What is web accessibility?

This information is relevant to all University of Exeter web editors. It looks at what web accessibility is and why it's important, but doesn't cover how to implement regulatory requirements, as this varies according to the web editing system you use.

Reading this background information is therefore recommended, as it will help you understand why certain rules are necessary, but it's not required reading in order to understand the practical training.

Introduction

Web accessibility is the measure of how easy it is for people to perceive, operate and understand web content when they're experiencing any of the following:

illness, injury or disability
situational challenges that make it difficult to engage with web content
limited technological means of web access
content in an unfamiliar language

It's also the measure of how compatible web content is with the devices and software used to access web content, which includes assistive technologies that help people with certain disabilities to access online information.

There's no duration requirement in any of these situations – the person only needs to be experiencing it at the point at which they are accessing the online content for web accessibility to be applicable.

Types of web accessibility

If you'd like further detail of the ways in which web accessibility can affect people, please refer to the following list:

Providing alternative access options

Many forms of web accessibility are delivered by providing at least one alternative method of engaging with content.

Examples

A text-chat option for people who find it difficult or impossible to communicate verbally (e.g. in Teams).
Subtitles and transcripts for people who find it difficult or impossible to hear or understand audio.
Alternative image text for people who find it difficult or impossible to see images.

All of these examples could be due to physical, situational or technological barriers, and the first two could also be due to language barriers.

Raising international standards of good practice

Web accessibility has become a worldwide cornerstone of good practice in web content creation, due to the importance of web access in everyday life and the significant disadvantages to individuals – and those who depend on them – when that access is impeded.

How accessibility is measured

Most governments are increasingly legislating to require websites to comply with certain coding and web content creation practices; it can also form a part of international treaties, such as trade agreements.

In addition, many international organisations, including the UN and the EU, follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

The web accessibility of public sector websites in the UK, which includes those of Universities, is defined and measured by legislation which refers to the WCAG as regulatory criteria.

University priorities

In addition to the requirement to comply with applicable legislation, web accessibility aligns with a number of University strategies, particularly:

Strategy 2030
Digital Strategy 2030
Education, especially Widening Participation
Success for All

Web accessibility is also relevant to several of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which the University is committed to supporting.

Additional benefits

In achieving its primary objectives, web accessibility also has wider consequential benefits:

In terms of the overall user experience, it makes pages easier to:
- find
- navigate
- understand
It improves audience reach, in part because it helps to improve search engine ranking.
It ensures the correct code is used, which in turn:
- reduces the likelihood of content appearing incorrectly when new technologies are used to access it.
- reduces page errors.
- speeds up page load times.