DW (Deutsche Welle) strives to make its website accessible to everyone. The web presence should be designed in such a way that it is in accordance with the national legislation on implementing the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament.

This declaration on accessibility applies to the version of this website currently accessible on the Internet: www.dw.com.

 

When was the declaration on accessibility created?

This declaration was created or respectively revised on July 24, 2024.

 

How accessible is the website?

The website dw.com is generally accessible without barriers. For example, the colors used have sufficiently strong contrasts, the text size can be changed, images are provided with a descriptive text (alt tag) and the offer is optimized for the use of reading aloud applications (screen reader). Subtitles are increasingly offered for audiovisual content.

 

Which areas are not yet barrier-free?

Some functions and sections are not yet fully accessible. These include:

 

Barrier: ARIA Landmarks

Description: The awarding of dw.com has not yet been fully completed. As a result the ARIA Landmark for the main content of a website has not yet been awarded

Measures: dw.com is constantly being improved. Fixing this issue is a work in progress.

Time schedule: Expected resolution in 2025.

Barrier: Labeling of form fields

Description: Currently, the user data fields in our forms do not use autocomplete attributes, which are necessary to make the fields easier to fill out. Additionally, some fields lack clear labels, making it difficult to understand what the selections refer to. This can cause screen readers to produce confusing outputs.

Measures: dw.com is constantly being improved. Fixing this issue is a work in progress.

Time schedule: Expected resolution in 2025.

Barrier: Buttons

Description: dw.com uses some individually designed buttons. The design and labeling of these buttons does not yet meet the latest WCAG 2.1 requirements. This applies to various buttons on article pages, structure pages and personal pages.

Measures: dw.com is constantly being improved. Fixing this issue is a work in progress.

Time schedule: Expected resolution in 2025.

Barrier: Error messages in form fields

Description: Error messages are not positioned in the label or directly next to the form field, making them hard to identify and associate correctly.

Measures: dw.com is constantly being improved. Fixing this issue is a work in progress.

Time schedule: Expected resolution in 2025.

Barrier: Mouseover

Description: Currently a mouseover or hover box effect is not available for all elements. This applies to the logo, the rich text links and the main navigation.

Measures: dw.com will be continuously developed. The barrier was recognized and is in the development stage.

Time schedule: Expected resolution in 2025.

Barrier: Non-Text Content Lacks Descriptive Alternative Text

Description: Some images either lack alternative text or have alternative text that is not descriptive enough. This makes it difficult for blind users and screen readers to interpret these graphics.

Measures: dw.com is constantly being improved. Fixing this issue is a work in progress.

Time schedule: Expected resolution in 2025.

 

Barrier: Contrast Mode

Description: When using the contrast mode of the Windows operating system, the display of some elements of the website is currently not WCAG compliant. This applies to the main navigation and overlays.

Barrier: Navigation

Description: Due to technical reasons, there is no breadcrumb navigation for additional orientation.

Barrier: Search

Description: The search mechanism as an additional access path is not yet implemented in the current development on dw.com.

Barrier: Marking of words

Description: Due to technical limitations, it is currently not possible to highlight individual words in a different language.

Barrier: Adjustable Text Spacing

Description: Due to technical limitations, embedded external iFrames cannot adapt to personalized text size and spacing settings.

Barrier: Video

Description: The videos provided on dw.com are currently not WCAG compliant. This applies to the specification of a subtitle as well as the presentation of a media alternative.

 

Feedback?

If you have any questions or comments about digital accessibility on dw.com, please contact us by e-mail: info@dw.com

You can also contact us by mail or telephone:

Deutsche Welle

Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 3
53113 Bonn
Germany

T +49.228.429 - 0