The purpose of this page is to outline disproportionate burden assessments for the University of Winchester website.

Website UX and Design Project 2023

We have committed human and financial resources to a large website redesign, intended to improve the current user experience of our website. This project will fundamentally change function and form of many of the most visited sections of our website including:

Project outline

The University of Winchester launched the current iteration of their website in November 2017. Due to very limited internal resource, there has been little change to the site templates since this date. As much of our recruitment activity pivoted to a digital first approach during the years of the pandemic, an overhaul of the website has only now been possible.

The aim of the project is to improve the user experience of the website, importantly to improve the navigation devices and to rationalise the information architecture to aid navigation for all the website audiences. Other objectives for this project were to improve the efficacy of our landing pages, enriching them with more detailed and useful content, and modernise the look and feel of the website by addressing some of the accessibility issues aligned to our current styling. Specifically, the project will look at:

The website project was commissioned in February 2022 and is due for completion in March 2023, working with our agency Revolution. Revolution have been briefed on the accessibility issues identified by our full site audit by HeX Productions as well as a recent independent audit from the Government Digital Service and fixes for these issues have been incorporated into the project.
Stark https://www.getstark.co/ and WebAim https://webaim.org/ software tools have been used throughout the design process to check the colour contrasts, gradients and fonts.

We have committed to an independent accessibility audit following the launch of the new website designs in March 2023.

Project Timeline

The project encompasses the following phases:

Discovery – March 2022
User Behaviour Research and Analysis – April 2022
UX Review and Prioritisation – May 2022
Technical Discovery – July 2022
UX Design – June - August 2022
User testing and Content Planning – August 2022
Content (audit, hierarchy, production) – September – December 2022
Brand Update/UI Design – August – October 2022
Development and Testing – November 2022 – January 2023
Launch 1 – end January 2023
Launch 2 – March 2023
Independent Accessibility Audit – March 2023

1. WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard

On the home page the user cannot keyboard tab to the arrows for any of the sliders.

Appearing on all pages in the header, the user cannot keyboard tab to the 'Close x' button when the search button is expanded.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

Users should be able to use a keyboard to access all content and functionality of a web page. This means the page can be used by people with no vision as well as people who use alternative keyboards or input devices that act as a keyboard.

Burden

The necessary changes to address the keyboard tab limitations cannot be fixed within our CMS and will require development work from our external development agency. This comes with financial implications and the homepage and search function already fall within the remit of the Website Project detailed on this page.

Assessment

As we have already financially committed to changing these areas, and any changes to our development schedule will delay the project timescale, we have decided this represents disproportionate burden on the organisation to address this issue independently.

2. WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible

The 'Discover' submenu options receive tab focus even when the user has not purposely expanded the dropdown. This means focus is not clearly visible and it is hard for the user to tell where they are on the page.
Visible tab focus is lost briefly after the search button in the header and before main page content.
On the homepage visible tab focus is lost between the 'Find your course' button and 'Visit us' links.
Visible tab focus is lost around the 'Join us at our open event' slider and 'Our new west downs centre' slider.
On the events and press landing pages there is no clearly visible focus indicator on the filter options including the 'Search keyword' input and drop downs.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

A visible focus helps users know which element has keyboard focus and where they are on the page.

Burden

The necessary changes to address the tab focus cannot be fixed within our CMS and will require development work from our external development agency. This comes with financial implications and the homepage and events pages already fall within the remit of the Website Project detailed on this page. The Discover menu will be removed with the launch of the new website templates.

Assessment

As we have already financially committed to changing these areas, and any changes to our development schedule will delay the project timescale, we have decided this represents disproportionate burden on the organisation to address this issue independently.

3. WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships - <li> elements must be contained in a <ul> or <ol>

The 'Our faculties' and 'Contact us' list elements in the footer have direct children that are not allowed inside <li> elements.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

Screen readers tell users if a list is present and how many items are in the list. This helps users to know what they are reading and what to expect.
A correctly ordered list will allow screen readers to read the lists accurately.

Burden

The necessary changes to address the tab focus cannot be fixed within our CMS and will require development work from our external development agency. This comes with financial implications and the footer already falls within the remit of the Website Project detailed on this page.

Assessment

As we have already financially committed to changing these areas, and any changes to our development schedule will delay the project timescale, we have decided this represents disproportionate burden on the organisation to address this issue independently.

4. WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value - ARIA input fields must have an accessible name

Accessible names should be added to elements with the following roles: button, checkbox, combo box, link, list box, menu, menu item, radio, search box and tooltip.
On the homepage the four sliders making up the homepage template do not give a clearly accessible name for the function.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

ARIA components such as buttons, input fields, toggle fields and tooltips must have an accessible name that details the purpose. This gives context to assistive technology users and ensures custom elements are read correctly.

Burden

The necessary changes to address the ARIA input field names cannot be fixed within our CMS and will require development work from our external development agency. This comes with financial implications and the homepage already falls within the remit of the Website Project detailed on this page, the homepage template will be significantly changed to simplify the template and function.

Assessment

As we have already financially committed to changing the homepage, and any changes to our development schedule will delay the project timescale, we have decided this represents disproportionate burden on the organisation to address this issue independently.

5. WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value - Ensure interactive controls are not nested

Interactive controls like buttons and links should not have child elements which are focusable. This is because the child elements are not announced by screen readers, but they still appear in the tab order, making it harder to navigate.
On the home page multiple interactive controls have focusable descendants.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

Removing the child elements will make it easier for screen readers to navigate the homepage

Burden

The necessary changes to address the focusable descendants cannot be fixed within our CMS and will require development work from our external development agency. This comes with financial implications and the homepage already falls within the remit of the Website Project detailed on this page, the homepage template will be significantly changed to simplify the template and function.

Assessment

As we have already financially committed to changing the homepage, and any changes to our development schedule will delay the project timescale, we have decided this represents disproportionate burden on the organisation to address this issue independently.

6. WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships and WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value - Form elements must have labels

Labels should be used for inputs such as: text entry fields, radio buttons, checkboxes, select menus. The site search input does not have accessible text.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

Form labels help assistive technologies to understand what input is expected in a form field. Adding a label reduces confusion and enlarges the clickable area which helps users with limited motor control.

Burden

Adding a label to the site search input cannot be fixed within our CMS and will require development work from our external development agency. This comes with financial implications and the site search already falls within the remit of the Website Project detailed on this page.

Assessment

As we have already financially committed to changing the site search, and any changes to our development schedule will delay the project timescale, we have decided this represents disproportionate burden on the organisation to address this issue independently.

7. WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value - Select element must have an accessible name

Labels should be used for inputs such as: text entry fields, radio buttons, checkboxes, select menus. On the events and press pages the drop downs do not have accessible text.

Benefits of creating an accessible version

Form labels help assistive technologies to understand what input is expected in a form field. Adding a label reduces confusion and enlarges the clickable area which helps users with limited motor control.

Burden

Adding a label to the event and press page drop downs cannot be fixed within our CMS and will require development work from our external development agency. This comes with financial implications and the site search already falls within the remit of the Website Project detailed on this page.

Assessment

As we have already financially committed to changing the event and press page templates, and any changes to our development schedule will delay the project timescale, we have decided this represents disproportionate burden on the organisation to address this issue independently.

What to do if you cannot access parts of the website

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 15 working days.

If you cannot view the map on our ‘contact us’ page, call us +44 (0) 1962 841515 for directions.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are in the process of improving the accessibility on this website and appreciate that access to students and staff is a priority. If you find any issues that are not highlighted in the ‘How accessible this website is’ or think we’re not meeting certain goals, use the contact details in the previous section.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Some of our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us https://www.winchester.ac.uk/contact-us/.

Technical information about this website's accessibility

The University of Winchester is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed in the Accessibilty Statement.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This page was published on 20 October 2022.

This website was last fully tested on 22 April 2020. The test was carried out by HeX Productions.

All pages available on the main menu of the website were audited for a multitude of technical and content issues, these have been highlighted in the Accessibility Statement.

This website was audited by the Accessibilty Montoring Team, part of the Government Digital Service, on 6 July 2022. 

This audit checked the pages below. Technical and content issues have been highlighted in the Accessibility Statement and on this page detailing Disproportionate Burden.

Home https://www.winchester.ac.uk/ 
Contact us https://www.winchester.ac.uk/contact-us/ 
Accessibility statement https://www.winchester.ac.uk/accessibility/accessibility-statement/ 
Music excellence awards 2022-23 information & application form PDF https://www.winchester.ac.uk/media/content-assets/documents/EA-application-22-23.pdf 
Ask a question form https://www.winchester.ac.uk/study/ask-a-question/ \
Campus tours https://www.winchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/open-days-and-campus-tours/campus-tours/ 
Events https://www.winchester.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/ 

 

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