Accessibility

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Accessibility is really important on all websites, but it's a legal requirement on any government and public sector sites. This makes it even more important than usual for us. This site explains this.

Things to do:

• Tap targets - minimum 40px x 40px (but ideally 48px x 48px), with an 8px gap between them.
• Readability (reading age should be a maximum of age 9)
• Descriptive alt text on all images
• Map accessibility (markers on maps can be tricky to ensure full accessibility on)
• Colour contrast (ideally AAA, but AA will suffice legally)
• Font (size, family, letter & line height, word & letter spacing)
• Aria- (only if necessary)
• Semantic HTML throughout
• :focus, :hover, :focus-within, :active where needed
• Check pseudo elements don't contain important information in content
• Use of colour (not only using colour to signify things - i.e. If something is red as a warning, text must also be included to show the warning)
• Reduced motion preference for animations (if we use any)
• Potentially dark mode for visually impaired users (and developers)
• Full a11y testing done on every page (not just Lighthouse, ideally Toptal, Web Disability Simulator, and WAVE WebAIM at least)

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Leaving this here for reference - Plain Language
It's a good reference for plain writing for government usage