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How to make your website accessible

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Here you will find a checklist to ensure all relevant adjustments have been implemented and your website is accessible.



Introduction to Web Accessibility


The Barrier-Free Information Technology Ordinance (BITV 2.0) is Germany’s primary regulation governing web accessibility. It is based on the EU directive on this topic and ensures that public websites and apps are accessible—meaning that all individuals, regardless of their personal circumstances, are able to use and navigate public websites and apps on an equal basis.


At a high level, this means:

  • Websites and/or apps must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards
  • A public accessibility statement must be added to your website
  • There must be a clear feedback and response process for users
  • Regular accessibility testing must be carried out to ensure ongoing compliance
  • Relevant staff must be appropriately trained
  • Transparent documentation of processes, feedback, etc.


General Principles

In addition to the more specific guidelines listed below, the following general principles can serve as a helpful guide when working on web accessibility for your ChurchDesk website. Your site and its content should be:

  • Perceivable – Everyone should be able to access all content (both visually and audibly)
  • Operable – The site should be navigable by all users, including those who use a keyboard instead of a mouse
  • Understandable – Content should be simple and predictable
  • Robust – Compatible with current and future assistive tools/technologies


Responsibilities

ChurchDesk is responsible for and ensures compliance with all technical requirements, such as keyboard navigation. However, each church is responsible for the accessibility of all content on its website.


If you’re unsure whether your site meets the necessary standards, we recommend using a free testing tool (e.g. this one). There’s no need to hire an external company for testing—this would be unnecessarily costly. A free tool is sufficient.


Publishing Technical Updates

Once we’ve made accessibility-related updates to your site’s design, you’ll need to republish your website once to make those changes visible.


Exceptions

There are several exceptions to the above requirements. These include:

  1. Old and/or archived content – Non-essential content published before September 23, 2018, is exempt. This also applies to archived content/files.
  2. Live audio or video – Exempt if making it accessible would require a disproportionate effort.
  3. Third-party content – This includes content not controlled by the church (e.g. embedded maps).


Accessibility Statement

A current accessibility statement is a legal requirement for every accessible website. It must be available and easily accessible to all visitors.

In the following article, we explain how to create and publish an accessibility statement for your website:

Create and publish an accessibility statement for your website



Required Content Steps


1. Text & Images

For texts, the correct sizes must be applied. When designing for accessibility, it is generally a good idea to use larger font sizes so that the website is easier to read for visually impaired visitors. Some accessibility tools allow users to zoom text in the browser itself, but this can affect the website's design as paragraphs may overlap. It is therefore better to create designs that have larger font sizes by default.


Also, pay attention to the use of correct taxonomies (e.g., H1, H2, H3...). Make it easy for visitors and assistive technologies to understand the structure of your website content by marking it with heading tags (h1, h2, etc.). This way, they can navigate to the headings – including people who cannot use a mouse and only use the keyboard, and people who use a screen reader.


Furthermore, alternative texts must be added to images (see below how). When you add alt text (alternative text) to an image, a screen reader can pick it up and read it to the user. In other words, alt text allows visually impaired users to understand images even if they cannot see them. Below are some general guidelines on when to add alt text to an image and when not.


2. Video or Audio Content

Subtitles or transcripts must be added (see Exceptions above).


3. Forms & Buttons

Clear labels should be applied, and error messages should be understandable and easily accessible.


4. Icons

When adding icons to a website, you should use any native module in the editor that contains icons, as these are already provided with a meaningful ARIA label. Avoid using an image module to display icons, as you would have to enter alt text for these images (which would take more time).


5. Documents

PDFs should be properly formatted (scanned documents usually do not meet the standard).


6. Page Titles

Good page titles are particularly important for orientation so that users know where they are and can move between pages open in their browser. The first thing screen readers display when the user navigates to another webpage is the page title. For accessibility reasons, it is advisable to place the title with the important and unique identifying information first.


7. Contrast

It is important that you use sufficient contrast between your colors so that texts are easily readable. The contrast for content elements should meet the standards of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (over 14 pt. bold or 18 pt. regular) as well as for graphical objects, buttons, form input fields, and icons.


8. Published Statement & Feedback Mechanisms

A statement on the state of accessibility should be published on the church's website, along with a clear and accessible procedure for feedback from users.



Required Practical Steps

You’ll find more helpful articles here:



Want us to help you make your content accessible?


It is entirely possible for churches to make their website accessible themselves, but many churches have already decided to leave this task to us – mostly to save time and/or to ensure that everything is done correctly.


Once the website has been made accessible, the church is responsible for keeping the conformity level up to date.


Find more information about our web accessibility service and the option to order the service directly here.




Keywords: Accessibility Accessible website, BITV 2.0, WCAG 2.1, Church website, Alt text, Accessible PDFs, Accessible forms, Keyboard navigation, Color contrast, Accessible content, Public website accessibility, Accessibility statement, Inclusive web design, Make website accessible

Updated on: 01/07/2025

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