Nomensa launches accessibility declaration tool

Digital agency Nomensa has launched the Accessibility Statement Generator (ASG).

According to the company, the ASG “enables users to create a declaration for their website that defines the level of web accessibility, against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG2), that the site aims to achieve”.

Nomensa director of user experience Alastair Campbell said that, although most organisations want to make sites available to everyone, “there is a lack of clarity and knowledge amongst businesses when it comes to the factors which should be addressed in accessibility statements”. Because of this, some companies may undersell the accessibility of their sites or be unaware of further work that is required.

The ASG assists organisations in presenting clear information about a site’s current level of web accessibility, providing the opportunity to declare how the site is working towards conformance. This provides an “open acknowledgement that accessibility is the key driver for the site”.

Speaking to .net, Campbell said he hoped the ASG could assist websites falling short from an accessibility standpoint by highlighting issues that require consideration. He also added that companies must be mindful of accessibility when dealing with budgets: “Every company should consider budget when specifically dealing with accessibility, but it should scale with the project. If you have enough budget for usability testing, include some people with disabilities. If you have a stringent QA process, include accessibility checks as well. A cost-effective way of creating accessible websites is simply to make it in the process.”

Campbell added that common ‘gotchas’ also have a tendency to evolve, and so designers and developers should not be complacent and assume they know how to make a modern site accessible: “It used to be simple things like lack of alt-text on images, or using odd heading levels. These days, it tends to be processes like removing the visible outline around links for people tabbing through pages. And something coming to the fore now is overuse of the ARIA specification, where devs try to take too much control of the experience.”