The website is often the first way a disabled person will try to find out whether a church is accessible for them.
- Have a section which specifies that the church is committed to disability inclusion and gives an opportunity for any questions about accessibility
- Publicise that the church has a ‘Roofbreaker’ (disability champion) willing to meet with people to assist with inclusion. Include the ‘Roofbreaker’ in information about church staff/volunteers on the website
- Try and include welcoming language and positive images/photos of disabled people (ideally from your church)
- List features likely to assist accessibility, e.g. blue badge parking, level access, induction loop, large print, accessible toilet, assistance dogs welcome, etc.
- Give information that will help people to know what to expect when they come to the church – when they arrive, during the service, afterwards, etc.
- Try to ensure that the website itself is easy to read and can also be read by people using screen-readers
- Use a sans-serif font with dark text on a plain off-white background
- Use Title tags for photos/images so that a screen-reader will give some short text describing the image
- Include subtitles on videos
- Put alt or title text on any links to give a quick description
- Information in a graphic (e.g. a flyer for an event) also needs the text in the body of the website for many people and screen-readers to be able to read them
- For guidance on accessible websites see the WCAG 2.1 guidelines available from w3.org
- Liaise with the ‘Roofbreaker’ and disabled people for feedback on the website - ask for their comments on the website’s accessibility and the usefulness of accessibility information
- Don’t assume, always ask.
Source: www.throughtheroof.org.