Mastering Accessibility Statements, ACRS, VPATs, Documentation & Metadata

Accessibility Statements are often used by organisations as an alternative to making their websites accessible.

However, they were originally created to help improve the communication between organisations and users of their websites or apps who have disabilities.

In this webinar, Jonathan Hassell, who wrote the initial guidance for accessibility statements in BS 8878, discusses what statements are for, who they are for, why the rules for writing them differ in different countries, and how best to write them to mitigate legal and regulatory threats.

He alsos clarifies the differences and similarities between them and VPATs and Accessibility Conformance Reports for B2B communications, where vendors are trying to sell the accessibility conformance and features of a digital tool or SAAS.

Finally, he discusses how documenting your digital product or service’s accessibility functionality may be mandated by the European Accessibility Act, and can help you promote the results of your accessibility work to people with disabilities, to bring you Return on Investment from it.

If you’d like to talk with us about how we could help you write or improve your Accessibility Statement or Accessibility Conformance Report, please do get in touch.

Members Only Content Join HiHub for free access to this content... and much more

HiHub is your home for exclusive access to resources, tools and tips about digital accessibility and inclusion, from Hassell Inclusion.

Membership of HiHub is free and gives you full access to our webinar video archive (over 3 days free training!), downloads & guidance to help you on your accessibility journey whether you’re: an advocate for diversity and inclusion; your organisation’s accessibility lead; a product or campaign manager; or a member of a team creating sites and apps.

Audit Brochure

Want to know more about our Audits?

We offer 2 types of audits at Hassell Inclusion, firstly a Standard Accessibility Audit which works to the WCAG 2.1 or WCAG 2.2 AA guidelines, and our unique Live Accessibility Audit which is a more tailored approach to your organisation, focussing on user journeys and working with your teams directly. Both audit types give you a prioritised action plan – a really useful tool to know where to start with any fixes.

If you’ve only got 1 hour a month to improve your digital accessibility knowledge, spend it with us! Digital Accessibility Experts Live

Come and join us at our free monthly webinar:

Upcoming webinars:

  • 19 December – ‘How to meet the accessibility needs of an increasingly diverse workforce’
  • 30 January – ‘Trends in Digital Accessibility 2025’