Skip to main content

eStore accessibility statement

eStore is run by Central Finance Income Services at University of the Arts London (UAL). This site is built on the eStore platform provided by the supplier WPM.

This accessibility statement applies to eStore. Other websites and browser based systems on the arts.ac.uk domain have their own accessibility statements.

We commit to ensuring this website is as accessible as possible and we want as many people as possible to be able to use it. This means that you should be able to:

  • access it on different browsers and devices
  • zoom in up to 125% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate some of the website using just a keyboard
  • listen to some of the website using a screen reader

AbilityNet has advice on how to make your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know that some parts of the website are not fully accessible. Specific sections include:

  • The site is missing a skip to content link so keyboard users must tab through the entire header menu to get to the main content on the page.
  • The site is missing a visual focus on some pages and on some buttons, which may cause difficulties navigating and completing certain tasks such as buying a product.
  • Many images on the site don’t have relevant, descriptive alternative text and in some cases images have no alternative text at all.
  • Some text doesn’t have sufficient colour contrast, particularly text in search fields.
  • The site uses layout tables to visually position content, which may cause issues for screen readers and navigating using other assistive technologies.
  • On some pages headings are not logical.
  • Text on some pages has been formatted in a way that may not be accessible. For example, some text is extremely small while other test is underlined and could be mistaken as a link.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in an alternative, more accessible format please contact the Income and Payment Acceptance team at incomeandpaymentacceptance@arts.ac.uk

Please include details of the content you need and the required format or the service you are trying to access. We will then work with the team who own the content or the service to get you what you need.

We aim to provide you with an initial response within five working days and will provide clear information about how we will deal with your request.

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 the Income and Payment Acceptance team at incomeandpaymentacceptance@arts.ac.uk

We aim to provide you with an initial response within five working days and will provide clear information about how we will deal with your enquiry or complaint.

If you feel we have not answered your enquiry or complaint satisfactorily, please contact us again. We will escalate your enquiry or complaint to the Head of Income Services who will work with the team who provides the content or the service to get you a response.

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

For information about contacting us by phone or to arrange a visit to our offices please visit the Contact us page on eStore.

More information about accessing our buildings is available from AccessAble.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

UAL 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 and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Global issues:

  • The site is missing a skip to content link which means keyboard users must tab through all the menu items to get to the main content. We have not met WCAG success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A).
  • The language attribute is invalid which may prevent screen readers from reading the content in the appropriate langue. We have not met WCAG success criterion 3.1.1. Language of Page (Level A).
  • Text in search box doesn't has a colour contrast ratio of less than 4.5:1 which isn't sufficient. We have not met WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).
  • This website is missing defined page regions and ARIA landmarks which may make it difficult to navigate using assistive technology. We have not met WCAG success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A).
  • This website uses layout tables to position content visually rather than use HTML and Cascading Style Sheets. This may cause reading and navigation order issues and screen readers may interpret them as data tables. We have not met WCAG success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A).

Product Catalogue page:

  • In many cases mage alternative text is insufficient and doesn't adequately describe the image. We have not met WCAG success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A).

Individual product pages:

  • The add to basket button is missing visual focus. We have not met WCAG success criteria 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level A)

My Account page:

  • Green buttons with white text such as "Register as a New Customer" can be selected or activated using a keyboard. We have not met WCAG success criteria 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A).

Terms and Conditions page:

  • Headings are not logical and there are multiple h1 headings on the page. Additionally, heading elements are present but don't contain content. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA). Additionally, some text is very small while other text has been formatted and looks like clickable links.

Disproportionate burden

UAL has limited access to eStore and we are unable to make changes to functionality, design or accessibility of the site. We are wholly reliant on our supplier, WPM, to make fixes to the underlying code. We continue to lobby WPM to make fixes to their product as soon as possible.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are in conversation with WPM and we continue to urge them to fix the accessibility issues. They have committed to implementing fixes in 2021 although they are unable to provide any detail about their plans

We are also looking at what training we can provide to staff who add products to eStore to enable them to ensure the content they upload to the site is accessible.

This statement was prepared on 22 October 2020.

The website had a basic accessibility audit on 29 September 2020 and the audit was carried out in-house by employees of UAL.

We used the following automated accessibility tools, assistive technology and manual testing methods to test a sample of pages of our website. These included:

  • WAVE from WebAIM
  • Siteimprove Accessibility Checker
  • Manually auditing alt text of a selection of images
  • Navigating the website using a keyboard

The selection of pages we tested were:

  • The homepage
  • Product catalogue page
  • A selection of product pages
  • My Account
  • Terms and Conditions