Step 10 of 10

Your accessibility statement and next steps

By the end of this step: you will have a short, honest accessibility statement on your site and a habit that keeps your site accessible.

The short version

• An accessibility statement is a page that tells visitors how accessible your site is.
• At the least, it gives your commitment, the standard you aim for, and how to contact you.
• Be honest about anything that doesn't work yet.
• Keep checking your site every time you change it.

What a statement is for

An accessibility statement is a short page on your site. It shows customers that you care about access. It also tells them what to expect.^[1]

Most of all, it gives people a way to tell you when something doesn't work. That feedback helps you find problems you missed.

Step 1: Include the three must-haves

W3C says every statement should include at least three things.^[1]

1. Your commitment. One or two sentences saying you want everyone to be able to use your site.
2. The standard you aim for. For example, "WCAG 2.2 Level AA". You learned about this in Step 2.
3. How to contact you. An email address and a phone number work well. Give people more than one way if you can.

Step 2: Be honest about known problems

W3C also suggests listing any problems you know about.^[1] This saves people from getting stuck and frustrated.

Use plain words, not WCAG numbers.^[1] W3C gives this example. Don't write "WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.2 was not met". Write "videos do not have captions".^[1]

If you can, say what people can do instead. For example: "Our older videos do not have captions yet. Email us and we will send you a transcript."

Only claim what is true. If you haven't checked your whole site, say you are still working on it.

Step 3: Put it where people will find it

Make the statement easy to find. W3C suggests linking to it from places like your footer.^[1] Call the link the same thing on every page, like "Accessibility".

Step 4: Use W3C's generator

W3C has a tool that helps you write a statement.^[1] You fill in a form, and it builds the statement for you. It also links to a short example and a full example.

Write your statement in simple words.^[1] Your readers are your customers, not developers or lawyers.

Step 5: Make it a habit

A site is never "done". Every new page, photo and form can add a new problem. W3C's advice is to check early and regularly, and to keep reviewing over time.^[2]

Here are some habits that help:

• Every new image: write its alt text before you publish, as in Step 4.
• Every new page: check its title and headings, as in Step 3.
• Every new form: test it with the keyboard, as in Step 7.
• Every few months: run the routine from Step 9 on your main pages.

W3C also suggests involving people with disability, early and all the way through.^[3] When a customer reports a problem, thank them and fix it. Then tell them it is fixed.

Try it on your site

1. Write a first draft of your statement, with the three must-haves.
2. Add any known problems from your testing in Step 9, in plain words.
3. Publish it and link to it from your footer.
4. Put a reminder in your calendar to test your main pages again in three months.