From scan to published statement

An accessibility statement is generated from a scan, but only becomes public once you approve it. From the start you see the draft as a preview in the scan’s “Statement” tab. You can copy and download it as soon as the required manual checks are answered and the details for the statement are given – you do not need a verified domain for that: Using the draft yourself. It is only published when every requirement is met – anything missing is listed on the page under “Before publishing, the following must be resolved:”, and each item links to the matching section of this article.

The service shows the blocking reasons in German, whatever the interface language. Each section below quotes the German wording with a translation.

Where you stand

On the approval page, “Path to the statement” shows the whole path with your progress: completed steps with a check mark, open ones with the reason and a link to exactly the place where you take care of them. Three of the steps are not handled here: who declares and the applicability check in the scan’s “Statement” tab under “Details for your statement”, verifying the domain in the website's “Settings” – each link takes you straight there.

Up to the draft, the bar “Your path to the statement” above every page of the scan shows the same path in four stations: Reading the scan report. Verifying the domain and the mandatory details are not part of it – they only come before publishing.

One step is marked “collected when you publish”: the contact for reports and the responsible body belong to the statement itself and are entered in the form on this page. That is not an omission, it is the intended order.

The way in six steps

1. Add the website. Under “Websites” → “Add website”, enter the address. More: Adding a website and verifying the domain.
2. Verify the domain. In the website’s “Settings” tab, by DNS record, meta element or file – or with the WordPress plugin.
3. Scan. In the “Overview” tab → “Start scan now”. The result appears in the scan report.
4. Review. Go through the findings and uncertain results on the “Findings” tab, and on the “Manual checks” tab answer at least the questions under “Required for publication” – preferably the others too, because the statement lists what stays open as not evaluated.
5. Complete the details. In the scan’s “Statement” tab, under “Details for your statement”, enter who is declaring and answer the applicability check – that completes your draft. Then, further down on the same page, choose “Prepare publication”, fill in the mandatory details and choose “Save details”.
6. Approve. Under “Release”, choose “Review before publishing”. The page shows a summary; only the final confirmation button publishes.

What blocks publication

The scan is not finished

“Die zugrunde liegende Prüfung ist nicht abgeschlossen.” – The underlying scan is not finished.

Wait until the report is complete. If the scan failed, start a new one in the “Overview” tab and publish from its result.

Too few pages evaluated

“Die Prüfung konnte zu wenige Seiten auswerten, um eine Konformitätsaussage zu tragen.” – The scan could evaluate too few pages to support a conformance statement.

A statement needs a result for at least 80 % of the selected pages. The report says how many pages could not be evaluated. Common causes are pages that respond with an error, bot protection or a firewall that blocks the scanner, or a server that aborts because of too many requests. Fix the cause and scan again. How to recognise the scanner: the scanning robot.

Manual checks are open

“Es sind noch … manuelle Prüfschritte offen: …” – … manual checks are still open: …

The notice names the open questions, and “Answer the manual checks” leads straight to the first of them. Only the questions listed at the top of the “Manual checks” tab under “Required for publication” are counted – at most 6, not the whole catalogue. Answer each of them, even if the automated scan found nothing at all. “I cannot judge this” is not offered for these questions, and a preliminary question never answers them for you. Which questions these are and when they block: Answering the manual checks.

All other questions are voluntary and block nothing. If they stay open, the success criteria concerned count as not evaluated; the statement names their number and then cannot read “fully conformant”.

After a new scan a question can start blocking – the captions question, for example, when the scan finds a video on the pages it examined to which it cannot match any captions. An answer you have already given yourself stays: Answering the manual checks. That also holds for the question about more than one way: an “met” stays even if a later scan again detects fewer than two ways – so it is not open anew after every scheduled scan: Answering the manual checks.

Without an account the questions can be read but not answered: Answering the manual checks.

The domain is not verified

“Die Domain ist nicht bestätigt.” – The domain is not verified.

You need the verification only for publishing through the service; you can complete, copy and download the draft without it. Verify the domain in the website’s “Settings” tab or with the WordPress plugin via “Verify domain now”. The verification is re-checked daily; if you remove the proof later, it is lost. Instructions: Adding a website and verifying the domain.

The name of the responsible body is missing

“Es fehlt der Name der verantwortlichen Stelle.” – The name of the responsible body is missing.

Enter it in the scan’s “Statement” tab under “Who is declaring” – or in the same place in the website’s “Settings”; it is the same detail. Without its own entry, the website uses your organization’s name. If you manage the website for someone else, their name belongs there: Managing websites for clients.

Federal or state level has not been chosen

“Es fehlt die Angabe, ob die Stelle dem Bund oder einem Land angehört.” – It has not been stated whether the body belongs to the federal level or to a state.

In the scan’s “Statement” tab or in the website’s “Settings”, under “Who is declaring”, choose under “Federal or state level” whose body is making the statement. What counts is not where it is located: a federal authority chooses “Bund”, a city, a district or a state authority its own state. This decides which law the statement cites, which reply deadline applies and which body handles complaints.

Until then the draft stays a preview: it follows federal law and says so at its top, and it can only be copied or downloaded once the choice has been made.

This applies to public bodies in Germany only. It cannot yet be entered through the WordPress plugin; use the scan’s “Statement” tab or the website’s settings instead.

The contact for reports is missing

“Es fehlt ein Kontakt, an den Barrieren gemeldet werden können.” – There is no contact to which barriers can be reported.

Under “Contact for reporting barriers”, enter an email address, a form or a phone number. If there is an email address, reports submitted through the statement’s form are forwarded to it. More on all details: Filling in the statement’s mandatory details.

The applicability check is open

“Der Betroffenheits-Check dieser Website ist noch offen.” – The applicability check for this website is still open.

In the scan’s “Statement” tab – or in the website’s “Settings” – answer whether any of the listed services is provided through the offering, and choose “Save answer”. If none applies, leave everything unticked – that is an answer too. As long as the question is open, the preview shows a voluntary statement; it can neither be taken along nor published.

The check concerns websites in Germany and Austria that are not run by a public body. What the answer changes: Which accessibility statement do I need?.

The responsible authority is missing

“Es fehlt die zuständige Durchsetzungs- oder Schlichtungsstelle.” – The responsible enforcement or conciliation body is missing.

Under “Responsible enforcement body”, enter at least the name. It is pre-filled from the jurisdiction; it follows the choice under “Federal or state level”. A voluntary statement does not need one.

Plan and role

If publishing is not offered at all, one of these requirements is missing, and the page says which:

• Plan: publishing is included from the Starter plan. In every plan, you can copy and download the finished draft and use it yourself: Using the draft yourself.
• Role: only “Owner” and “Administration” may publish. People with the “Editing” role prepare; someone with one of the other two roles approves. Team and roles
• Scan without an account: a free scan belongs to none of your websites. Move it into your account with “Move this scan into an account” – when you are not signed in, the same link reads “Create an account and continue” – and verify the domain afterwards: The free scan without an account.

The conformance status

The service suggests a status based on the result. Under “Differing conformance claim” you can choose a different one, but you have to give a reason; the suggestion, the change and the reason are recorded together. “Fully conformant” cannot be chosen while a finding exists, a question is answered with “not met” or a success criterion is not evaluated. More: The conformance status – and when you may deviate.

What happens after publishing

• The statement is immediately available at its permanent public address – with a report form, as a PDF and with all earlier versions.
• The version is recorded permanently: with date, underlying scan and the person who approved it. Corrections appear as a new version.
• An embed shows the new version within a few minutes, the WordPress plugin after up to 60 minutes – possibly only after clearing a page cache: WordPress doesn’t show the statement, or shows an old one.
• If a later scan produces a different result, the statement is marked as outdated and stays online: Versions, “outdated” and PDF.

How the statement gets onto your website: Getting the statement onto your website.

With the WordPress plugin you can go the same way in the WordPress admin, up to the release: Publishing the statement from WordPress.