Understand accessibility
Making content accessible means considering:
- how it’s written
- how it’s formatted (things like headings, text size and the use of images can all impact how accessible content is)
- the types of documents that are attached
- the use of audio and video
- how it displays on different devices (mobile, desktop, tablet)
- how it works with screen readers and other assistive technology
Some of these things are built into how GOV.UK is designed to make sure it’s accessible. There are other things you will need to do to make sure your content is accessible.
The accessibility regulations and guidelines
All public sector bodies - including government - have to follow accessibility regulations. These require websites and mobile apps to be ‘perceivable, operable, understandable and robust’.
These 4 principles are covered in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (known as WCAG). They are a set of recommendations designed to make web content more accessible. To meet the requirements of the regulations, our content needs to meet WCAG 2.2’s level ‘AA’.
You do not need to read the WCAG guidelines in full to make sure your GOV.UK content is accessible. Some elements are more relevant to designing services, and others are technical considerations of how GOV.UK is built and designed.
The GOV.UK service manual includes an overview of WCAG 2.2 if you want to read more about it. Some of the information is more relevant to service design, but lots of it is still useful to apply to GOV.UK content.
How to make your content accessible
You can use our guidance on making content accessible to understand what accessibility considerations are relevant to what you publish on GOV.UK.
You can also use these user profiles of different disabilities and impairments. They’re designed to help you understand how different content design elements affect users with different types of accessibility needs.