How to Create an AODA Web Accessibility Plan
As part of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, organizations should, besides the accessibility audits and reviews, develop a solid, sustainable plan to address the issues found in the audit and build and maintain accessibility. An accessibility plan is the secret to an entity’s success in both implementing accessibility and ensuring that its users are informed about their practices. and is also a crucial part of many laws governing accessibility, such as the
After reviewing your administration’s current state of accessibility and gaining an understanding of what barriers you will need to work on, you can then develop a strategy that includes these three main elements:
- An accessibility statement
- An accessibility policy
- An accessibility plan
The Accessibility Statement
Having an accessibility statement helps you communicate your commitment and community goals toward meeting the accessibility needs of your users. It is vital to have an accessibility statement if you plan to work on your accessibility, as it demonstrates intent. You are informing your audience about your awareness of the accessibility barriers, showing that you care for their needs, and explaining how you work on them. So even if you are starting with accessibility and your administration is not accessible yet, having the statement informs the public that you are not ignorant of the issue.
When drafting an accessibility statement, keep in mind that it will need to address both the issues that your administration has found during the audit, your leadership’s goals, and your accessibility plan, as well as clarifying the level of accessibility you are aiming to achieve. Accessibility statements are often posted on local government websites, so web accessibility is a crucial aspect of the statement.
Writing an Accessibility Statement
The core information to include are:
- State your commitment to accessibility for people with disabilities.
- Specify the accessibility standard that you are aiming to apply. The AODA references the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) level AA as its accessibility standard, the most universally accepted standard.
- Contact information that your users can use if they encounter an accessibility issue. This can include a phone number, accessible chat services, forms, or an email address.
Extra information that is best practice to include are:
- The measures your administration will be taking to ensure accessibility
- The specification of any known limitations
- The technology that your website and administration will be relying on to implement accessibility
- References to local or national legislation where applicable.
Be sure to place the accessibility statement in a location on your website that is easy for your users to find. Most websites place their statements in their footer next to links to policies.
To save time, you can use an accessibility statement generator to create a statement customized to your administration and its users’ needs based on a standard template. Our accessibility partner, Acquia Optimize, has a free WCAG-compliant accessibility statement generator.
The Accessibility Policy
An accessibility policy is just like any internal policy that governs your operations. An accessibility policy outlined in your company provides the framework to implement any accessibility plans later. Create an accessibility policy that aligns with the goals of your community and keep it flexible and open to any new iterations of accessibility standards and advancements in technology.
But before you create a new policy, review your existing policies to see if there are any accessibility gaps or barriers you need to account for or if they can adapt to include accessible practices. Address these gaps in your old policies before making new policies about accessibility. Also, remember that just like your accessibility journey, your accessibility policy is a dynamic, living document. Your accessibility policy should be updated and reviewed whenever your administration changes practices or procedures.
Like a privacy or data protection policy, you must make your accessibility policy available to the public. Most websites place them next to their other policies in the website’s footer. And just like with other publicly available policies, you should inform your customers or website users of any changes to the document.
The Accessibility Plan
Your accessibility plan is how you will execute the requirements and policies outlined in our policy. In your accessibility plan, you should outline your accessibility barriers, strategies to address them, and your task priorities.
Building a plan
Think about the accessibility barriers and limitations that you have identified and outlined to address in your policy. Also important to consider are any legal requirements or legislation for accessibility that your community might be subject to. Draw up a plan around these limitations and requirements and prioritize the most pressing issues first.
Within your accessibility plan, consider your resources: do you have the tools or the expertise to address these issues? Which person or department should own the accessibility plan? If your internal resources are not well-versed in accessibility, how about turning to accessibility experts or consultants, sending your team for accessibility training, and user testing on people with disabilities to ensure usability? Accessibility is a marathon, not a sprint, so you don’t have to remove all your prioritized issues immediately. There may be solutions, like accessibility widgets and overlays, that claim fast and immediate fixes. Still, these are just temporary solutions that don’t address the root cause of the issue. Work with a consultant or get accessibility training to understand the issue and build the solutions into your website.
Once you determine and plan for your resources, work on a timeline aligning with legal compliance deadlines and your team’s progress. Accessibility is never a set-and-forget process; it’s an ongoing, multi-year project, so ensure that your plan accommodates that.
For help and examples on how to write an accessibility plan, see the accessibility plan guidelines on Ontario.ca.
With a plan ready, make it available to your administrative leaders and the public. Publish your plan on your website and inform your users about it by announcing it via social media, emails, etc. Ensure the plan is available on your website in an accessible format.
Monitor, review, and update your plan.
As mentioned above, an accessibility plan is not set in stone. Once your plan is created and set in motion, you should track all progress. For web accessibility, use a web accessibility monitoring tool that can scan for errors and track compliance efforts. A tool like Acquia Optimize offers a History Center and WCAG compliance level indicators that are especially useful as part of the monitoring and review process. Monitoring your plan’s progress every six to 12 months is recommended. Ontario’s accessibility laws also require organizations to submit a report on their accessibility efforts and progress on the following deadlines:
- Private sector and non-profit organizations: every three years
- Next deadline: June 30, 2021
- Public sector entities: every two years.
- Next deadline: December 31, 2021
As you make strides in improving your accessibility, and as laws, guidelines, and technology are constantly changing, remember to review and update your accessibility plan every five years to accommodate for any of these changes.