Guideline For Web Accessibility to Digital Channels Content to Serve People with Disabilities and the Elderly

Published 01/05/2024

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1. Introduction

The importance of accessibility for all segments of society and especially for elderly people and people with disabilities including but not limited to : (vision disability, hearing disability, mobility disability and cognitive disability) to access digital content through digital channels such as: websites, smart applications and digital portals, and in application of the principle “Digital by default”; One of the core principles of the regulatory framework for digital government, which states that the development of government digital services should be in an integrated and simplified way that makes it easy for beneficiaries to use, taking into account the ease and possibility of access and providing services with the same quality to all beneficiaries, including those unable to access them, and to achieve the principle of inclusivity that it aims to provide people with disabilities and the elderly with access to various digital channels to benefit from the digital government services provided.

DGA aims to provide government products to all beneficiaries, promote participation and raise awareness. DGA has released the second version of the 'Guidelines for Web Accessibility to Digital Content Channels for People with Disabilities and the Elderly' to comply with the accessibility and usability standards established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines are intended to be implemented on digital channels to enhance the overall understanding and approach towards meeting the internationally acceptable level of web accessibility.

2. Guideline Objectives

The Guidelines aim to achieve the following:

Improve the beneficiary experience of digital services by ensuring the platform is accessible to serve all target audiences.
Provide equal access to digital government services and information for all segments of society, including people with disabilities, and elderly people.
Increase beneficiary satisfaction with digital government services by providing an exceptional and specialized experience.
Raise the quality and maturity of the provided services and reinforce digital performance.
Reinforce the presence in the international rankings of the United Nations and strive to reach advanced positions in the field of accessibility.

3. Guideline Scope

This document covers Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2), and the success criteria for their application in addition to support government entities by providing digital content that is more accessible to all target audiences. The following details the scope of this guidelines document:

a. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2): provides comprehensive information on the entirety of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2) by offering simplified descriptions, illustrative examples, an overview of the beneficiaries, and links to learn the technical implementation techniques, at a success criteria level.
b. Assistive Technologies: This document provides information on 12 popular assistive technologies and features to encourage teams to develop accessible web content.

4. Target Audience

This guide targets all government entities and the private sector that develop or operate digital government-related activities, including user interface designers, website and application developers, digital content administrators, and product owners, to enable them to make web content accessible for a variety of beneficiaries, including people with disabilities and the elderly.

5. Table of Definitions

Term	Definition
Authority	Digital Government Authority.
Government Entities	Ministries, authorities, public institutions, councils, national centers, including any additional form of a public entity.
Digital Government	Promotes administrative, organizational, and operational processes between the various government entities in their transition to a comprehensive digital transformation to allow easy and effective access to government digital information and services
Digital Transformation	Digitally and strategically transforming and developing business standards and models that would rely on data, technologies, and ICT
Beneficiary	Citizens, residents, visitors, government entities, private sector, and non-for-profit sector, inside or outside the KSA are required to interact with a government entity to receive any of the services offered in the Kingdom.
Digital Channel	The instrument is mandated to achieve the purpose of creating websites, platforms, applications and various other digital channels and to achieve strategic objectives towards the beneficiaries of such websites and platforms. The digital content of websites includes various forms, such as written content, audio and visual segments, images, forms, charts, etc.
Digital Platform	Technical solutions on which digital products and digital services are built, that provide beneficiaries with an enhanced digital experience through digital portals or smart device applications (digital channels). The digital platform allows these channels to communicate and integrate among themselves, and it also allows the integration of their services with other external services, for example: Absher Platform
Digital Content	A tool entrusted with accomplishing the objective of creating websites, platforms, applications, and various other digital channels, and fulfilling strategic goals for the beneficiaries of those sites and platforms. The digital content of websites encompasses various formats, including written content, audio and video clips, images, shapes, charts, and more.
Beneficiary Experience	Beneficiary’s perceptions and related feelings caused by the one-off and cumulative effect of interactions with the government entity’s employees, systems, channels, or services
Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA)	Set of attributes added to HTML elements to make web content and applications accessible to beneficiaries with disabilities who use assistive technology. An example of an ARIA attribute is “aria-label”, which is used to provide text alternatives for non-text content (e.g., aria- label="Beautiful sunset over the ocean").
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)	It is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.
Accessibility Features	Specific functionalities and/or capabilities that are designed to improve web accessibility for people with disabilities and elderly people.
Accessibility Standards	Set of guidelines and requirements that define how to make digital content and technology accessible to beneficiaries with disabilities and elderly people.
Assistive Technologies and Features	Devices or software designed to aid people with disabilities in accessing and navigating web content and/or digital devices independently.
Audio-Only Content	Media is consumed solely through sound, such as podcasts, audiobooks, music streaming, and voice recordings.
Breadcrumbs	Navigational aids displaying the hierarchical structure of a website, which allows beneficiaries to track their location and easily navigate back and forth between web pages.
CAPTCHA	Security measures that use tests or questions, often in the form of distorted characters, to distinguish human beneficiaries from bots.
Chatbot	Feature, which is found on websites and within applications and is designed to simulate human conversation, is typically used for providing assistance and/or answering frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Closed Captions	Textual representation for viewers with hearing disabilities, which provides a written representation of audio elements such as dialogue, sound effects, or speaker identification.
Color Coding	A mechanism of identification that uses colors to identify different elements/content.
Cognitive Disability	Disability that limits a person's ability to think, understand, learn, or remember.
Contrast Ratio	Difference in luminance between foreground and background colors, determining the accessibility and readability of text and graphical elements on a web page
CSS Pixels	Unit of measurement in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which provides relative length based on the pixel density of images or icons
Decorative Content	Visual elements, such as images or brand logos, which are used for aesthetic purposes and do not convey information. Decorative content is often excluded from assistive technologies or alternative content descriptions.
Glyphs	Visual representations or symbols used in writing systems, typography, or graphic design to convey meaning or represent specific characters or elements (such as a "smile" glyph used to indicate feeling happy).
Haptics	Tactile sensations and vibrations to convey information and enhance user interaction and engagement with digital devices or interfaces.
Hearing Disability	Disability that limits an individual's ability to hear partially or completely.
Hover	Action of moving a mouse cursor over an interactive UI element on a website or application (without the need to click), often triggering a visual change or revealing additional information.
Input Field	Interactive UI elements which allow beneficiaries to enter or select data, such as text, numbers, or options, within a digital platform.
Level of Compliance	Extent to which web content adheres to specific accessibility standards and guidelines.
Luminance	Level of brightness or light intensity of a visual element, such as text, images, or backgrounds.
Media Alternatives	Alternative formats or versions of media content are provided to accommodate different accessibility needs or preferences (such as visual, auditory and/or textual content).
Media Content	Audio, video, and interactive elements are embedded within digital platforms.
Mobility Disability	Disability that affects a person's ability to move, walk, or use their limbs effectively, resulting in challenges related to physical mobility and dexterity.
Nonconforming Content	Situations or examples where specific web content is not assessed against the WCAG success criteria, leading to the oversight or non-implementation of the criteria for that content.
Multipoint Gestures	Interactions using multiple fingers or touch points simultaneously to navigate, zoom, scroll, or perform other actions (often on touch-enabled devices).
Perceivable	Presenting digital content and UI elements in a manner that is understood and sensed by beneficiaries through their available senses (such as sight, hearing, or touch).
Principles	Statements that set out long-term policy goals within each pillar
Process	A set of interrelated or interacting activities which transforms inputs into outputs.
Robust	Developing digital content and web technologies in a way that ensures compatibility and resilience across different platforms, devices, and assistive technologies.
Sensory Content	Elements within digital media are designed to engage the senses of the such as audio, video, animations, or interactive features.
Success Criteria	Specific checkpoints or benchmarks within an accessibility standard, outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which websites and digital content must meet to be considered accessible and usable for all individuals, including those with disabilities.
Switch UI Elements	User interface components, specifically designed for individuals with motor disabilities, to allow them to navigate and interact with digital interfaces through alternative input methods, such as switches or specialized devices.
Tests / Exercises	Interactive elements or activities are designed to evaluate knowledge, skills, or abilities, typically through quizzes, surveys, or interactive challenges.
Text Alternatives	Descriptive text is provided for non-text content (such as images), to enable individuals with vision disabilities and/or those using assistive technologies to understand and access digital information.
UI Elements / Components	User interface elements or interactive components within a digital interface, which enable beneficiaries to interact with a software or website (such as buttons, menus, forms, or sliders).
Video-Only Content	Content primarily consists of video without accompanying text or audio descriptions, potentially presenting challenges for individuals with vision disabilities or those who rely on assistive technologies.
Vision Disability	Condition or disability that affects vision or eyesight resulting in partial or complete loss of sight and impacting an individual's ability to perceive visual information.
Website	Non-interactive web pages that provide information and news content available to everyone without need log in to the website. It can also demonstrate the available service and products catalog, but without the ability to request them, meaning that they are noninteractive services

Term	Definition
API	Application Programming Interface
ARIA	Accessible Rich Internet Applications
CAPTCHA	Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
CC	Closed Captioning
CJK	Chinese, Japanese and Korean
CSS	Cascading Style Sheets
DOM	Document Object Model
FAQ	Frequently Asked Question
GIF	Graphics Interchange Format
HTML	Hypertext Markup Language
IOS	iPhone Operating System
MM/DD/YY	Month / Day / Year
PDF	Portable Document Format
SMIL	Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language
SVG	Scalable Vector Graphics
UI	User interface
URL	Uniform Resource Locator
W3C	World Wide Web Consortium
WCAG	Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Term	Definition

Official government website of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Links to official Saudi websites end withgov.sa

Government websites use the HTTPS protocol for encryption and security.

Guideline For Web Accessibility to Digital Channels Content to Serve People with Disabilities and the Elderly

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