10
Existing website
If you already have a website, some
things will be easy to improve – for
example page content is under your
control. Other things may be harder
to change. Where this is the case you
can still support users by describing
your accessibility strengths and
weaknesses in the accessibility
statement – see the nal section in
this guide.
• Explore the Good practice section
in this guide. Note what works and
what needs to be improved on
your website.
• If your website uses Wordpress,
you should be able to update to
a more accessible template if
needed.
• Perform website checks with
automated accessibility checkers.
These only identify 40% - 50%
of issues but are good at nding
colour contrast problems, missing
image descriptions and problems
with links and headings. Free
checkers for the Chrome browser
include WAVE tool, Microsoft’s
Accessibility Insights tool and
the aXe-web accessibility testing
tool. Wave and aXe are also
available for FireFox. Unless you
are technically skilled, some of
the report may not make sense.
Use what you do understand – for
example poor colour contrast –
to make any improvements you
can – for example changing colour
schemes.
Whether starting a new website or
maintaining an old one, identify the
accessibility practices you can and
can’t achieve. Note this for your
accessibility statement – see the nal
section in this guide.
Role 2:
creating basic page content
When creating basic page content
(text, images and tables), you can
only inuence some aspects of
website accessibility, but these are
still important. Summed up in the
acronym SCULPT, they include:
• Structuring content – using
heading and subheading styles
to identify sections. Use a tool
like headingsMap plug-in for
Chrome to check if the visual page
headings match the heading levels
in the code.
• Colour and contrast – ensure
no information is conveyed only
by colour. Keep colour contrasts
strong.
• Use of images – if an image is just
for decoration, mark it by adding ""
in the alt text dialogue box. If the
image is important, describe the
main points in the alt text dialogue
box.
• Links – every hyperlink should
have unique text, not “click here.”
• Plain English – check the
readability of your text. If your
project uses specialist terms it
may be hard to get the reading
level down. Instead, provide a
glossary for people new to the
subject.
• Table structure – keep tables
simple. If necessary, have several
simple tables rather than one
complicated one. Don’t merge
cells. Use row and column
headings as needed.
All these areas are covered
in the Good practice section
of this guide. More detail is
available on the SCULPT for
Accessibility website.