The 'Next Generation' Accessibility Module from Siteimprove is now the primary module available as part of the platform.  The WST have been working with the 'Next Generation' Accessibility Module for quite some time and in fact, we were one of the first universities to completely switch over and use this module for accessibility compliance in February 2021.

The websites published via the CMS are crawled by Siteimprove every five days.  This crawling frequency means that Siteimprove will pick up accessibility errors relating to newly added content and updates to existing content that are published to live websites.  The WST have been working to help keep the number of accessibility errors down, and in some instances, we have been editing content to remove these errors.  That process will now change.

Content creators and editors need to check their content before publishing live

It is essential that all newly created content and recently edited content in the CMS adheres to accessibility regulations.  By now, all CMS Users with responsibility for creating and editing content with the aim of publishing to live websites, should be using the available Siteimprove tools to assess their content.

Any new accessibility issues that are indexed following the Siteimprove crawls and which relate specifically to content, will be sent to the content or website owner, and they will be asked to take remedial action as soon as possible.  If there are quite substantial accessibility issues with a page or section of a website, the content will be expired until the issues are addressed.

What resources are available to help me with accessibility

The following resources are available to all CMS Users:

• Siteimprove Accessibility Checker - Chrome Extension
  This Google Chrome Extension can be used to check pages directly in the browser during development.  So you can check for accessibility compliance when creating or editing content and previewing the pages within the CMS.  We have a guide on how to install the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker for Google Chrome.  
  
  Please note that this Chrome extension will shortly be updated in April 2021 to align with the Next Generation Accessibility Module.  The current extension is perfectly fine to use for now, and we will communicate to all CMS Users on how best to upgrade when the new extension becomes available. 
• Siteimprove Account and Dashboard Reports
  You must sign up for a Siteimprove Account via the following form.  Through the provision of the requested information, we can give you access to your website in Siteimprove and schedule a Dashboard report that you will receive fortnightly via email.
• Accessible Content Guidance
  We have created accessibility guidance for the most common errors relating to content.  We have also created an accessibility checklist that you can use to help ensure that your website or content complies.
• Content Type Guidance
  We have updated our Content Type Guidance for many of our core Content Types to include a section for Accessibility.  

If you have any queries regarding the above, please get in contact with us via the IT Helpdesk.