One of the objectives of DNS Belgium is to promote the use of the internet by making it more accessible, in particular for people with disabilities. We have made all sorts of efforts to make our own website accessible, and they have paid off: the website of DNS Belgium has obtained the AnySurfer label.
We are glad to share our experiences on how to make a website accessible and keep it so.
Educate people
In a previous article, we provided a number of tips on how to make your website accessible, when building it or having it built. But a website is not finished when delivered by the website builder. You have to maintain it as well: add new content as and when necessary, remove old content, add a new image or download now and then... All your adaptations must meet the same accessibility requirements.
It is therefore important that everyone involved in the website is well aware of what accessibility means and what the AnySurfer label entails. You have to educate people, in other words. You can:
- Teach employees who update the contents of the website how to make adaptations accessible for surfers with disabilities;
- Have people who do the technical maintenance of your website take a technical course on web accessibility.
In this way, you ensure that ‘accessibility thinking,’ which is perhaps not automatic yet, will become so among all your employees over time.
Provide an accessibility statement
When you make an effort to make your website accessible, you should communicate about it. You can do this with an accessibility statement: a page on your website in which you explain how accessible your website is, how you have tested it, which components of the website are not accessible, which alternatives you propose and who people can turn to when problems occur.
You can consult the accessibility statement of our website here.
Accessibility is a must
Accessibility is a must for a number of people, but in point of fact it is useful for everyone. In making dnsbelgium.be accessible to everyone, we want to help reduce the digital divide and to inspire other companies to do the same. Every organisation or company benefits from an accessible website: More visitors make a purchase on a commercial site when they are no longer confronted with obstacles.
We have made all sorts of efforts to build an accessible website, because that is in line with DNS Belgium’s sustainability policy. That policy rests on four pillars: an inspiring workplace, leader in security, digital awareness and sustainable chain management. Digital awareness is in particular geared to increasing awareness about the use and abuse of the internet, and making children, older people, computer illiterates and SMEs internet savvy with customised programmes. Against this background, obtaining the AnySurfer label was of course very important for us.
Go about it yourself
Whoever wishes to obtain the AnySurfer label for his or her website will find the necessary information on http://www.anysurfer.be. We cannot but recommend it!
With this article, we support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.