• Skip to content
• | Change text size or colors

WAI: Strategies, guidelines, resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities

Site Navigation

W3C Home

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Home

1. Introducing Accessibility
   1. Introduction to Accessibility
   2. Essential Components
   3. How People with Disabilities Use the Web
   4. Quick Tips to Make Accessible Sites
   5. Handouts
   6. »Reporting Inaccessible Sites
2. Guidelines & Techniques
3. Managing Accessibility
4. Evaluating Accessibility
5. WAI Groups
6. About WAI

Editors Draft: 17 November 2009 [changelog] $Date: 2009/11/18 03:02:17 $
Status: This document is an in-progress Editor's Draft. [The published version is at <"http://www.w3.org/WAI/@@@">.] Please send comments to wai-eo-editors@w3.org (a publicly archived list).

[DRAFT] How to Report an Inaccessible Website

Introduction

Your feedback to an organization can help improve the accessibility of websites for you and many other users who may be experiencing the same problems. Feedback from individuals with accessibility needs, disability organizations, and older people's organizations have resulted in improvements to many websites. While website owners often have many priorities for changes and improvements, the more an organization hears about accessibility from its visitors or customers, the more likely it is that this will become a high priority. Just learning that some people are experiencing problems might be the motivation an organization needs to make the changes that will make a difference.

Accessibility barriers may be caused by problems in your browser, your assistive technology, or the configuration of these. However, often it is the website design that causes the barriers. The resource [Making Web Browsing More Enjoyable (draft)] provides guidance on configuring your system to optimize your web experience and overcome some barriers. If you are still experiencing accessibility problems then it is probably due to problems in the design of the website — some organizations don't know how to make their websites accessible, some get it wrong, and some just ignore it.

In many countries websites are required to be accessible by national policies. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also confirms your right to access information and services via the Internet. Accessible websites additionally provide business benefits for website owners as well as improving the experience for people with and without disabilities, so your feedback might be helpful for realizing these benefits.

This document provides guidance on how to contact owners of problem websites and report accessibility barriers. If you would just like to see how to write an email or letter, there are some samples provided at the end of this document.

Identify Key Contacts

Some key people to consider contacting to report your accessibility problems include:

1. The person resonsible for the page (possibly identified as the 'editor' or 'author')
2. The website manager (sometimes called the 'webmaster')
3. The manager of the publicity or communications department
4. The manager of the information technology department
5. The managing director

Some places on the website to find contacts include:

• "Editor", "Author" or "Page Owner" links - usually at the bottom of the page
• "Contact Us" links - at the top or bottom of the page, or in the navigation area
• "Legal", "Copyright" or "Disclaimer" pages - may have appropriate contact details
• "FAQ" (frequently asked questions) pages - sometimes lead to specific organizational contacts
• "Accessibility" pages - appear on some sites as specific points of contact for accessibility issues
• "Feedback" - often a form to complete

Some other places to find contact points for an organization include:

• local library and librarian
• telephone directory
• local business directory
• public companies register

If you are contacting the organization by email or letter, consider sending a copy to a relevant disability of older people's organization.

If you don't feel comfortable contacting an organization directly, consider asking others to submit accessibility feedback on your behalf. This could be from an organization that supports people with disabilities, supports older people, or provides other support. It could also be your own organization if they have a purchasing relationship with the website owner.

Describe the Problem

When contacting an organization with an inaccessible website, you should tell them where the problem occurred and what the problem was. Other information to include is some details about your computer system and some references to help them understand Web accessibility. (See sample emails.)

Where is the Problem

Tell the organization which page or part of the site you were on when you experienced the difficulties. Either give them the web address (also called URL) or a description of the page where the problem occurred.

What is the Problem

Providing as much detail as you can about what you were trying to do, and what you are having difficulty with or cannot do, will make it easier for the organization to understand the problem and fix it. Describe the steps you were taking before you encountered the problem as well as the problem itself and the impact on your use of their website. In addition:

• If you've been able to view similar pages, or access similar services, on another site, you might mention this, including the name of the site that works well for you and its address (URL)
• If you have multiple browsers available, you should try to replicate the problem with all of them
• If you are an experienced web user, or have some knowledge of web technologies, you may be able to describe the problem in some detail
• If you can take a screen-capture of the problem area, include this with your email
• If you are writing a letter to post, include a printout of the problem page and circle the areas that caused difficulty

What Computer System are You Using

It is helpful to include details about your computer to help the web developer to diagnose the problem. If you're unsure, maybe a friend, relative, or colleague can help you identify this information. If you don't know any details about your computer system, then ignore this section.

Describe your computer system, in particular:

• the operating system you are using, e.g., Windows, Mac, or Linux, and the version
• the browser software you use to view the Web, e.g., Firefox, Internet Explorer (IE), Opera, Safari, etc., and the version

Describing specific ways you use your computer when accessing the Web will enable the developers to be better able to repeat your experience and understand the difficulty you are having. In particular include details about relevant:

• settings or ways you use your computer or your browser such as larger text, color changes, or tabbing through a page instead of using a mouse
• assistive technology you use such as screen magnification software, speech recognition software, screen reader software, etc, its version number, and any specific settings you use

Provide Pointers to Resources

Because many people don't know about Web accessibility, you might like to refer the organization to some resources:

• Web Accessibility introduction
  (http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility.html)
• Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization
  (http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/Overview.html)
• How People with Disabilities Use the Web
  (http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-web.html)
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview
  (http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php)
• The Before and After Demonstration [DRAFT]
  (http://www.w3.org/WAI/demos/bad/draft/2009/)

Follow-Up as Needed

Some organizations will follow-up with you; sometimes you might need to follow-up with them.

Be Available for Follow-up

Sometimes a problem may be less apparent for someone using a different operating system, different browser, and/or different custom settings, as well as for someone who doesn't have access to the assistive technology you might be using. In these cases the organization may seek additional information about the problem or your computer system to help them implement a solution.

Keep Records

Good records are useful if you need to follow-up further or want to lodge a more formal complaint in the future. Keep printed or electronic copies of all correspondence and any forms you submitted online. Keep notes about any phone calls. Recording the dates you interacted with the organization and the names of all contacts is ideal.

Getting a Response

Different organizations have different cultures and different systems for managing correspondence and handling feedback and complaints. Some organizations can respond quickly, while others take longer because of their size or internal processes.

There are three different levels of response that you might receive:

1. An acknowledgement that your feedback or complaint has been received. If you submitted an online form, then an acknowledgement is likely to be immediate. Otherwise, a week is a reasonable timeframe within which to expect an acknowledgement. Remember that an acknowledgement is not a resolution of your complaint.
2. Advice about their proposed action. Any reply should include a proposed resolution and a time frame for when improvements can be expected. Many government departments and large organizations have a policy of responding to correspondence within four weeks.
3. Notification that the issue has been resolved and the website improved. Many organizations will not notify you of this, especially if they provided advice about their proposed resolution of your complaint. However, you should monitor their website to be sure that the improvements are made and are appropriate. When improvements are made, consider sending a 'thank you' to the organization.

However, many people's experience is that their complaint is ignored. If you are not receiving a satisfactory response, be persistent and try again — or consider taking further action.

Further Action to Consider

Unfortunately, many people find that organizations do not respond to their initial approaches about accessibility problems. If an organization has not responded or repaired their website after reasonable time has passed — or if they have responded but still not fixed the problem or advised when it might be fixed — you may want to consider additional approaches. Before undertaking any of these actions, make sure that the organization didn't just fix the problem and forget to tell you. You might choose to follow-up directly or indirectly.

Follow-up actions with the organization could include:

• Writing to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Managing Director of the organization
• Taking legal action with a letter from your solicitor referencing the appropriate anti-discrimination law, possibly with the support of a disability or older people's organization
• Sharing this document and getting others to also provide feedback to the organization - a response can be more likely if many people approach an organization
• If your organization has a purchasing relationship with the inaccessible website owner, speak with your purchasing department about approaching them

Follow-up actions via other avenues could include:

• Contacting a national disability or older people's organization; if it is a local website, then there may be a local disability or older people's forum that could be approached
• Contacting your local government or parliamentary representative about a problematic government website; some governments also have a department responsible for overseeing the government's web presence
• Lodging a formal complaint with an industry ombudsman or a government department responsible for disability or older people's rights
• Contacting the industry or professional association related to the organization with the inaccessible website
• Using online community resources - if you have a blog or participate in an appropriate online forum, write about the problem and your experiences online for others to read
• Contacting the press or writing a "letter to the editor" - try the local newspaper or the national media
• Starting a petition (maybe an online one)

If you do decide to take additional action, some people have found a combination of getting an organization that supports people with disabilities or older people involved, combined with a legal approach, possibly through a government disability or human rights agency, can be effective.

Sample Emails

We have prepared an email template and some sample emails — adapt these for your feedback, or write in your own style. If you are contacting the organization by email or letter, consider also sending a copy to a relevant organization that supports people with disabilities or older people.

Email Template

Below is a template that you can use when preparing your own feedback. Each part of the template has sections for you to complete if appropriate as indicated by the (hints) in brackets which are also italicized and colored light blue. Of course, be as descriptive as possible of the accessibility problem you encountered, the difficulties you are experiencing, and the impact on your use of the organization's website.

Sample Email 1

Sample Email 2

Sample Email 3

Using this Document

WAI encourages you to copy, change, translate, distribute, and present the information from "@@ How to Report an Inaccessible Website" as long as you include a reference to this document as source material:

How to Report an Inaccessible Website, A.M.J. Arch, ed. World Wide Web Consortium (MIT, ERCIM, Keio), @@October 2009. http://www.w3.org/WAI/@@/

Further to the W3C Document License, you are granted permission to create modifications of these materials.

Document Information

Version: Draft in progress, November 2009 [changelog]
Editor: Andrew Arch. Contributors: Shadi Abou-Zahra, Judy Brewer, Shawn Henry, Suzette Keith, Jennifer Sutton, and participants of the WAI-AGE Task Force and Education and Outreach Working Group. Developed as part of the WAI-AGE Project (IST 035015) funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework.

[Contacting WAI] Feedback welcome to wai-eo-editors@w3.org (a publicly archived list).