How to Write a Website Accessibility Statement (With Template)

Somewhere on most well-run websites, usually linked quietly from the footer, there is a page called “Accessibility.” Most visitors never open it. For the ones who do, it matters a great deal. Someone using a screen reader who has just hit a form they can’t complete wants to know one thing: is there another way to get this done, and who do I tell?

That page is an accessibility statement. It explains what your organization is doing to make its website usable by people with disabilities, which standard you are working toward, where you still fall short and how to reach a person when something doesn’t work. Written well, it is part promise and part help desk. Written badly, it is a legal liability in plain sight.

Do you need an accessibility statement?

Most private US businesses aren’t required by statute to publish one. Public sector bodies in the European Union are, under the Web Accessibility Directive, and the idea has spread well beyond them. Even without a legal requirement, a clear statement does three useful things: it gives visitors a route to help, it gives your own team a shared standard to work toward, and it documents that you take accessibility seriously.

What it can’t do is make a site accessible. A statement describes the work; it doesn’t replace it. That distinction shapes everything about how you should write one.

What to include

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, which publishes the WCAG standard, recommends that every statement include at least three things.

A commitment

A short, plain statement that you want the website to be usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. One or two sentences is enough.

The standard you follow

Name the guideline you are working toward, usually WCAG 2.1 Level AA or WCAG 2.2 Level AA. This gives your developers a target and gives visitors a reference point.

A way to get help

An email address, phone number or form where people can report a barrier or ask for content in another format. Make sure a real person reads it, and say how quickly you will respond.

Beyond those three, W3C suggests adding the measures you take to support accessibility, any known limitations, the technologies the site relies on, the browsers and assistive technologies you tested with, and the laws or policies that apply to you. Always include the date the statement was last reviewed. A statement dated three years ago tells visitors nobody is watching.

Describe conformance honestly

This is where many statements go wrong. It is tempting to write “our website is fully ADA compliant” and move on. Don’t. There is no official ADA certification for websites, and a claim like that is a marketing claim that someone can test.

W3C offers three plain terms instead. A site is fully conformant when all content meets the standard without exceptions, partially conformant when some content doesn’t, and non-conformant when much of it doesn’t. If you haven’t completed an evaluation, say you are working toward the standard. That is honest, and it is far more defensible than a promise you can’t back up.

A statement is only as accurate as what you know about your site. Write it after an audit, not instead of one.

Regulators take accessibility claims seriously. In 2025 the FTC finalized a $1 million order against accessiBe over claims that its AI tool could make any website WCAG-compliant. The lesson applies to every organization, not just vendors: describe what you do, not what you wish were true.

If you use an accessibility widget, as EVERNET does with accessiBe, mention it in your statement as an added aid for visitors. Just don’t present it as the reason the site conforms.

Be specific about limitations

Known limitations are the most useful part of a statement for the people who read it. Describe each one in plain language: what doesn’t work, who it affects, what you are doing about it and how someone can get the information in the meantime. “Some older PDFs may not work with screen readers; contact us and we’ll send an accessible version” is far more helpful than a vague line about ongoing improvements.

An accessibility statement template

Here is an example you can adapt. Replace the bracketed text with your own details.

You can see how we put this into practice on EVERNET’s own accessibility statement. W3C also offers a free Accessibility Statement Generator that walks through each section.

Publish it, then keep it current

Name the page “Accessibility” or “Accessibility statement” and link to it from the footer of every page, where people expect to find it. Make sure the statement page itself is accessible, with real headings, descriptive links and a contact method that works. Route feedback to someone who can act on it, and keep track of what you hear.

Then treat the statement as a living document. Update it after audits, redesigns and new tools, and change the review date every time. If you’d like help building a statement on solid ground, EVERNET’s website accessibility audits and ADA-compliant web design give you an accurate picture of your site and a plan to fix what’s missing. For the legal background, read ADA website requirements and recent lawsuits.