What is web accessibility?

It means your website works for everyone — including the one in six people living with a disability. A person who is blind, has low vision, cannot hear, has limited movement, or finds dense text hard to follow should still be able to read, navigate, and use what you publish.

It is not a special feature for a few people. It is simply a website that works for everyone.

One in six people live with a disability — the single most important number in this field. And disability is wider than you think: it can be permanent (blindness), temporary (a broken arm), or situational (bright sunlight on a phone screen, or holding a baby).

Design for disability and you usually make things better for everyone — the ramp helps the wheelchair user, and also the parent with a pram.

• Reach. You serve your whole community, not just part of it.
• It is the right thing. Everyone deserves equal access to public information and services.
• It is often required. Many governments and funders ask for it by law or policy.

WCAG — the web accessibility standard — groups everything into four principles:

• Perceivable. People can see or hear it — images carry text alternatives, so nothing is lost on a screen reader.
• Operable. People can use it — everything works with a keyboard, not just a mouse.
• Understandable. People can follow it — clear language, predictable behaviour.
• Robust. It keeps working as the tools evolve, now and in the future.

People browse the web in many ways: a screen reader that reads the page aloud, screen magnification, keyboard-only navigation, voice control, or a switch device. A good website works with all of them — not just the ones you happened to test.

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard — the numbers from the World Health Organization and the world's accessibility laws all point back to it. It has three levels: A, AA, and AAA. Most laws and policies ask for AA; this site itself targets AAA, the highest. Browse the WCAG criteria or look up any term in our plain-language glossary.

You do not need to be an expert. Run a free assessment of your site to see where you stand, or take the free course to learn at your own pace.