To ensure that all published information is clear, consistent, and accessible to every user, including those using assistive technologies, we follow a set of content development standards. These guidelines help us create online content that is easy to read, understand, and navigate for everyone.
Meeting accessibility requirements
The accessibility regulations came into force for public sector bodies on 23 September 2018. They say you must make your website or mobile app more accessible by making it ‘perceivable, operable, understandable and robust’. The full name of the accessibility regulations is the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Accessibility is not just about compliance; it’s about inclusion. By using plain language, consistent formatting, and thoughtful structure, we make sure our content serves the widest possible audience, regardless of ability, device, or familiarity with the subject matter.
Accessibility is all about making sure websites and apps work for everyone not just people who use technology in the typical way. That includes people who are blind or have low vision, people with limited mobility, those with cognitive or learning differences, and people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
In the UK, about 1 in 5 people live with a long-term condition or disability, and even more deal with temporary issues like a broken arm or eye strain. So accessibility isn’t just a “nice to have”, it’s essential.
But it’s not just about putting content online. It’s about designing things in a way that’s clear, simple, and usable by default, while also supporting tools that help people adapt the experience to their needs. For example:
- Someone with vision loss might use a screen reader that reads out the content, or a braille display.
- Someone with motor challenges might rely on voice commands, a special mouse, or an on-screen keyboard.
The goal is to reduce barriers so that as many people as possible can interact with your site or app without frustration.
For further government guidance see Understanding accessibility requirements for public sector bodies.
The following instructions outline key practices when creating content which is published on the LSCP website.
Bold, italics and underlining
We avoid using italics or underlining. We use headings or bullets instead to emphasise particular words or sections. We don’t use bold text for links, or to highlight specific sections of content.
Bullet points
Bullet points make text easier to read.
When using bullet points:
- always use a ‘lead-in’ sentence before starting the list off – as above
- ensure they make sense running on from the lead-in sentence
- use lower case at the start of each bullet point
- do not use full stops – where possible start another bullet point or use commas, dashes or semicolons to expand on something
- do not put ‘or’, ‘and’ or use semicolons at the end of a bullet point
- do not end bullet points with a full-stop
Capitals
Block capitals are avoided – they’re hard to read and people interpret this as shouting.
Sentence case is always used, even in page titles.
We will capitalise:
- proper nouns (names used for specific things, like an individual person, place or organisation)
- brand names
- header cells in tables, for example 'Annual profits'
- titles of publications, for example 'The Study Skills Handbook'
When referring to ’the council’ in a general way, we won’t capitalise the ‘C’, as it’s not a proper noun. When talking about ourselves we try to use ‘we’ and ‘us’
Dates and times
Use the following formatting:
- Financial year 2023 to 2024 (not tax year 2023/24)
- 5:30pm (not 17:30)
- Monday to Friday (not Monday - Friday)
- 10 November to 21 December (not 10th November - 21st December)
- 10am to 11am (not 10-11am)
- midnight (not 00:00)
- midday (not 12 noon, noon, or 12pm)
We use ‘to’ instead of a dash or slash because it assists people who use screen readers.Italics
Italics should be avoided because they are harder to read for people with dyslexia.
Years and months
Use years and months, not just months. For most audiences, writing the year followed by the month is easier to read.
Example: 1 year 6 months, not 18 months, a year and a half or 1.5 years.
In instances where it is shorter than 1 year, use months. For example: 6 months old.
Use years in deadlines unless it’s a deadline that reoccurs each year. For example: This scheme closes on 21 September 2025
When space is an issue, such as tables, we sometimes use shorter version of the month, such as Feb instead of February. Dates in tables and forms use the standard date format (dd/mm/yyyy).
Numbers
Numerals are used across the website, unless a number is at the start of a sentence. In most cases, the number one is also written out. For example, in tables and financial information pages, we use numerals throughout.
Numbers over 1,000 have comma separators, for example:
2,962 not 2962
Spell out first to ninth. After that use 10th, 11th and so on.
Sentence length
Long sentences are avoided to make information as simple and clear as possible.
Underlining
We do not underline text for emphasis as this can look like a link.
For further guidance including using abbreviations and formatting please see the style guidelines set by Leeds City Council which we follow.
Providing content for publication on the LSCP website
We do not publish documents such as PDF and Word because:
- they don’t meet a range of accessibility needs, such as the ability to change colour or font size
- they are difficult to find, use and keep up to date
- when they are found using a search engine, they lack context or supporting information
If you are writing content for publication on the LSCP website please supply this as a word document so that we can convert it and publish it as a web page.
All images must be supplied separately as either jpg or png.
Images containing text such as flowcharts should be avoided where possible. If they are an informative image, meaning an image that graphically represents concepts and information, a text alternative should also be supplied that describes the information or function represented by the image. This ensures that images can be used by people with various disabilities.
If you are unsure how to represent any of your content or would like further assistance with these guidelines please contact the LSCP Communications Officer on lscp.info@leeds.gov.uk