Most accessibility statements suck. They are boiler-plate documents which don't provide a useful snapshot about what an organization is doing to remove barriers to access.
My hope is that by developing a template collectively we can define best practices.
Accessibility statements can be useful as a step help defend yourself against accessibility lawsuits (especially in the USA) but what is important is demonstrating that you are actively working to reduce barriers for your users. This is something that is key for any customer/client focused organization.
- State that inclusion is important value to the organization
- State the accessibility guidelines that the site is working to achieve
- Outline exceptions (such as legacy PDF files)
- Explain what has been done to make the site more accessible
- Include information about other accessibility services
- Outline what accessibility enhancements have been made to make them more discoverable
- Highlight the technology stack and if accessibility played into it's selection - if an open source libraries (like Drupal) was used, it is worth metioning that
- If you use automated testing tools, tell us which ones you use - explain how those are complimented with manual testing
- Have an easy, accessibile way to contact the web admins if someone runs into a barrier (possibly including a phone number)
- Provide details about the organization’s web accessibility policy
- If there is an accessibility coordinator or committee, provide contact information
- Highlight goals for assistive technology supported (ie. latest & previous versions)
- Have statement linked to from every page on the site in the footer or header
- Affirm that the organization is aware that this is a journey and that improvements are being made regularly
Bold text references to lflegal's guide
- If an audit was done on the site, it would be beneficial to say who did it and when
- If it was tested with assistive technology, it would be useful to know what versions and when.
- Large organizations in Ontario will be required by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) to create an Accessibility Report and make it available to the public. An Accessibility statemnet is a logical place to have this.
To comply with the requirements of the Directive public sector bodies must publish an accessibility statement. The statement must:
- be in an accessible format
- be updated frequently
- use the model accessibility statement adopted by the European Commission (this will be provided by December 2018)
The accessibility statement must include the following:
- a list of any parts of the website or app that aren’t accessible, an explanation of why, and links to accessible alternatives
- a feedback mechanism that can be used by any person to tell the public body about content in the website or app that doesn’t meet the accessibility requirements
- a link to the enforcement procedure to which recourse may be had in the event of an unsatisfactory response to the notification or the request
From their 2018 Open consultation and the final report. UK Legislation
- http://www.lflegal.com/2013/02/access-info-pages/
- http://www.lflegal.com/accessibility/
- http://www.lflegal.com/2017/03/update-csun17/#best
- http://www.lflegal.com/2013/02/access-info-pages/#ideal
- http://www.hassellinclusion.com/2012/05/write-accessibility-statement/
- https://www.nomensa.com/blog/2009/writing-an-accessibility-statement
- https://www.accessibilitystatementgenerator.com/
- https://www.w3.org/WAI/planning/statements/
- https://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/wiki/Accessibility_Statements_Requirements
- http://nda.ie/Resources/Accessibility-toolkit/Accessibility-Statement-Template/
- http://juicystudio.com/displayarticle.php?page=writing-a-good-accessibility-statement.php
- https://pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca/dabp/chapter/creating-an-accessibility-statement/
- https://www.microassist.com/digital-accessibility/the-value-of-digital-accessibility-statements-a-checklist-for-getting-started/
- https://blog.tenon.io/sample-post
- https://disabilityin.org/resource/digital-accessibility-statement-best-practices/
- https://uxdesign.cc/accessibility-statements-855ce1b65993
- https://www.digitala11y.com/accessibility-statement-generators-roundup/
- https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2018/11/21/public-sector-website-accessibility-statements-what-you-need-to-know/
- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/make-your-website-or-app-accessible-and-publish-an-accessibility-statement
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sample-accessibility-statement
- https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32018D1523
- https://digital.gov/resources/required-web-content-and-links/#accessibility-statement
- https://georgia.gov/accessibility
- https://www.steward.org/accessibility
- https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/our-company/about-us/corporate-responsibility/accessibility.page
- https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/covid-alert/accessibility-statement.html
- https://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/website-accessibility-statement.html