Accessibility

We believe all websites should be accessible to all. Excluding users excludes people — whether they’re older, have a temporary access need, or a permanent disability. An accessible website is a better website for everyone.

Over the last 25 years, our Gaddy Award winning team has built accessible websites for W3C, RNIB, UK Parliament, Crossrail and many more. Accessibility is a journey, not a single fix. Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been maintaining an accessible website for years, we’ll meet you where you are and help you move forward.

The benefits

Better for everyone — accessible design improves usability for all users
Shows your commitment — meet your legal duties and social responsibilities
Reduces risk — catch issues before they become costly problems

How we can support you

Every accessibility project is unique. We adapt our approach to match where you are on your journey. We can support and guide on:

Single-page accessibility review — spot high-impact issues fast, many you can fix yourself
Full website audit — WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) audits and disabled user testing with trusted partner Zoonou
Maintenance — ongoing fixes through a monthly retainer or annual support contract
Consultancy and training — build accessibility knowledge across your team
Website redesign — build accessibility in from planning through to launch

Other ways we help

Read our guide to accessible content for practical tips
Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter, Website Accessibility Tips, for monthly advice
Check out our blog for more accessibility insights

Making accessibility part of how you work

We bring everything together into a practical plan you can act on, whatever stage you’re at. We’ve used this approach to help organisations like UK Parliament and RNIB build accessibility into their websites and their ways of working.

Website accessibility is ultimately about people. Technically, it’s designing and building websites so people with disabilities can use them. What we’re really talking about is removing barriers that might stop any person from using your website.

Do any of these common scenarios match your current situation?

I don’t know if my website is accessible

This is completely understandable. Some websites are years old and have had many tweaks over time by different people. If you want to get a benchmark, our single-page accessibility review is a great place to start.

How do I write alt text for images?

You’ll be pleased to know that once you get into the habit of writing alt text it becomes second nature. We explain how to write good alt text in our Guide to Accessible Content.

The guide covers alt text, text content, links, colour contrast, audio and video content and much more. It provides tips and links to more detailed information to help you make all your content as accessible and user-friendly as possible.You can also sign up for our LinkedIn newsletter called ‘website accessibility tips’. This is published monthly and is full of helpful advice with links to resources to help you keep on top of accessibility.

I want to work through the issues identified in our accessibility statement

Accessibility is an ongoing commitment, so working through issues in an iterative way is perfect. We provide support and maintenance for WordPress and Craft CMS websites, even if we didn’t do the original build ourselves. This includes accessibility checks to make sure visitors to your website have the best experience possible. We tailor our maintenance contracts to your needs, so email Emma and we’ll be in touch to chat through your requirements.

I know my website isn’t accessible and I want to redesign it with accessibility as a priority

Maintaining an accessible website is an ongoing and collaborative process. It is easiest and most cost-effective when considered at the very start of a project – from research and planning, through to design and development. We’ll work collaboratively with you to make sure accessibility is prioritised.

I want to build a culture of accessible thinking at work, but I don’t feel confident doing it myself

Accessibility is a big topic. We provide team training where we can answer all your questions, including: how people with disabilities use the web, why accessibility is important, how accessibility makes good business sense, and how to write digital content in an accessible way. This can be tailored to the specific needs of your organisation. Let’s have a chat about your requirements. Give Emma or Kate a call on 01223 328017 to discuss.

If none of these scenarios describes you, then we’re all ears! Let us know what brings you to our accessibility page today. Give us a call on 01223 328017 and let us know how we can help.

We’ve developed our own, open-source, accessible front-end starter kit – Amplify. Amplify was tested for accessibility during the W3C redesign project, so you can be confident your new website has accessibility baked in.

For all projects, we aim to meet WCAG level AA, but we like to go above and beyond where it makes good sense to do so.

Have you considered an accessibility review?

In our single-page accessibility review, our team of accessibility experts will identify where you have high-impact issues. We’ll explain the problems these cause for your visitors and offer recommendations on how to fix them. Use the review to start planning improvements.

Read about our accessibility review