What accessible content is

Digital accessibility and the law

Digital services must consider people’s access needs when designing, building, and delivering websites apps and online content.

Key laws and regulations

Public sector digital services must meet:

These laws apply to all public sector websites and mobile apps, including those run by external suppliers. They cover:

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

What we must do

To meet the law, we must ensure:

all content we create or commission is accessible
technical components work with assistive technologies

How to make content accessible

Accessible content should:

be navigable, readable and understandable
use correct features in editing tools so it works with different assistive technologies, browsers and devices

We follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to guide accessibility across websites and content.

Accessibility goes beyond legal compliance

Meeting legal accessibility requirements is essential, but it does not guarantee content works for everyone.

To better meet people's needs, we also:

understand users and their accessibility needs
solve the whole problem, not just part of it
make services simple and easy to use
provide a joined-up experience across channels
use tools and technology that support accessibility
test services with users to ensure 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.