Important Message

Dear visitor,

This web site is no longer run by First Accessibility (Test Partners Ltd). A new site is coming shortly. In the meantime, the content of the old web site is available below.

Thank you for your patience.

accessibility.co.uk

DDA Compliance Testing

We can provide all the testing services required to ensure your website complies with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) .

For a free quotation please email us, telephone 0870 855 3370 or fill in the form on our Contact page

What does the DDA say?

The Act applies to all organisations that provide goods or services whether for payment or not. The Courts have determined that a website constitutes the provision of a service.

Section 21 of Part 3 of the Act requires that you "take such steps as it is reasonable" to provide the service to all persons irrespective of their disability.

What the Act doesn't say

It is a common myth that compliance with the Priority 1 requirements of the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is sufficient to ensure compliance with the DDA but this is not the case. In fact the Act does not specify any technical standard that can be used to ensure compliance.

The Act also doesn't require that the website must be accessible, as long as the services are adequately provided by some other means.

So how can you test for DDA compliance?

The DDA is concerned with the user experience so we normally recommend that you conduct technical testing to ensure compliance with the WCAG Priority 1 and Priority 2 criteria and conduct user testing with a variety of users and assistive technologies.

If you are concerned about your website's compliance with the DDA our advice would be as follows.

Test it for the WCAG Priority 1 and Priority 2 criteria.
Conduct user testing with people with a range of disabilities and assistive technologies.
Identify the remedial measures required and obtain costings for the work. Determine whether any of the measures are not economically viable and whether any of the inaccessible content can be reasonably provided by other means.
Prepare a plan of action with a realistic timescale.
Document everything. Ensure that you can show you have considered the issues and have a plan for action even if it has not yet been implemented.