How to make your website accessible
On this page:
Introduction to web accessibility
General principles
Responsibilities
How to make your content web accessible
Practical Steps
Exceptions
Want our help making your content accessible?
Introduction to web accessibility
Web accessibility is made to secure accessibility for public websites and apps - meaning that any person regardless of prerequisites will be able to access and navigate public websites and apps on an equal level with everyone else.
On an overall level, this amount to:
- Websites and/or apps are compliant with the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard
- Adding a public accessibility statement to your website
- Having a clear feedback and response process for citizens in place
- Regularly testing your level of accessibility, securing constant compliance
- Appropriate training of responsible personnel
- Transparent documentation of process, feedback etc.
General Principles
As a supplement to the more concrete guidelines listed below, a couple of general principles can function as good pointers for working with web accessibility on your ChurchDesk website. These include that the website, and its content, should be:
Perceivable - Everyone should be able to access (see and hear) all content.
Operable - Navigation should be possible for everyone, including the option to navigate without a mouse.
Understandable - Simple and predictable content.
Robust - Should be compatible with current and future assistive tools/technologies.
Responsibilities
ChurchDesk is responsible for and takes care of all technical requirements fx. Navigation without a mouse. Churches are responsible for the accessibility of all content on the website.
If you are not sure, if your website does or does not comply with the standard, we recommend that you test it for free (fx. by using this tool). There is no need to pay an external company to test this, as this will be unnecessary and expensive. The free test is sufficient.
How to make your content web accessible
Text & images - Proper sizes need to be applied, correct taxonomy (ex. H1, H2, H3...) and alternative text added to pictures (see how below).
Video or Audio Content - Subtitles or transcripts need to be added (see below for exceptions)
Forms & Buttons - Clear labels should be applied and error messages should be understandable and easy accessible.
Documents - PDF's should be properly formatted (scanned documents typically does not meet the standard)
Contrast - The contrast for content elements should meet standards of 4.5:1 for for normal text and 3:1 for large text (above 14 pt. bold or 18pt regular) and graphical objects, buttons, form fields and icons.
Published statement & Feedback Mechanisms - A statement regarding the level of accessibility should be published on the church website along with clear and accessible procedure for feedback from users.
Practical Steps
Navigate the dropdown menu using the keyboard
A dropdown menu that can be operated using the keyboard is especially important for people who have difficulty using a mouse due to physical limitations or other disabilities.
To enable this feature, go to your website editor:
Click on the gear icon in the top left corner.
Expand the additional options under "Website Settings."
Select the last tab, "Accessibility."
Enable the option "Activate focus indicator."
By selecting this option, you activate the accessibility settings for your website.
Now, to navigate a dropdown menu using the keyboard, users can simply use the Tab key to move through the menu items. Once they reach the desired item, they can open the menu by pressing the Enter key or the Space bar and navigate through the options using the arrow keys. This allows them to use the menu entirely without a mouse.
Link
Exceptions
There are several exceptions to the above. Among these:
Old and/or Archived Content - if you have non-essential content published before 23rd of September 2018, this content is exempt from complying with the standard. The same goes for archived content/files.
Live Audio or Video - Exempt if the efforts required making this accessible presents a comparatively large amount of work.
Third-party Content - This would be content that the church does not control (fx. Maps embedded on the website)
Want our help making your content web accessible?
It is for sure possible for churches to make their website web accessible themselves, but a lot of churches have already chosen to let us do it for them - typically in order to not having to spend the time doing this and/or to be sure that everything is done correctly.
Before 1st of June 2025 we discount the service with 25% to help everyone get off to a good start.
After the website have been made accessible, the church are responsible for keeping the level of compliance updated.
You can read more about and order our web accessibility service here
Introduction to web accessibility
General principles
Responsibilities
How to make your content web accessible
Practical Steps
Exceptions
Want our help making your content accessible?
Introduction to web accessibility
Web accessibility is made to secure accessibility for public websites and apps - meaning that any person regardless of prerequisites will be able to access and navigate public websites and apps on an equal level with everyone else.
On an overall level, this amount to:
- Websites and/or apps are compliant with the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard
- Adding a public accessibility statement to your website
- Having a clear feedback and response process for citizens in place
- Regularly testing your level of accessibility, securing constant compliance
- Appropriate training of responsible personnel
- Transparent documentation of process, feedback etc.
General Principles
As a supplement to the more concrete guidelines listed below, a couple of general principles can function as good pointers for working with web accessibility on your ChurchDesk website. These include that the website, and its content, should be:
Perceivable - Everyone should be able to access (see and hear) all content.
Operable - Navigation should be possible for everyone, including the option to navigate without a mouse.
Understandable - Simple and predictable content.
Robust - Should be compatible with current and future assistive tools/technologies.
Responsibilities
ChurchDesk is responsible for and takes care of all technical requirements fx. Navigation without a mouse. Churches are responsible for the accessibility of all content on the website.
If you are not sure, if your website does or does not comply with the standard, we recommend that you test it for free (fx. by using this tool). There is no need to pay an external company to test this, as this will be unnecessary and expensive. The free test is sufficient.
How to make your content web accessible
Text & images - Proper sizes need to be applied, correct taxonomy (ex. H1, H2, H3...) and alternative text added to pictures (see how below).
Video or Audio Content - Subtitles or transcripts need to be added (see below for exceptions)
Forms & Buttons - Clear labels should be applied and error messages should be understandable and easy accessible.
Documents - PDF's should be properly formatted (scanned documents typically does not meet the standard)
Contrast - The contrast for content elements should meet standards of 4.5:1 for for normal text and 3:1 for large text (above 14 pt. bold or 18pt regular) and graphical objects, buttons, form fields and icons.
Published statement & Feedback Mechanisms - A statement regarding the level of accessibility should be published on the church website along with clear and accessible procedure for feedback from users.
Practical Steps
Navigate the dropdown menu using the keyboard
A dropdown menu that can be operated using the keyboard is especially important for people who have difficulty using a mouse due to physical limitations or other disabilities.
To enable this feature, go to your website editor:
Click on the gear icon in the top left corner.
Expand the additional options under "Website Settings."
Select the last tab, "Accessibility."
Enable the option "Activate focus indicator."
By selecting this option, you activate the accessibility settings for your website.
Now, to navigate a dropdown menu using the keyboard, users can simply use the Tab key to move through the menu items. Once they reach the desired item, they can open the menu by pressing the Enter key or the Space bar and navigate through the options using the arrow keys. This allows them to use the menu entirely without a mouse.
Link
Exceptions
There are several exceptions to the above. Among these:
Old and/or Archived Content - if you have non-essential content published before 23rd of September 2018, this content is exempt from complying with the standard. The same goes for archived content/files.
Live Audio or Video - Exempt if the efforts required making this accessible presents a comparatively large amount of work.
Third-party Content - This would be content that the church does not control (fx. Maps embedded on the website)
Want our help making your content web accessible?
It is for sure possible for churches to make their website web accessible themselves, but a lot of churches have already chosen to let us do it for them - typically in order to not having to spend the time doing this and/or to be sure that everything is done correctly.
Before 1st of June 2025 we discount the service with 25% to help everyone get off to a good start.
After the website have been made accessible, the church are responsible for keeping the level of compliance updated.
You can read more about and order our web accessibility service here
Updated on: 05/03/2025
Thank you!