What is an Accessibility Statement and Does My Website Need One?

What is an Accessibility Statement?

An Accessibility Statement is a formal declaration on a website that communicates an organisation’s commitment to ensuring its content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.

This is a key part of demonstrating compliance with the European Accessibility Act that is closely aligned with WCAG standards (currently WCAG 2.1, with WCAG 2.2 expected to become the standard soon).

Still with me?

What are the Requirements for an Accessibility Statement?

There are 3 main pillars that an Accessibility Statement should cover:

1. Demonstrate Transparency
   Clearly communicate the accessibility standards and features of the website or app.
2. Provide Accountability
   Acknowledge any non-conformances and outline plans to address them.
3. Encourage Feedback
   Offer a channel for users to report accessibility issues or request alternative formats.

Accessibility Statements are typically linked in the website footer for easy access, ensuring visibility to all users.

How can I create an Accessibility Statement?

Before you create an accessibility statement, you need to clearly understand the standards and level of accessibility across your website and where improvements could be made.

Don’t just copy and paste an Accessibility Statement from another website; every statement is unique to the website it appears on. There are automated tools that can help with this, but none of them will show you the full picture (e.g., inability to evaluate usability issues faced by screen reader users). Some human evaluation and testing are required for an accurate evaluation.

When you understand the level of accessibility your website has, the first place I would point anyone to is the Accessibility Statement Generator provided by the Web Accessibility Initiative. They are the organisation responsible for establishing web standards. Their tool provides a great foundation and is not too complicated as long as you are well informed and can fill in the blanks.

Ensuring ongoing compliance isn’t a one-time task. You may be compliant with WCAG 2.1 today, but next week someone might add content to your website that is not compliant.

Ongoing monitoring is essential. Your team needs to be aware of accessibility principles and continue implementing them as they add new content and your site evolves. Your Accessibility Statement will need to be kept up to date as things change.

Striving for accessibility creates a more inclusive web and benefits everyone, including businesses through improved usability and audience reach.

Who Should Provide an Accessibility Statement?

Websites in the EU are required to be compliant with the EAA by June 28th, 2025, and this includes providing an Accessibility Statement on their website or app.

There are some exceptions:

• Micro-enterprises: Organisations with fewer than 10 employees and annual revenue or a balance sheet total of less than €2 million may be exempt, but they must justify why compliance is unfeasible.
• Undue Burden: If meeting the EAA’s requirements imposes a significant burden or fundamentally changes a product or service, an exemption may be granted, but businesses must justify why compliance is unfeasible.

We’ve recently added an Accessibility Statement to our website. It outlines the website’s accessibility standards, its partial conformity with WCAG 2.2 level AA, and the areas where it’s not compliant. We’ve also included the work required to make the website fully compliant. This is a working document that will be updated as we address the issues identified.

Still need help?

Contact us to evaluate your website’s accessibility and create a tailored Accessibility Statement. Our team is ready to help ensure your compliance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA).