What digital accessibility means to us

Everyone at the council must work together to deliver digitally accessible services to people in Nottinghamshire.

On this page

People deserve access to our online services

People may not have a choice when using our websites or digital services, so it’s important they work for everyone. 

This includes our:

  • websites and mobile apps
  • web forms
  • e-mail marketing systems
  • documents we publish on our web pages
  • video and audio content
  • any digital products or content we pay someone else to provide or develop

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

Digital accessibility helps people in more ways

Something can be accessible to one person and be inaccessible to another. For example, a video without captions may be accessible to someone who can hear it, but inaccessible to those who cannot. 

All people will have different needs at different times which could impact their ability to use or understand our digital information. This includes needs relating to:

  • vision - people who are colour blind, sight impaired (partially sighted) or severely sight impaired (blind) 
  • hearing - people who are hard of hearing or deaf
  • mobility - people with motor difficulties or who find it hard to use a mouse, keyboard or touch screen
  • thinking and understanding - people with low reading literacy, autism or learning difficulties like dyslexia

Digital access needs can be temporary or situational

How people need to use and access our content online can depend on their situation. These needs can come and go. For example, people may have:

  • limited time or attention span, or be in stressful situations
  • 'temporary disabilities' like a broken arm, forgetting glasses or a hearing aid
  • 'situational limitations' like in bright sunlight or noisy environments 
  • changing abilities due to age (including older and younger people)
  • limited computer skills or digital literacy
  • different education levels

People might also be limited by their technology, for example, those with:

  • laptop computers, mobile phones, smart watches, smart TVs and other devices with different screen sizes or ways of interacting
  • a slow internet, or who have limited or expensive bandwidth
  • older digital devices or software

Accessible websites and apps can improve overall experience and satisfaction, in a variety of situations, and with different devices and technology.

Accessible public services make sense

As a public service, making our information easier to use and access is not just our duty, it just makes sense. This is because it:

Everybody helps to deliver accessible council services

Every single person who contributes to and manages our websites is responsible for helping to make it accessible. Depending on their role, different teams can do this in different ways. 

Leadership ensures accessibility is incorporated into the council's corporate strategy, identity and ambitions.

Communications offers best practice guidance and advice for writing, revising and implementing service content to meet both user needs and legal requirements.

Council services works to create or commission: 

  • text content that's easily understood - for example, using clear structure, simple plain English and clear link text
  • non-text content like image, videos and audio that's accessible 
  • accessible web pages and service documents, like PDF or Word files

Services then regularly review content to make sure it's up to date. They also use feedback from residents and staff, including those with disabilities, to improve their service information so it works for more people. 

Web content writers, builders and editors deliver the accessible end page by making sure web content:

  • is easily understood using correct web page structure, simple plain English and clear link text
  • combines service content with web elements correctly - for example, by adding 'coded' heading and sub-heading levels to content
  • is tested regularly using both manual and automated content checks

Website developers design and test council websites so they meet minimum accessibility standards. For example, by ensuring web pages work:

  • with service content published by web editors
  • using both manual and automated quality checks
  • with different assistive technologies for people with a disability, like screen readers and keyboard only navigation
  • across different devices, like desktop and mobile

Procurement ensure external digital systems we purchase meet minimum accessibility standards and have a clear plan for fixing issues if they do not.

Customers service receives feedback from residents and fellow employees on how usable our websites are, including for those with disabilities. This helps us know how improve access to our services going forward. 

Making digital accessibility an 'everyability'

We want to create a culture at Nottinghamshire County Council where accessibility is the norm, a habit, an 'everyability'. We think one of the biggest barriers to doing this is people simply lack the knowledge.

For content, there are lots of best practices everyone can start using today. They help everybody understand information better, are low cost and give everyone a chance to upskill and feel confident about accessibility. 

That's why we've worked to create a place where everyone can come and learn, at their own pace, what it takes to make good accessible content. It includes step by step guides for different digital formats, like web pages, document files and video. 

Learn more at How to create accessible content. 

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