NewFormat AB

Standards make the world work

NewFormat makes web information permanently
accessible, searchable, readable and reusable
for the future and for as many individuals as possible.

We leave no file behind.

We provide services for web governance / web accessibility
in compliance with W3C/WAI/WCAG Recommendations.

Our solutions are based on recognized software technology and
tested, reliable, and highly accessible software solutions from leading brands.

Accessible Web

Web accessibility is about creating
ONE web experience for everyone
regardless of ability or disability.

Accessible Web
Requires Compliance with
the W3C/WAI/WCAG Recommendations

The Web Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), defined by
the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) / the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI),
has four principles which state that websites must be POUR
(Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust).

There are a total of 13 guidelines under each of these principles.
In order to make sure a website is meeting these guidelines,
there are a total of 78 testable “success criteria”.

These principles and guidelines defines the requirements that must be
considered when a website must be universally accessible for everyone;
with or without disabilities.




There are three levels of web accessibility established under WCAG.
Level A is the least strict. Level AAA is very strict.

• If you meet level AA,
  it means that you meet all of the criteria of level A and level AA.


• If you meet level AAA,
  it means meeting the criteria of levels A, AA, and AAA.



It is very difficult (time and labor intensive)
to always be in compliance with level AAA.
Most businesses and organizations worrying about
accessibility should strive for level AA.
At this level, they will be legally compliant in most countries,
can avoid lawsuits, and provide a good experience for all users.




Digital documents published on public sector websites,
or provided as part of a public digital service,
must also be made available as accessible documents.

See our solutions and services for

• Accessible PDF (PDF/UA)

Implementation of Accessible Web within
The European Union

The EU Accessibility Directive 2016/2102 (WAD) of
the European Parliament and of the Council
on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications
of public sector bodies, also known as
the European Union (EU) Directive on the Accessibility of
Websites and Mobile Applications, was created as part of
the EU Commission’s work on developing societal and
digital inclusivity within the European Union.

The Directive aims for the standardization of accessibility laws
across the EU and came into effect on October 2016.
The Directive covers the accessibility of websites and
mobile applications of public sector bodies for
persons with disabilities.

The Directive is based on the four principles of the WCAG,
which will thus require public sector websites to ensure that they are
POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable and Robust).

The standards that EU member states will have to
comply with are the WCAG Level AA as a minimum.




The WAD, unlike a regulation, is not imposed as a law,
but instead binds member states to the adoption of it
into national law.

The WAD is adopted by EU member states
with this timeline for compliance:

• New public sector websites
  must conform by September 23, 2019


• All public sector websites by September 23, 2020


• All public sector mobile apps by June 23, 2021


• Member states will be required to monitor and report
  the accessibility of the websites and mobile apps
  of public entities.



The EU WAD was implemented in Sweden January 1, 2019, as
"The Swedish Act on Access to Digital Public Services"
(SFS 2018:1937 & SFS 2018:1938)
(also known as the "DOS Act").

Sweden as a nation is also bound to:

• the UN Declaration on Human Rights,


• the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,


• the Swedish Anti-Discrimination Act

Why conformance with W3C/WAI/WCAG
is relevant and of importance

Barriers that prevent interaction with,
or access to a document or website by individuals
with disabilities can be considered discrimination.

Legal requirements for accessibility to digital information
for everyone in the society ensures that all users,
regardless of functional ability, have equal access to
information and functionality on the web and
in digital documents.

Successful e-government presupposes that digital
government information is accessible for all citizens
- the success is dependent on "Accessible Web".

Accessible Web is fundamental for barrier-free access to
digital information from eGovernments/public administrations
and enterprises serving the public sector.

Websites complying with W3C/WAI/WCAG for "Accessible Web"
are universally accessible for everyone.

Who has reason to care about W3C/WAI/WCAG?

W3C/WAI/WCAG is of interest to all entities,
in public sector and elsewhere, concerned with
conformance to regulations requiring access for
everyone to websites based on HTML-technolgy.

Also entities serving the public sector,
like media service providers, advertising/communication agencies,
banks, insurances agencies, and representatives of associations and
institutions as well as students and lecturers at colleges and universities
increasingly consider it their duty to have their written materials
available as accessible digital documents.

Are you confident your organization uses the right tools and services
to guarantee your website is compliant with the W3C/WAI/WCAG?

Do you need help to make your website
compliant with W3C/WAI/WCAG Recommendations?

Following the standards is the only way to reduce your liability and
provide the most accessible versions of your website’s content.

The easiest way to determine if your web is a 100% compliant web
is to ask for a web governance/accessibility audit that proves
compliance to the standard you have requested.

Locate and map existing web resources as input for decision on
needed actions to achieve full governance / accessibility compliance.

NewFormat provides services to test, verify och optimize
for accessible web and accessible PDF.

Our services can regularly scan and crawl websites,
filesystems, folders, files,... to locate web issues and
compile an issue-report based on the findings.
The issue-report indicates the governance/accessibility status
of the website over time; including measures needed to
remediate for full compliance with W3C/WAI/WCAG.




Accessibility Report

According to the DOS Act shall a public entity on it's website
provide an accessibility report on the accessibility of its
websites, mobile applications and digital documents.

The report must include, among other things,
a statement of contents on the site that is
inaccessible and a link to comment on deficiencies.

The accessibility report must be published at
the latest when the site requirements must be met.




Audit mapping of your websites/domains

We offer subscription services where we scan your
websites/domains according to some desired regularity;
e.g. once a year, every quarter, every week,...
Provides insight into the existing website's accessibility status,
lack of accessibility, etc.

The generated analysis report is of indispensable value
as a basis for the entity's continuous accessibility work
and mandatory accessibility report.




Interesting?

• Contact NewFormat for audit mapping of websites/domains.

Warning!

The complex digital ecosystem that is your website includes
HTML/CSS/Javascript pages, images, videos and digital documents.

Those documents are usually delivered as PDFs;
think of all the forms, legal documents, white papers and
other digital documents that your employees, customers and
site visitors view every day from your website.

Websites hosting inaccessible documents can be a significant
liability risk even if you have fixed the websites's HTML content.




Please be aware, the W3C/WAI/WCAG recommendations for
web accessibility does not itself guarantee that a PDF document
published on a website is an "Accessible PDF".

Instead, accessible PDF requires full compliance with:

• the ISO Standard PDF/UA

Avoid litigation risks by ensuring that also all PDF documents on your
website are accessible for everyone; with or without disabilities.