What PAS means for your organisation

16 July 2009
If your public sector organisation is keen to have an accessible website, you will probably have come across PAS 78.

But do you understand exactly why this guidance exists, and what it means for your organisation? Understanding PAS 78 will help you ensure a usable and accessible website and avoid the legal consequences.

What is PAS 78?

Published in March 2006, Publicly Available Specification 78 (PAS 78) is a guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites. It was published jointly by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC).

In essence, PAS 78 sets out standards in accessible web design and explains how best to commission an accessible website from a design agency.

Who is it for?

PAS is written for all UK organisations who have an online presence, including businesses, charities and public sector organisations.

What guidance does it give?

The document covers the whole process of building an accessible website, from developing an accessibility policy, to explaining how disabled people use websites and accessibility testing.

The document first sets out key terms in the field, giving a clear explanation for those new to accessible web design. It then details the principles of accessible design and quality frameworks.

Useful sections include:

Upholding internationally recognized guidelines such as W3C

How disabled people access websites

Web technologies such as HTML, CSS and Flash - how to make these work for your accessible website

Creating an accessibility policy for your website

How to test and develop your website with disabled people - who to test on, how to plan your testing

Is it law?

The guidance points in the document are not written into British law. However, PAS 78 does describe what is expected from websites to comply with the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), to make websites accessible and usable by disabled people. The DDA places a legal duty on web service providers to make reasonable adjustments to the way they provide services, to ensure that they are usable by disabled people.

A subsequent government publication has clarified what is legally required from web designers to make their sites accessible. This makes it clear that websites must adhere to W3C accessibility standards, as covered in PAS 78.
What does this mean for my organisation?

From multinational companies to small charities; all organisations must adhere to the basic standards for accessibility which PAS 78 highlights. Not only will you avoid possible legal action, but the more obvious benefits of better search engine rankings and good PR could also help the organisation.

However, it is important for public sector organisations to react to this guidance, and fast. From December 2008, websites which fail to conform to the W3C standards will be stripped of their gov.uk domain names. It is important that all public sector organisations take action to check the accessibility of their websites.