.
Accessibility means making our services as inclusive as possible.
Accessibility regulations
In the public sector all digital or technology activity must be in full compliance with the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Equality Act 2010.
These accessibility regulations (opens new window) came into force in September 2018 and say that we must make our websites or mobile apps more accessible by making them 'perceivable, operable, understandable and robust'.
Our websites must:
- meet the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA (opens new window) accessibility standard
publish an accessibility statement that explains the accessibility of your service or mobile app
The Government Digital Service (GDS) monitors our compliance with these guidelines.
These regulations build on our existing obligations to people who have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (or the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland). These acts require all UK service providers to consider 'reasonable adjustments' for disabled people.