web browser Home | News & events | Legal updates | Website accessibility: Industry standards and best practice

Website accessibility: Industry standards and best practice

26 May 2010

In part one of this article, we explored the law on website accessibility as it stands and as it is likely to be when the Equality Act 2010 comes into force later this year.

Here in part two, we outline the industry standards and best practice that website owners can look at to help achieve compliance with the law.

Under both current discrimination law and the law as it will be when the Equality Act comes into force, website owners have a duty not to make their websites unreasonably difficult to use for those with disabilities.

By complying with website accessibility standards, you are maximising your chances of complying with the duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the new Equality Act.

Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

There are two versions of this standard, which was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Version 1.0 sets out 14 guidelines for compliance with WAI standards, including:

Version 2.0 introduces overarching accessibility principles under which individual guidelines are given.  The principles are:

Version 1.0 remains the more established of the two standards

PAS 78 Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Websites

PAS 78 was issued by the Disability Rights Commission working in collaboration with the British Standards Institute.

PAS 78 states that websites should comply with WCAG, and focuses on the process of making and maintaining accessible websites.

PAS 78 focuses on the needs of users. It also suggests that websites should display accessibility policies. Such a policy should include details of the measures that should be, or are being, taken to address the needs of users.

Draft British Standard on Website Accessibility

A new British Standard on accessibility, BS 8878, is in development. It is designed for non technical professionals and gives guidance on accessibility, usability and user experience rather than focusing solely on technical and design issues. This includes involving disabled people in the development process and using automated tools to assist with accessibility testing.

What does this mean?

There are more than 10m disabled people in the UK. Compliance with website accessibility standards makes your organisation available to this section of the public. For businesses, accessibility gives a competitive advantage over those failing to provide accessible websites.

Our view is that compliance with at least one of the current standards will aid website providers in demonstrating compliance with law.

What should website owners do?

As well as compliance with a technical standard, such as WCAG, we would suggest that website owners take into account the more people-focused perspective of standards such as PAS 78 and the draft British Standard, and have their websites tested by people with disabilities.

© Shoosmiths. This page is for general information: it is not legal advice. Please read our full terms and conditions for details of the disclaimers and exclusions which apply.

Are any of the issues in this article giving you a headache? If so, we want to know

Name *

Comments*

The information you provide here will be used solely for the purposes of responding to your query for more information see our privacy policy.
 

Get in touch

Alex Newson

Associate
T: 03700 86 5084
I: +44 (0)115 906 5084
E: alex.newson@shoosmiths.co.uk