Accessibility and inclusive design.

We work to WCAG 2.2 AA as the baseline, but we can ensure you have a website that is the level you are looking for – whether it is A or AAA. Our team regularly refers to the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations and relevant GDS guidance, as well as keeping up to date with any developments.

Website accessibility means designing and building websites so that everyone can use them, including disabled people. An accessible website can be used with a screen reader, a keyboard alone, voice control or magnification, and its content is clear, readable and easy to navigate. It’s part of digital accessibility, which also covers apps, documents and other digital services.

Around 16 million people in the UK are disabled, about a quarter of the population, according to the government’s Family Resources Survey. Accessibility covers visual, hearing, motor and cognitive needs, as well as temporary limitations such as a broken arm. It matters commercially too: the Click-Away Pound report found that 69% of disabled internet users leave websites with accessibility barriers. Accessible websites are measured against the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

We Create Digital builds accessibility into every website we design and develop. Find out more about accessible website design or start with a free accessibility snapshot audit.

WCAG compliance means a website meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the international standard for web accessibility published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WCAG sets out testable success criteria across three levels: A, AA and AAA. A website is usually described as WCAG compliant when it meets every criterion at level AA.

WCAG is built on four principles, known as POUR: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Each principle contains guidelines, and each guideline has success criteria that can be tested, such as minimum colour contrast or keyboard access to every function. The W3C’s WCAG 2.2 quick reference lists every criterion with techniques for meeting it. Compliance has to cover the whole website, including forms, PDFs and third-party content, not just the homepage.

We Create Digital designs and builds websites to WCAG 2.2 AA as standard, and our own website meets the same level, as set out in our accessibility statement.

WCAG AA is the middle level of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the standard most organisations and UK regulations work to. It includes essentials such as a 4.5:1 colour contrast ratio, captions for video and full keyboard access. WCAG AAA is the highest level and adds stricter requirements, such as 7:1 contrast and sign language for pre-recorded video.

Each level includes everything in the level below it, so meeting AA means meeting every A and AA criterion. The W3C does not recommend requiring AAA across entire websites, because some content cannot meet every AAA criterion. Most organisations therefore target AA site-wide and apply AAA where their audience needs it, such as health information or services for older users.

We Create Digital builds to WCAG 2.2 AA and can work towards AAA for specific pages or user journeys. Talk to us about the level your website needs.

WCAG 2.2 AA is the standard UK organisations should meet. GOV.UK guidance tells public sector bodies to meet WCAG 2.2 AA, and the Government Digital Service has monitored websites against it since October 2024. Because WCAG 2.2 includes everything in 2.1, a website that meets 2.2 also meets 2.1.

WCAG 2.2 was published in October 2023. It added six new criteria at levels A and AA, covering focus that’s hidden by other content, dragging movements, minimum target sizes, consistent help, redundant entry and accessible authentication. It also removed the obsolete Parsing criterion. The W3C summarises the changes in what’s new in WCAG 2.2, and the GOV.UK accessibility requirements set out what public sector bodies must do. Private businesses aren’t bound to a specific version, but WCAG 2.2 AA is the benchmark used to show compliance with the Equality Act.

If your website was built to WCAG 2.1, We Create Digital can audit it against the new 2.2 criteria and fix any gaps. Start with a free snapshot audit.

Under the Equality Act 2010, UK businesses and organisations that provide services to the public must make reasonable adjustments so disabled people aren’t put at a disadvantage, and this applies to websites. Public sector websites, including councils, the NHS and universities, must also meet accessibility requirements under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018.

The Equality Act 2010 doesn’t name a technical standard, but WCAG 2.2 AA is the benchmark used to judge whether a website is accessible. The duty is anticipatory: organisations are expected to remove barriers before a disabled person encounters them. Public sector bodies must also publish an accessibility statement. The Government Digital Service monitors public sector websites, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission enforces the law. Schools are partly exempt but must still make essential information accessible. UK businesses selling into the EU may also be covered by the European Accessibility Act.

We Create Digital has built compliant websites for organisations including Essex County Council and St Peter’s School. Find out more about our public sector websites.

A website is accessible when it has clear headings, descriptive alt text on images, labelled form fields and enough colour contrast. It also needs to work fully with a keyboard, have captions on videos and display a visible focus indicator, so people using screen readers, magnification or keyboard navigation can find information and complete tasks without barriers.

Under the surface, accessible websites use semantic HTML, so assistive technology can understand the structure of each page. They also give people control over moving content, avoid relying on colour alone to convey meaning and let text be resized without breaking the layout. The most common failures are the opposite of these: WebAIM’s analysis of the top million home pages found low-contrast text, missing alt text and unlabelled forms on most of them. Our article on the most common accessibility mistakes explains how to fix them.

For examples of accessible websites, see We Create Digital’s work for King’s College London and Tendring District Council.

A website accessibility statement should explain how accessible your website is and which standard it’s measured against. It should list any known issues with dates for fixing them, tell users how to report problems or request content in another format and show when the statement was last reviewed. Public sector statements must follow the GOV.UK format.

GOV.UK sets out the required structure in its guidance on publishing an accessibility statement, including a section explaining how users can escalate a complaint. Private businesses aren’t required to publish one in the UK, but a statement shows commitment and gives users a clear route to report problems. A statement must be accurate. Claiming compliance you can’t evidence creates legal and reputational risk, so every statement should be based on proper testing.

We Create Digital writes accessibility statements as part of an accessibility audit or new build. See our own accessibility statement for an example.

Accessibility widgets and overlays add a toolbar or script on top of a website, but they don’t fix the underlying code. Problems with headings, forms, keyboard navigation and screen reader support remain. A widget doesn’t make a website WCAG compliant, and organisations using them have still faced legal action.

Most widgets rely on automated scripts, which can only detect a small share of real accessibility problems. Many also interfere with the assistive technology disabled users already rely on. One popular overlay reloads the page when it’s switched off, so anyone partway through a form loses their progress. Accessibility professionals have documented these problems on the Overlay Fact Sheet, and we cover them in our article on accessibility overlays and plugins.

If your website uses a widget, We Create Digital can audit what’s underneath it and prioritise the fixes that matter. Start with a free snapshot audit.

A website shows WCAG compliance through an independent audit and an accurate accessibility statement. Individuals can gain recognised accessibility qualifications, such as CPACC.

The International Association of Accessibility Professionals offers the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) and the Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS) certification for individuals. Organisations that need formal evidence of compliance, for example in procurement, typically provide an audit report, an accessibility statement or an Accessibility Conformance Report. The W3C explains its position on conformance claims, and it warns that claims should only be made after proper testing.

We Create Digital’s Accessibility Lead is CPACC-certified, which you can verify on Credly. Our audits give you the evidence you need to show compliance.

We can support with any part of your process or website, including simply providing a set of accessible designs.

However, we aren’t just an accessibility design agency, and we would recommend that while developers can follow designs, testing should still be carried out post-development and pre-launch to check for any issues.

We can provide detailed documentation and handover guidance to developers, but final testing will help to identify whether you are compliant.

Organisations we work with are often looking for an agency partner when it comes to accessibility for website redesign, and the reason for that is they know they need to do more than simply outsource it.

If we are redesigning and redeveloping a website so it is accessible, we make sure accessibility is built into every single stage, from the first meeting through to post-launch. We will also work closely with you to identify any issues that may go beyond the website too. For example, anything in your brand guidelines regarding colours and fonts, but also content on your site.

Yes, our accessibility agency services also cover mobile app compliance. We can review your app and help to address any issues with it. This can include making changes or working closely with your app developers to support them in understand what needs to change to make the app accessible.