website accessibility rating explained

what the website accessibility rating means to you

if you are visually impaired

A website accessibility rating of fair means that you should be able to navigate and read pages on a website, though it might not be completely easy. A website rating of good means that you should be able to fill in enquiry forms, buy items, and so on. A website accessibility rating of excellent should mean it is straightforward to use. Under additional notes, look out for websites with RNIB See it Right accreditation and See It Right with Usability accreditation, as these websites have been independently assessed and found to offer the highest levels of accessibility.

if you are partially sighted

A website accessibility rating of good or excellent means that you should be able to change the size of fonts, so that it is easier for you to read. If you like to listen to a website read out content to you, but do not have special software on your computer, then under additional notes, watch out for websites that are Browsealoud enabled, ReadSpeaker enabled, or text reader enabled. Websites that are described as being dyslexia friendly will probably also offer a high contrast colour scheme that may make pages easier to read.

if you have mobility issues

A website accessibility rating of excellent means that a website should provide a consistent tab order through a web page and in forms.

if you have dyslexia

Under additional notes, look for websites that offer dyslexia friendly colour schemes. If you like to listen to a website read out content to you, but do not have special software on your computer, then look for websites that are Browsealoud enabled, ReadSpeaker enabled, or text reader enabled.

if you have a form of colour-blindness

A website accessibility rating of good should provide sufficient contrast between font colour and background colour for you to read the page. Websites that are described as being dyslexia friendly will probably also offer a high contrast colour scheme that may make pages easier to read.

website accessibility rating explained in more detail for webmasters

The website accessibility rating is determined by how user-friendly a website is for visitors with visual impairments, mobility issues, dyslexia and other factors that can have an impact on website usage. The ratings are as follows:

excellent

The website formally passes, or would pass accessibility standards as established by the World Wide Web Corporation (W3C)'s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (Priorities 1 to 3).

good

The website formally passes, or would pass accessibility standards to achieve W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (Priorities 1 to 2).

fair

The website formally passes, or would pass accessibility standards to achieve W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (Priority 1) or U.S. Section 508 Guidelines.

average

The website would not pass any accessibility guidelines and is likely to exclude user groups.

poor

The website would not pass any accessibility guidelines and is likely to exclude a number of user groups and provide a poor visitor experience to others.

small print

The website accessibility ratings are guidelines only, and do not constitute a full and thorough accessibility audit. If you are a website owner and you disagree with our accessibility rating, or have implemented changes and wish us to re-evaluate your website, then please email us here. We do, however, reserve the right to determine a website's accessibility rating.