An accessibility statement helps visitors understand your organization’s commitment to digital accessibility, what standards you aim to meet, and how users can report barriers. It is a practical document for transparency, trust, and ongoing improvement.
If your team is working on website accessibility compliance, publishing a clear statement is often one of the simplest ways to communicate your efforts publicly. But many organizations are unsure what to say, how detailed it should be, or how to keep it updated as their website changes.
This guide walks through the purpose of an accessibility statement, the sections to include, common mistakes to avoid, and a free accessibility statement template you can customize for your site.
An accessibility statement is a public page that explains how accessible your website, app, or digital service is intended to be. It usually outlines:
In simple terms, it tells people what you are doing, where accessibility applies, and what they should do if they encounter a problem.
For many businesses, the statement also supports broader digital compliance efforts by showing that accessibility is being addressed in a structured, visible way.
An accessibility statement is not just a formality. It can play an important role in user experience, internal accountability, and compliance readiness.
Visitors should not have to guess whether accessibility has been considered. A statement gives them a direct explanation of your approach and a place to find support.
Even strong accessibility programs can miss issues. A statement gives users a clear way to report barriers, which helps your team identify and fix real-world problems faster.
Accessibility is not a one-time project. Websites change constantly. A statement reinforces that accessibility is an ongoing process that includes review, maintenance, and response.
Legal, compliance, design, development, and content teams often all touch accessibility. A well-written statement can serve as a shared public-facing summary of your organization’s position.
The best accessibility statements are clear, specific, and easy to understand. They avoid vague promises and focus on practical information.
Start with a short statement that explains your organization’s commitment to making digital experiences accessible to all users.
Example:
We are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability.
Clarify what the statement covers. This could be your main website, specific subdomains, a web application, or mobile experiences. If the statement applies only to certain digital properties, say so clearly.
Many organizations reference WCAG as their guiding standard. If your team is aligning with a specific version or level, include that information only if it reflects your actual program and review process.
Because Corpowid focuses on WCAG 2.2 readiness, accessibility teams often use the statement to explain how their digital properties are being audited, fixed, and monitored against current accessibility expectations.
Briefly describe what your organization is doing to support accessibility. This might include design reviews, testing, remediation, monitoring, or internal accessibility processes.
Keep this section honest and practical. Avoid overstating maturity if your work is still in progress.
If there are parts of the site that may not yet be fully accessible, it is better to explain that clearly than to imply perfect coverage. This shows transparency and helps set realistic expectations.
This is one of the most important sections. Include a clear way for users to contact your team if they experience difficulty accessing content or functionality.
Useful details may include:
Add a date showing when the statement was published or last reviewed. Since websites change often, this helps demonstrate that the statement is being maintained rather than forgotten.
Below is a simple accessibility statement template you can copy and adapt. Replace the bracketed text with your organization’s own information.
Accessibility Statement for [Organization Name]
[Organization Name] is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all users. We are continually working to improve the accessibility of our website and digital experiences to support usability for people with diverse abilities.
Scope
This accessibility statement applies to: [website URL, app name, or digital property description].
Our approach to accessibility
We aim to make our digital content and services accessible and usable for as many people as possible. Our team works to review, improve, and maintain accessibility across our digital properties.
Standards and guidelines
We use [insert accessibility standard or guideline, if applicable] as a reference for improving accessibility.
Ongoing efforts
Our accessibility efforts may include activities such as reviewing content, testing user journeys, identifying barriers, and making improvements over time.
Known limitations
While we strive to improve accessibility across our digital properties, some areas may not yet fully meet our intended accessibility goals. We are continuing to review and improve these areas.
Feedback and assistance
If you experience difficulty accessing any part of [website or service name], or if you need assistance, please contact us:
Statement updates
This statement was last reviewed on [date]. We may update it from time to time as our accessibility work continues.
A template is only useful if it reflects reality. Before publishing your statement, tailor it to your actual website, internal processes, and accessibility maturity.
If your company operates multiple websites or products, avoid using a single statement that implies everything is covered unless that is truly the case. Be precise about which domains, tools, or user experiences are included.
If you mention WCAG or another standard, make sure your statement reflects real review and remediation efforts. Do not claim conformance unless your team has a basis for saying so.
An accessibility statement should help users get support quickly. Avoid burying contact details or routing requests through a generic process with no clear ownership.
Your website changes. New templates, plugins, forms, and content can introduce accessibility issues over time. The statement should be reviewed whenever your digital experience or compliance process changes significantly.
Teams that also manage privacy and consent often benefit from treating accessibility as part of a broader governance process. For example, if your organization already reviews site changes for privacy impact, it can be useful to align accessibility review with that workflow. Related processes like cookie auditing can also support a more structured approach to digital compliance.
A weak accessibility statement can create confusion instead of trust. Here are some common issues to watch for.
Avoid language that guarantees perfect accessibility if your team cannot support that claim. It is better to be clear about your efforts and ongoing work.
If users cannot easily report a problem, the statement loses much of its value.
Generic wording can make the statement feel disconnected from your actual website and processes. Customize every section before publishing.
An old statement with no review date can signal neglect. Keep it current.
The statement is important, but it is not a substitute for auditing, fixing, and monitoring accessibility issues. It should reflect real operational work happening behind the scenes.
Organizations looking to scale that work often move beyond one-off fixes and adopt more continuous workflows. That is where automation and centralized oversight become especially valuable, as discussed in this look at autonomous AI for accessibility operations.
Your accessibility statement should be easy to find. Common placement options include:
If your organization already presents consent, legal, or company information through a single visitor-facing interface, it can make sense to include accessibility information there too. Corpowid’s approach to a unified front-end experience reflects this idea, bringing accessibility, consent, legal, and company information together in one place. You can see that concept in this overview of the 4-in-1 widget.
For digital, privacy, and compliance teams, an accessibility statement should not live in isolation. It works best as part of a broader framework that includes:
That is especially important for organizations managing overlapping obligations across accessibility, privacy, cookie consent, and legal disclosures. A unified platform can reduce fragmentation by helping teams manage multiple digital compliance requirements in one operational flow.
Corpowid is positioned around that unified model, combining accessibility, cookie consent, and legal compliance in one AI platform with ongoing monitoring and updates as regulations evolve.
A strong accessibility statement is clear, honest, and easy to act on. It tells visitors that accessibility matters to your organization, explains what the statement covers, and gives users a direct way to ask for help or report issues.
If you are building or improving your accessibility program, use the template above as a starting point, then tailor it to your digital properties and internal processes. Most importantly, make sure the statement reflects real accessibility work, not just good intentions.
When accessibility is managed as part of a larger digital compliance strategy, your team is better positioned to stay organized, respond faster, and maintain trust over time.
An accessibility statement is a useful way to communicate your accessibility commitment, explain the scope of your efforts, and provide a contact path for users who encounter barriers. For many organizations, it is a practical part of broader accessibility and compliance readiness.
It should usually include your commitment to accessibility, the scope of the statement, any standards you reference, the steps you are taking, a way for users to contact you, and the date of the last review or update.
You can start with a template, but you should always customize it. The final statement should reflect your real website, processes, and current accessibility efforts.
It should be easy for users to find, often in the footer, legal section, help center, or another visible compliance-related area of the site.
No. A statement communicates your approach and support options, but it does not replace actual accessibility testing, remediation, and monitoring.
Corpowid has been recognized by Gartner, a leading global research and advisory firm, for our innovation and performance in digital accessibility. These badges reflect our commitment to creating inclusive, AI-powered web experiences.
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