Government to pull plug on inaccessible sites?

In a consultation document entitled ‘Delivering Inclusive Websites‘, the UK government has threatened to withdraw the .gov.uk domain name from any websites that do not meet its minimum accessibility standards.

The problem is that the new consultation document could encourage box-ticking over true accessibility. On the plus side, ‘Delivering Inclusive Websites’ acknowledges the role of user testing and endorses the PAS 78 guidelines for commissioning accessible websites, which were co-authored by the Disability Rights Commission. But the consultation document defines an accessible website as one that satisfies the Level AA requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. As we reported last issue, many of these are obsolete and some can be counter-productive. There’s no indication of which version of the guidelines the UK government wants to enforce, either.

Websites have until December 2008 to become accessible or face the chop. At least, that’s the theory. There is already a rule that .gov.uk domain names that point to inaccessible sites might be pulled, but it’s never been enforced. And if it were, it would mean denying many people access to government services because a minority of people cannot access them as designed. The solution is to make the sites accessible for everyone, not to give up on them altogether.

The government’s strategy is to cut the number of websites it operates, which should make it easier to enforce consistently good design. But it’s important that it focuses on usable accessibility, and doesn’t confuse the WAI checkpoints with a ‘to do’ list. As the government defines accessibility for vital services like the NHS and Inland Revenue, it is important that it writes guidelines that can evolve with technology, and that can provide everyone with equal access to information and services.