Accessible document services
Annual reports, corporate plans, consultation documents, financial statements – if people need to read them, then they need to work for everyone. We design and produce WCAG 2.2 AA compliant PDFs for organisations such as Transport for Wales, Welsh Government and NHS Wales.
Why this matters
There are two sides to this: the practical and the legal.
On the practical side, around 1 in 5 people in the UK have a disability. That includes people using screen readers, people with dyslexia or cognitive disabilities, people with low vision and colour blindness. When a document is properly accessible, it simply works better for more people. And honestly, the things that make a PDF accessible – clear structure, logical reading order, good contrast – tend to make it better for everyone.
On the legal side, the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 require UK public sector websites and their content – including published PDFs – to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA. The Government Digital Service monitors compliance, so it's something organisations need to stay on top of.
The bit we find most of our clients care about? You don't have to choose between a document that looks great and one that's accessible. With the right approach, you get both.
ISO 9001 Certified
Cyber Essentials Certified
Professionally Trained
BS8555 Certified
What we do
We handle the full journey from initial design through to a fully tagged, tested and compliant accessible PDF. Whether you're starting from scratch with a new document or you have existing PDFs that need accessibility work, we can help.
We design documents from the ground up with accessibility built in from the start using Adobe InDesign. That means the correct use of colour contrast, clear heading structures, legible type sizes, logical reading order and generous white space. The result is a document that looks great and works for everyone.
Already have documents that need making accessible? We'll take your existing PDFs and work through the full remediation process. We can add the proper tag structures, reading order, alt text, language tags and bookmarks to bring them up to WCAG 2.2 AA standard.
As a Welsh agency, we work with the Welsh language every day. We understand the Welsh Language Standards inside out and ensure Welsh and English are treated equally throughout – same fonts, same colours, same prominence. We'll add the correct language tags so screen readers switch seamlessly between languages.
Many of our clients come back to us year after year for their annual reports and recurring publications. We're happy to work on a project basis or as part of an ongoing retainer, whichever suits you best.
The technical
We've developed a thorough workflow over years of producing accessible documents for the public sector. Here's what goes into every document we produce.
Every document gets a proper tag structure. Headings, paragraphs, lists, tables and figures are all correctly nested and ordered. This is what allows a screen reader to navigate your document and understand the hierarchy of the content.
We set and test the reading order so that content is read in the sequence it's meant to be understood. This is especially important for documents with multi-column layouts, pull quotes, sidebars or infographics.
Every image, chart, graph and infographic gets meaningful alternative text so the information is available to everyone, regardless of how they're accessing the document. We'll work with you on this, as you know your content best. It's important not to rely on the ai generated alt text.
We use the TPGI Colour Contrast Analyser and Coblis Colour Blindness Simulator to make sure every colour combination in your document meets contrast requirements and works for people with colour vision deficiencies.
Particularly important for bilingual Welsh/English documents. We tag the language correctly throughout so assistive technology knows when to switch between Welsh and English pronunciation.
Every document is tested with the NVDA and JAWS screen readers before delivery. We don't just run the automated checker in Acrobat (although we do that too) – we listen to the document being read aloud to make sure it actually makes sense.
Our Toolkit
Document design and layout with built-in accessibility features
Accessibility checker, reading order panel and tag tree editing
Real-world testing with the most widely used free screen reader
Precise colour contrast ratio checking
Project investment
Every document is different, so the prices indicated are a guide rather than a fixed rate. Things like infographics and complex tables can add to the overall cost.
In some cases remediation of an existing document isn't possible meaning a new version would need to be created from scratch.
We're always happy to take a look at what you've got and provide you with an accurate quote.
Every document is different, so we quote on a project-by-project basis. As a rough guide:
12 pages
£890+vat
24 pages
£1,250+vat
52 pages
£1,750+vat
100 pages
£2,650+vat
250 pages
£4,400+vat
£251+ pages
Let's chat to discuss
For PDF remediation please contact us to discuss further
Accessible PDFS
Annual Report
We have been working for a number of years to create the annual report and financial statements for TfW. Each report is visually engaging and presents key information in a clear, coherent and informative manner in line with TfW’s brand guidelines and tone of voice. We create bespoke infographics, charts and imagery to help compliment the written content.
Annual Report
We've been working with the Learned Society of Wales on their Annual Review for a number of years. For the 2024–25 edition which marked the Society's 15th anniversary, we designed a special celebratory front cover and developed the full report from concept through to print and accessible digital publication. The Annual Review covers everything from the President's address to fellowship data, grant programmes and global perspectives, so the design needed to handle a real mix of content types. We created custom infographics and charts to bring the numbers to life, and produced the full document in both Welsh and English, with each version feeling equally considered rather than one being a translation of the other. The finished report was published as a fully accessible PDF meeting WCAG standards and as a printed publication.
Strategy Report
We collaborated with the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner to design a fresh, modern and fully accessible Police and Crime Plan for 2025-29. Our goal was to create a visually engaging and WCAG-compliant digital document, alongside a high-quality print version. To enhance relatability, we introduced a new character style that felt more engaging and contemporary, seamlessly integrating them into bespoke landscapes featuring key landmarks from across the Dyfed-Powys region.
Designing accessible pdfs
For public sector organisations in the UK, yes – the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 require website content, including PDFs published after 23 September 2018, to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA. The Government Digital Service monitors compliance, so it's worth getting right. If you're not sure where your documents currently stand, we're happy to take a look and let you know.
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. It's an international standard that sets out how to make digital content accessible to people with disabilities. Level AA is the standard required by UK law. Version 2.2 is the latest version and adds criteria around things like focus visibility and consistent help placement.
Yes. We offer a remediation service where we take your existing PDFs and add the necessary tag structures, reading order, alt text and language tags to bring them up to standard. Please note that sometimes it is more cost effective to rebuild the document rather than add accessible elements to a existing PDF.
It's one of our strengths. We work with the Welsh language every day and understand the Welsh Language Standards thoroughly. We ensure both languages are treated equally in design, and we add the correct language tags so screen readers pronounce Welsh and English correctly.
Those are part of it, but there's quite a bit more involved. A truly accessible PDF needs a proper tag structure (so screen readers understand what's a heading, what's a paragraph, what's a list), a logical reading order (especially important in multi-column layouts), correctly tagged tables, working hyperlinks, language tags for bilingual content, and good colour contrast throughout. Alt text and legible font sizes are important pieces of the puzzle, but on their own they won't get a document to WCAG 2.2 compliance. That's why we take a whole-document approach rather than just ticking a couple of boxes.
Yes, and it makes a real difference to the reader's experience. We add bookmarks to all our accessible PDFs so people can jump straight to the section they need – think of it like a clickable table of contents in the sidebar. We also make sure any internal cross-references and external links are properly tagged and working. For longer documents like annual reports, this kind of navigation is essential – nobody wants to scroll through 80 pages to find the financials.
Under the current regulations, PDFs published before 23 September 2018 are generally exempt – unless they're essential to accessing a service (like a form or application document). Anything published after that date should meet WCAG 2.2 AA. That said, if you've got older documents that are still being widely used, it's worth considering updating them. We can help you prioritise which ones would benefit most.
It depends on the project. For a new document design, we'll need your content (or a draft), any brand guidelines, and an idea of the page count and format. For remediation of an existing document, we just need the PDF – and ideally the original InDesign or source files if you have them, as it gives us more to work with. Either way, we'll have a chat first to understand what you need and make sure we're on the same page before we start.
We can certainly point you in the right direction. If your team uses InDesign, there are specific techniques for setting up documents with accessibility in mind from the start – things like using article threading, paragraph styles and export tagging. We're always happy to share what we've learned. For organisations that want formal training, we'd recommend Accessible Digital Documents (accessible-digital-documents.com) – that's where our own team trained.
Ready to Start
Whether you've got a new annual report on the horizon, existing documents that could do with an accessibility update, or you'd just like to chat through your options we'd love to hear from you. Just a friendly conversation about what you need.