Accessibility information about your premises, online

Key takeaways

Publish clear information about access to your premises: step-free routes, door widths, lifts, accessible toilets, parking, seating, hearing loops, lighting and quiet times. Disabled visitors use it to decide whether they can visit at all. It supports your duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.

• Describe access factually: steps, doors, lifts, toilets and parking.
• Facts beat labels: '1 step of 15cm' beats 'mostly accessible'.
• Say what adjustments you can make and how to ask.
• Premises information is separate from website accessibility.

What premises accessibility information should a website give?

Give factual detail on arrival, entrance, moving around, facilities and support: parking and drop-off, steps and ramps, door widths, lifts, accessible toilets, seating, hearing loops, lighting, noise and quiet times. Global Bridge Labs (GBL) recommends a dedicated access page linked from the contact page.

• What information should every business website have?
• Parking and access details on your website

Why publish it?

Disabled visitors often need to know before they travel whether they can get in and use your facilities. Without information, many will not risk it. The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments, and clear information is a simple, low-cost one.

• An equality and diversity policy on your website

How should access information be written?

Use measurements and facts rather than labels. 'One step of 15cm at the front door; level access via the side door, which is 90cm wide' lets each visitor decide for themselves. 'Wheelchair friendly' or 'mostly accessible' does not, because needs vary.

• Inaccurate information on your website: the legal risk

What about adjustments?

Say which adjustments you can make and how to request them: a ground-floor room, a quieter appointment time, longer appointment slots, a British Sign Language interpreter, or information in another format. Give a contact route for access questions.

• A 'how to book' page that removes the guesswork

How does this differ from website accessibility?

Premises access is about your building and service; website accessibility is about whether disabled people can use your site. Both matter. An accessibility statement covers the website. An access guide covers the premises. Link each to the other.

• An accessibility statement for a business website
• Website accessibility for UK businesses

When is an access page unnecessary?

It is unnecessary only when customers never visit your premises. If you visit customers instead, say how you can adapt, such as arranging appointment times or communication methods. Everyone who receives visitors benefits from publishing it.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a venue's site says 'fully accessible', but a wheelchair user arrives to find a heavy door and a narrow corridor to the toilet. Replacing the label with measured facts and a photo of the entrance lets visitors judge for themselves and avoids a wasted journey.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Premises access checklist

• Measure steps, ramps and door widths.
• Describe toilets, lifts and seating.
• Note hearing loops and lighting.
• Offer quiet times if possible.
• Explain how to ask for adjustments.
• Add photos of key access points.

• A supplier information page: invoices and onboarding

Next step

Take a tape measure and a phone camera around your premises this week. Write down what a wheelchair user, a visually impaired visitor and a parent with a pushchair would need to know.