Accessibility statements on websites are an important part of universal design for the web. This article will outline what an accessibility statement is and how it can attract visitors to a website.
Accessibility Statements on Websites
One principle of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requires that web content must be understandable. In addition, another WCAG principle requires content to be perceivable. In other words, people with a variety of disabilities should be able to perceive web content that is presented audibly or visually. Furthermore, WCAG also requires that websites must be operable. In other words, people should be able to navigate websites using various input devices and methods. Finally, WCAG requires websites to be robust, to work with current and future assistive technologies.
An accessibility statement supports all these principles by helping people understand how they can:
- Access a website’s audio or visual content
- Operate a website in different ways
- Access a website with the assistive hardware or software they use
An accessibility statement is a brief outline of a website’s accessibility status. For example, an accessibility statement can explain whether people can access the website with:
- Screen readers
- Screen magnification
- Speech recognition software
- Keyboard
- Gestures
- Other input devices
Moreover, if a website includes any videos, the accessibility statement can outline whether the videos have:
- Captions
- Audio description
- Transcripts
- Sign language interpretation
Likewise, an accessibility statement can alert visitors about captions, transcripts, or Sign language interpretation for any audio content.
Similarly, accessibility statements can outline the website’s support for visual content, such as:
- Colour contrast, including for non-text content
- Alt-text or image descriptions
Providing Contact Information
Another useful element for an accessibility statement to include is accessibility-specific contact information. For instance, a statement can explain whom to contact if a visitor is having difficulty accessing any part of the website. In addition, if a website lacks any accessible features, the accessibility statement can explain alternative ways for a visitor to access content. For example, if someone cannot fill out a site’s online form in an accessible way, they can contact the person listed in the accessibility statement for support. That person could then help the visitor complete the form in a different way, such as by:
- Phone
Finally, a web accessibility statement can explain whether the site works best with certain browsers or versions. All this information in accessibility statements on websites will help them retain more visitors with disabilities.