What accessible content is

All people will have different needs at different times which could impact their ability to use or understand our information online. These issues could be permanent, temporary or situational. 

Digital accessibility means making sure everyone can perceive, understand, navigate and interact with our online services, no matter their abilities or situation.

Read more about what digital accessibility means to us.

People access the web in different ways

Creating content accessibly lets people access and use content with the different tools, software and devices they use. 

Our research in 2024 shows that:

• a majority (67%) of the public accessed our public website on mobile devices like smart phones or tablets
• people read differently on the web compared to print - they scan text instead of reading it word for word (GOV.UK)
• people can access content in multiple ways, like using captions on videos or with different digital tools like screen readers and screen magnifiers

Creating your content accessibly means people will face fewer barriers to accessing your information.

Artificial intelligence (AI) use accessible web content

Machine learning, or AI tools can also rely on accessibly created content to work. They will scan your content for:

• clear headings that show your main topics
• informative images with text descriptions
• lists that break ideas into small pieces
• plain HTML text that loads right away

They can skip:

• images of text or images without descriptions
• video and audio-only content without text alternatives, like captions or transcripts
• dropdown sections or accordions
• content hidden in special widgets

Creating content accessibly means AI tools can access your information better.