If you sell or provide a service online, the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments covers your website, apps and online forms. The duty is anticipatory, so you should remove barriers before a disabled user meets them. Where information is the barrier, a reasonable step includes giving it in an accessible format, and you cannot charge for doing so.
Disabled people use websites with screen readers, screen magnifiers, speech recognition and the keyboard alone. A site that does not work with these tools shuts them out.
Common problems to fix
- images with no text alternative
- text with too little colour contrast against its background
- forms without clear labels or helpful error messages
- menus and buttons that do not work with the keyboard alone
- videos that play automatically or have no captions
- PDFs and documents that screen readers cannot read
- headings and navigation that change from page to page
Make your site accessible
-
Test your site
Use an automated checker, then test by hand with a screen reader and the keyboard alone. Testing with disabled users finds problems that tools miss.
-
Fix the most important journeys first
Start with navigation, forms, checkout and anything a customer must use to buy from you or contact you.
-
Train the people who build and edit the site
Make sure developers, designers and content editors know the WCAG 2.2 level AA criteria and how to meet them.
-
Offer other formats on request
Tell users how to ask for information in another format, and respond promptly when they do.
-
Publish an accessibility statement
Say how accessible the site is, what you are fixing and how to report a problem. It is good practice for private businesses.
Public sector websites and apps
Public sector bodies have a specific legal duty that goes beyond the reasonable adjustments duty, set by the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
The Government Digital Service checks a sample of public sector websites and apps each year. If a body fails to publish a correct accessibility statement, the Central Digital and Data Office publishes its name and the decision.
Selling to customers in the EU
The European Accessibility Act sets accessibility requirements for some products and services sold in EU countries, including e-commerce, banking services and e-books. Each EU country applies it through its own law, so check the rules of the countries you sell into.