What accessible content is

Digital accessibility and the law

Digital accessibility is required by law. These laws make sure we consider people’s access needs when designing, building, and delivering digital services.

Key laws and regulations

Public sector digital services must meet the requirements of:

This applies to all public sector websites and mobile apps, even if created or managed by external suppliers. It includes:

public-facing sites
staff-only sites, such as our intranet or SharePoint

Our responsibilities

To meet the law, we must ensure that:

all content we create or commission is accessible
all technical components of our websites function correctly with assistive technologies

How to make content accessible

Accessible content should be:

navigable, readable, and understandable
created using the correct features in content editing tools so it works with assistive technologies, browsers and devices

To guide how websites and content are made accessible, we follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Compliance does not mean it works for everyone

Meeting legal accessibility requirements is essential, but it is only the minimum standard. Legal compliance does not guarantee that a service works well for everyone.

To better meet users’ needs, we may also need to:

understand users and their accessibility needs
solve the whole problem for users, not just part of it
design services that are simple and easy to use
provide a joined-up experience across channels
choose tools and technology that support accessibility
test services with users to make sure everyone can use them
review and improve content regularly

Monitoring and enforcement

The Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) check public sector websites and mobile apps to ensure accessibility.

Public sector website and mobile application accessibility monitoring (GOV.UK)