WJPS' Guide to Accessibility

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Laptop with accessibility hardware.Over the years we have written our fair share of Accessibility advice, News Stories, How-to's and more, so we have compiled as much useful information and advice about Accessibility as we can. 

In recent years Accessibility Guidelines have changed, and there are now guidelines for Local Councils and other similar authorities to follow. 

People have a diverse range of hearing, sight, movement, and cognitive ability, so the goal of web accessibility is to make sure everyone can easily find what they need online. When web accessibility is not done well, this causes feelings of exclusion. It is important to have accessibility and inclusion as a priority. The Internet is a fantastic tool, and should be available to anyone, no matter their ability.

Websites must be created in a way that allows applications like Text-To-Speech Screen Readers to successfully work, or for keyboard users to navigate the site without the use of a mouse, amongst other features. 

At WJP Software, we ensure it is baked into our system. This means the sites are accessible – straight out the box - and users just need to think about additional content they add.

Why is Accessibility Important?

20% of people in the UK have some kind of disability. Many sites hold information that no other sites contain- especially government body sites (Town or Parish Councils for example,) so this information needs to be displayed clearly & concisely.

Access to information, including the web, is now a human right. The current expected standard of accessibility is the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA.

As well as the sites being accessible for more users, accessible websites tend to work better for everyone.- as they are often faster, easier to navigate, better formatted, and appear higher in search engine rankings.

What are the current Accessibility Requirements? 

The current accessibility requirements came into practice in 2018, these requirements state that you must make your website more accessible by making it ‘perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust’. (These regulations build on existing obligations to people who have a disability under the Equality Act 2010.)

What are the Requirements for Government Bodies?

“All UK Public Bodies, which includes parish, town, borough and city councils, must comply with the legal requirements to meet the accessible standards of their website.”
Regardless of their size, all Councils must meet the standard of WCAG 2.1 level AA for both its website and the documents it publishes on it. 

This needs to be done whilst adhering to The Transparency Code, to read more about this please see National Association of Local Councils’ Website Accessibility and Publishing Guidelines

This includes,

  • A fully compliant website or mobile application meeting WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
  • A compliant Accessibility Statement and Accessible Document Statement.
  • All documents published by the council are to meet accessibility standards.

How is Website Accessibility Measured?

The level of accessibility is measured against the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG.)

WCAG 2.1 has three different levels;

  • A- The lowest, minimum level of accessibility to reach.
  • AA- Is more accessible, some barriers still exist for some groups of users, but most features should work with assistive technology. Level AA is often the required level of accessibility- this is the level of accessibility that WJPS work too when creating WCS sites. 
  • AAA- Is the most accessible level. Some level AAA criteria cannot be applied everywhere, so level AAA is generally not a requirement, more-so something to aim for.

Our Web Communication System (WCS) sites have a multitude of features that cater towards accessibility, like Alternative Text, Adjustable font sizes and contrast, are easy to navigate with a keyboard, they’re responsive between mobile and desktop views, and much more!

What are some Common Accessibility Mistakes?

Common accessibility mistakes include content not displaying correctly on a mobile phone, can not be navigated using a keyboard, poor colour contrast, not including alt text on images (What is Alt Text and Why Should I Use It?), and being poorly structured so screen readers struggle to read the content. 

Many people use Mobile Phones to access websites, so having a site that is responsive to different screen sizes is important. Many web providers will use responsive software, so this is not something that the user needs to worry about unless they are building their own site from scratch.

Accessibility Statements

It is also a requirement for Local Councils to publish an Accessibility Statement that conforms to the required standard and is a genuine refection of your assessment of the website and its content- here at WJPS, this is something we also provide for your WCS site.

WCS and Accessibility

There are many features that WCS offers to aid in a website’s accessibility, these include, but are not limited too-

  • Alternative Text
    Every image uploaded to a WCS site has an option to add Alt-Text. Alt-text is a simple description of the image that is read by Screen Readers for site users with visual impairments.
  • Labelled Links
    When adding a link to a page, it is important to correctly label that link, and avoid using ‘Click Here’ etc. This helps people using applications like screen readers to navigate a site quickly and easily. WCS, as many users already know, makes correctly labelling links super easy!
  • Avoid Over Formatting
    A mixture of too many different font, sizes, and colours, along with excessive use of Bold, Italics and similar features can be overwhelming and complicated. With WCS, we set fonts and themes to limit the mix of fonts and sizes that can be used to make it easy for users to create new content without the worry of mixing up fonts.

S.C.U.L.P.T

SCULPT is am acronym to help you understand Accessibility, and a thinking point when you are writing or creating new content.

  • Structure - (Is the structure of the content suitable, are you using the correct headings and formats for displaying data).
  • Colour – Use strong colour contrast between any text and background colours.
  • Use of Images – Use alternative text to describe the image. Imagine how you would explain it to someone.
  • Links – What does it link to? Describe your link. Never use click here.
  • Plain English – Use clear, uncomplicated language with no jargon.
  • Table Structure – Use simple tables without merged or split cells.

How WJPS can help you

We are currently working on offering our clients WCS consultancy, where we will not only streamline, organise and style your site, but we will bring it up to at least WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and within our support package, will check your sites accessibility every 6 months to keep it up to date. 

For more in-depth information on this topic, please see National Association of Local Councils Website Accessibility and Publishing Guidelines. 

If you would like to speak to us about Web Accessibility- email support@wjps.co.uk or call Bee on 01677 392006

Published: 15/03/2023 Published by: WJPS

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