Accessibility

Accessibility statement for Ashmolean Museum Online Shop

The University of Oxford is committed to providing an accessible web presence that gives members of the public and members of the University community full access to University information, courses and activities offered publicly through the web. Our Equality Policy outlines our commitment to a culture which ‘maintains a working, learning and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all its staff and students are respected’.

This accessibility statement applies to Ashmolean Museum Online Shop website: https://shop.ashmolean.org/

This website is run by the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, in conjunction with our designated Magento Web Support team. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• change colours, contrast levels and fonts
• zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader
• We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. In addition, major operating systems produce the following guidance:

• Advice for Microsoft Users
• Advice for Apple users
• Advice for Linux users
• Advice for Android users

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• Not all images have appropriate alt text
• In a small number of specific instances, the treatment of text in links or titles is not sufficiently clear
• Submission of webforms often relies solely on the use of visual CAPTCHAs
• Some colour contrasts are low
• ARIA landmarks need to be added in some places to better support screen reader rendering
• Interactive carousels cannot currently be paused

We may also identify further issues as we proceed with the ongoing accessibility audit of the Platform (see ‘Preparation of this Accessibility Statement’ below).

Information in alternative formats

Students and staff of the University may make use of the free SensusAccess tool on the Bodleian website to convert certain types of files into a more accessible format, such as accessible text, audio, e-book or digital braille. Content editors may also make use of this tool on behalf of website users.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, please contact the Ashmolean Museum Online Shop Team:

Email: onlineshop@ashmus.ox.ac.uk

Post:

Ashmolean Online Shop 
Ashmolean Museum
University of Oxford
Beaumont Street
Oxford OX1 2PH
UK

We will consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

Email: onlineshop@ashmus.ox.ac.uk

Post:

Ashmolean Online Shop 
Ashmolean Museum
University of Oxford
Beaumont Street
Oxford OX1 2PH
UK

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).

Other accessibility resources

If you’d like more information about accessibility and resources for students, staff and visitors in Oxford more generally, please visit our Equality and Diversity pages.

If you’re looking for information on building accessibility, please try the Access Guide or the University’s interactive map.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Oxford 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-compliance and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Images and Carousels

Alt text
Some images do not have a meaningful text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1.

By summer 2023 all images will:

Have meaningful text alternative.
Purely decorative images will have blank alt text.
All new images that are being added to the site now are compliant.

Images containing text

Some images include text as part of the image, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.5.

We are currently in the process of adding alternative text to images where needed. We aim to complete this by December 2021, after which all images containing text will have a suitable text alternative.

Carousels

Carousels do not have obvious controls for users to stop the auto-rotate, which can cause people with cognitive disability that affect focus and concentration to be distracted making the site less accessible. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.2.2.

We will be working with our website support team for a solution to this issue as part of the accessibility review of the website.

Contrast issues

Some elements have low contrast levels, which can result in text being difficult to read, especially for people with low vision, poor eyesight or colour blindness. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3.

We will be working with our Ashmolean Design team for a solution to this issue as part of the accessibility review of the website.

Links

Link text
Some links do not use text that is meaningful out of context, which can result in users of screen readers not being able to understand the link without reading the surrounding text and users of speech recognition software being less able to target links accurately using voice commands. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4.

All links will be reviewed and fixed by December 2023

Structure
Headings
Headings have on occasion been used to highlight information rather than for headings, making the site more difficult for users of assistive technology to use. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 and 2.4.6.

We are working with our website support team for a solution to this issue. These issues will be addressed as part of an accessibility review of how headings are used in the content (December 2023).

Page layout
The layout of some pages don’t work as well on small devices and with style sheets turned off, which can cause issue for people using screen readers, keyboards and their own style sheets. Depending on the nature of the issue this could fail 1.3.2 (Meaningful sequence) and/or 2.4.3 (Focus order)

We are working with our website support team for a solution to this issue. Pages where the layout isn’t optimal will be reviewed by December 2021.

Keyboard operability
In certain instances it isn’t possible to carry out all tasks using a keyboard, which can make the site less accessible to people with mobility impairments. This fails the WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1.

We will be working with our website support team for a solution to this issue as part of the accessibility review of the website.

Disproportionate burden
We do not consider any of the accessibility issues to be a disproportionate burden and aim to make the site fully compliant by September 2021.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Third-party content
Our site includes links to third party content. These will direct you to a related service, link to another site or supporting documentation. We are not responsible for the accessibility of third-party content or to other sites we link to.

This includes:

• YouTube videos
• Related social media sites
• Google maps

We will provide an accessible alternative to any third-party content that isn’t compliant.

 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We want to provide the best possible experience for all our website visitors. To achieve this we will:

• Fix known issues.
• Check all new features in the Magento e-commerce platform, which is used to create this website, for accessibility before they are made available.
• Check all new content on the Diversity Projects site for accessibility before it is published.
• Train all content editors on accessibility.
• Carry out periodic accessibility checks.

A Digital Accessibility Working Group has been established to oversee the University’s implementation of the WCAG 2.1 guidelines. The group is working to provide clear guidance, recommendations, expertise and experiential knowledge to departments and colleges who will be adopting inclusive digital practices to meet the requirements of the accessibility regulations.

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 17th April 2023

This website was last tested in April 2023. The test was carried out by the Ashmolean Museum Online Shop Team. The Magento e-commerce platform has been audited for accessibility by the suppliers.

The following pages were checked to ensure that we covered the full range of content across the site:

• Homepage
• Contact Us page
• Delivery & Returns page
• An example of the available category pages– the pages follow a standard format
• An example of the available sub-category pages– the pages follow a standard format
• An example of the View Item page
• My Shopping Cart page
• Both Checkout screens (Shipping, and Payment)
• Create Account page
• Order History page

 

The pages were checked manually using a combination of the following methods:

• Checked against WCAG 2.1 guidelines, with a focus on the items in the Gov.uk’s WCAG 2.1 Primer Checklist.
• Viewed without style sheets
• Viewed on a small screen
• Checked using the WebAim’s Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool

 

Other sites within the ox.ac.uk domain

This statement does not cover the University of Oxford’s main website http://www.ox.ac.uk/. Please refer to the accessibility statement for ox.ac.uk if your query concerns that site.

Some larger Mosaic sites also publish their own accessibility information, detailing content compliance. In particular, a statement for the key group of University Administration and Services websites is available.

A large number of other websites (Mosaic and non-Mosaic) exist, including those of various divisions and departments, museums and libraries and more. Accessibility statements may be found locally on each site.