[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":1491},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-cat-compliance-en":3},[4,301,567,842,1267],{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"category":282,"date":283,"description":284,"extension":285,"faq":286,"image":287,"meta":288,"navigation":289,"path":290,"readingTime":291,"seo":292,"stem":293,"updated":294,"video":295,"__hash__":300},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-demand-letter-what-to-do.md","Got a Website Accessibility Complaint? What to Do in the First Week",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":265},"minimark",[10,14,17,24,29,35,52,58,62,67,70,74,77,111,120,123,127,133,136,140,143,170,176,180,188,192,195,199,202,205,209,212,218,224,230,236,242,246,249,257],[11,12,13],"p",{},"It almost always starts in the same order: first the letter arrives, and then the question - \"but we have an accessibility widget on the site, don't we?\"",[11,15,16],{},"So first - breathe. This isn't the end of the world, and it also isn't something you fix in ten minutes. Here's the order the steps are worth doing in, one after another.",[11,18,19,23],{},[20,21,22],"strong",{},"One clarification before we start:"," I'm a developer, not a lawyer. Everything here is the technical side of the story - what's broken on the site and how it gets fixed. For the legal side you'll want someone who does that for a living, and preferably early rather than late.",[25,26,28],"h2",{"id":27},"three-things-not-to-do-in-the-first-moment","Three Things Not to Do in the First Moment",[11,30,31,34],{},[20,32,33],{},"Don't take the site offline."," That's the instinctive reaction for a lot of business owners - no site, no problem. In practice you've done two kinds of damage: you've lost the traffic and the leads, and you've also erased your own best record of what the site actually looked like at the moment of the complaint.",[11,36,37,40,41,46,47,51],{},[20,38,39],{},"Don't install a floating widget and declare it fixed."," This is the biggest temptation, because it takes five minutes and comes with an icon that looks official. The problem is that a widget hovering above your site doesn't change the code underneath it, and anyone reviewing the site seriously will see that within a minute. I went into this in depth in ",[42,43,45],"a",{"href":44},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-plugin-is-it-enough\u002F","the guide to accessibility plugins"," and ",[42,48,50],{"href":49},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fisraeli-website-accessibility-law\u002F","the guide to Israel's accessibility law",", but the bottom line is simple: the widget adds a layer, it doesn't repair the one below it.",[11,53,54,57],{},[20,55,56],{},"Don't ignore it."," A complaint that goes unanswered doesn't disappear, and it doesn't improve with age either. Even if your answer is \"we're reviewing this and will come back to you,\" it's better that it goes out.",[25,59,61],{"id":60},"what-to-do-in-order","What to Do, in Order",[63,64,66],"h3",{"id":65},"_1-document-the-current-state-today","1. Document the Current State, Today",[11,68,69],{},"Before anyone touches a line of code - screenshots of the main pages, desktop and mobile, with the date. If you have access to Google Analytics or Search Console, export the period as well. It sounds bureaucratic, but the moment you start fixing things the previous state disappears, and you will want to be able to show what was there and what you changed.",[63,71,73],{"id":72},"_2-find-whats-actually-broken-not-what-the-tool-says","2. Find What's Actually Broken, Not What the Tool Says",[11,75,76],{},"Automated tools (Lighthouse, axe, WAVE) are a good starting point, but they only catch a portion of the problems. The checks that surface most of what matters need no tools at all:",[78,79,80,87,93,99,105],"ul",{},[81,82,83,86],"li",{},[20,84,85],{},"Keyboard only."," Unplug the mouse. Can you reach every link, every button and every form field with Tab? Can you see where the focus is at any given moment? Can you close a popup without a mouse?",[81,88,89,92],{},[20,90,91],{},"Zoom to 200%."," Does the text grow, or does everything break?",[81,94,95,98],{},[20,96,97],{},"Forms."," Does every field have a permanent label, or just a placeholder that vanishes the moment you start typing? Do error messages say what exactly went wrong?",[81,100,101,104],{},[20,102,103],{},"Images."," Do images that carry information have real alternative text, or \"image1.jpg\"?",[81,106,107,110],{},[20,108,109],{},"Video."," Are there captions?",[112,113],"blog-video",{"captions":114,"height":115,"poster":116,"src":117,"title":118,"width":119},"\u002Fvideos\u002Fkeyboard-only-demo.he.vtt",720,"\u002Fvideos\u002Fkeyboard-only-demo-poster.webp","\u002Fvideos\u002Fkeyboard-only-demo.mp4","Demo: the same two forms, keyboard only",1280,[11,121,122],{},"Write down everything that fails, in one list. That list is worth more than any automated report, because it describes what a real person experiences.",[63,124,126],{"id":125},"_3-understand-the-gap-against-the-requirement","3. Understand the Gap Against the Requirement",[128,129],"blog-figure",{"alt":130,"caption":131,"height":115,"src":132,"width":119},"Two identical-looking forms: broken and accessible - the live demo on the accessibility-check page","The live demo on this site - try it yourself","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-demand-letter-what-to-do\u002Fdemo-forms.webp",[11,134,135],{},"In Israel the relevant standard is IS 5568, which is based on WCAG 2.1 level AA. It isn't a document you need to read cover to cover - you need to know which clauses actually touch your site. A five-page brochure site and an accessible store checkout are two jobs of completely different scale.",[63,137,139],{"id":138},"_4-fix-it-in-code-in-priority-order","4. Fix It in Code, in Priority Order",[11,141,142],{},"Not all fixes are equal. If you have two weeks, this is the order I work in:",[144,145,146,152,158,164],"ol",{},[81,147,148,151],{},[20,149,150],{},"Hard blockers"," - anything that prevents completing an action: a form you can't fill in by keyboard, a popup that won't close, a menu that won't open.",[81,153,154,157],{},[20,155,156],{},"Navigation and structure"," - correct heading hierarchy, consistent navigation, a focus state you can see.",[81,159,160,163],{},[20,161,162],{},"Forms"," - labels, error messages, and the link between a field and its error.",[81,165,166,169],{},[20,167,168],{},"Contrast and alt text"," - the easiest to fix, which is exactly why people start here. Don't start here.",[171,172,173],"blockquote",{},[11,174,175],{},"A good accessibility fix doesn't add a layer on top of the site. It changes the site itself, which is also why it doesn't vanish with the next template update.",[63,177,179],{"id":178},"_5-a-real-accessibility-statement","5. A Real Accessibility Statement",[11,181,182,183,187],{},"Not a template you downloaded and swapped the company name into. A statement that describes the actual situation: what has been made accessible, what hasn't yet, how to contact you about it, and when it was last updated. A statement promising full accessibility on a site that isn't accessible is a problem in its own right. ",[42,184,186],{"href":185},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-accessibility-statement\u002F","Here's how to write one, template included",".",[63,189,191],{"id":190},"_6-keep-a-record-of-what-was-fixed-and-when","6. Keep a Record of What Was Fixed and When",[11,193,194],{},"The list of fixes, the dates, and a re-test at the end. If the process drags on, being able to show that you acted methodically and immediately - rather than six months later - is worth a great deal.",[25,196,198],{"id":197},"how-long-this-takes","How Long This Takes",[11,200,201],{},"Entirely dependent on what you found in step 2. A standard brochure site without complex forms is usually a matter of days. A site with a customer account area, a store or a booking system is a matter of weeks, because every screen that involves user input needs checking on its own.",[11,203,204],{},"That said - the overwhelming majority of problems I find are repeats: the same forms, the same popups, the same menus. Once they're fixed at the template level, they close across the whole site at once.",[25,206,208],{"id":207},"how-to-know-you-actually-closed-it","How to Know You Actually Closed It",[11,210,211],{},"This is the part most people skip, and then discover six months later that the fix didn't hold. Re-testing isn't a formality - it's what turns \"we fixed it\" into \"we can show we fixed it\".",[11,213,214,217],{},[20,215,216],{},"Run the same list from step 2, from the top."," Same checks, same pages, after the work. If a check that failed before passes now, note the date. If it still fails, it isn't fixed, no matter who said it was.",[11,219,220,223],{},[20,221,222],{},"Test journeys, not just individual pages."," Accessibility breaks between pages rather than inside them: homepage, through the form, to the thank-you screen. If you couldn't finish the journey by keyboard alone, it isn't accessible, even if every page passes on its own.",[11,225,226,229],{},[20,227,228],{},"Check on a real device, not only in a tool."," A green automated report after the fix is a good sign, not proof. Five minutes with a keyboard and with text enlarged tells you more.",[11,231,232,235],{},[20,233,234],{},"Keep the result in writing."," What was checked, when, what was found, what was fixed. A one-page document. If the process drags on, that's precisely the document showing you acted methodically.",[11,237,238,241],{},[20,239,240],{},"Set a date for the next check."," Accessibility isn't a state, it's maintenance: every new page, banner, plugin and theme change can break it again. Once a quarter is a sensible rhythm for most sites.",[25,243,245],{"id":244},"the-bottom-line","The Bottom Line",[11,247,248],{},"The complaint isn't the problem, it's the moment the problem became visible. The site wasn't accessible the week before either - nobody had put it in writing.",[11,250,251,252,256],{},"The worst thing you can do right now is look for whichever fix appears fastest. The best thing is to go over the site properly once, fix it in code, and come out of it with a site that genuinely meets the requirement - including an ",[42,253,255],{"href":254},"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Fweb-accessibility\u002F","accessibility statement"," you can stand behind.",[11,258,259,260,264],{},"Got a complaint and you're not sure where your site stands? ",[42,261,263],{"href":262},"\u002Fen\u002Fcontact\u002F","Send me the URL"," - I'll go through it and tell you what's broken, what's critical, and what can be fixed this week.",{"title":266,"searchDepth":267,"depth":267,"links":268},"",2,[269,270,279,280,281],{"id":27,"depth":267,"text":28},{"id":60,"depth":267,"text":61,"children":271},[272,274,275,276,277,278],{"id":65,"depth":273,"text":66},3,{"id":72,"depth":273,"text":73},{"id":125,"depth":273,"text":126},{"id":138,"depth":273,"text":139},{"id":178,"depth":273,"text":179},{"id":190,"depth":273,"text":191},{"id":197,"depth":267,"text":198},{"id":207,"depth":267,"text":208},{"id":244,"depth":267,"text":245},"Compliance","2026-08-10","An accessibility complaint about your site: what not to do first, how to find what's actually broken, why a widget won't save you, and what to document.","md",null,"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-demand-letter-what-to-do\u002Fog-en.jpg",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-demand-letter-what-to-do",7,{"title":6,"description":284},"en\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-demand-letter-what-to-do","2026-08-12",{"src":117,"poster":116,"captions":114,"duration":296,"uploadDate":297,"name":298,"description":299},"PT23S","2026-08-30","Demo: filling a form by keyboard only - broken vs accessible","23 seconds showing what happens when you leave the mouse: in an inaccessible form the focus vanishes and the button can't be reached; in an accessible one everything works. The difference a floating widget can't fix.","2sR7NADRpB9XYBweWUpmrBdydUMwPeDf5SnbCWehgo4",{"id":302,"title":303,"body":304,"category":282,"date":549,"description":550,"extension":285,"faq":551,"image":561,"meta":562,"navigation":289,"path":563,"readingTime":291,"seo":564,"stem":565,"updated":286,"video":286,"__hash__":566},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-plugin-is-it-enough.md","Is an Accessibility Plugin Enough to Comply With Israeli Law?",{"type":8,"value":305,"toc":540},[306,321,324,328,331,351,358,362,368,371,377,383,389,395,402,406,409,429,445,449,460,464,467,493,496,500,506,516,522,526,529],[11,307,308,311,312,316,317,320],{},[20,309,310],{},"The short answer:"," No. A floating accessibility widget changes how your site ",[313,314,315],"em",{},"looks",", but the regulations require conformance with IS 5568 at level AA, and most of its requirements are about how the site is ",[313,318,319],{},"built",". A widget doesn't know what's in your image, can't attach a label to a form field, and doesn't fix a menu that won't open from the keyboard. It can be an extra on top of an accessible site, never a replacement for one.",[11,322,323],{},"Almost every accessibility inquiry that reaches me opens with the same sentence: \"But we have an accessibility plugin.\" I get it. It's cheap, installs in five minutes, and leaves an official-looking icon in the corner of the screen. The problem is that the icon mostly reassures the site owner, not the people who need to use the site.",[25,325,327],{"id":326},"what-the-widget-actually-does","What the Widget Actually Does",[11,329,330],{},"Most floating widgets on the market offer roughly the same menu:",[78,332,333,336,339,342,345,348],{},[81,334,335],{},"Bigger text and spacing",[81,337,338],{},"Contrast modes and grayscale",[81,340,341],{},"Highlighted links and headings",[81,343,344],{},"A large mouse cursor",[81,346,347],{},"Stopping animations",[81,349,350],{},"And sometimes an \"automatic fix\" that injects attributes into the code at load time",[11,352,353,354,357],{},"Some of that is genuinely useful. But notice what the whole list has in common: it all works on the ",[313,355,356],{},"display"," of what already exists. And the people who need an accessible site most - screen reader users, keyboard-only users, people with motor disabilities - don't need bigger text. They need the code to be right.",[25,359,361],{"id":360},"what-the-widget-cant-do-however-hard-it-tries","What the Widget Can't Do, However Hard It Tries",[128,363],{"alt":364,"height":365,"src":366,"width":367},"Four things a floating accessibility widget can't fix: alt text, form labels, keyboard navigation and heading structure",630,"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-plugin-is-it-enough\u002Fcan-cant-en.webp",1200,[11,369,370],{},"Here are four core requirements of the standard, and why a widget solves none of them:",[11,372,373,376],{},[20,374,375],{},"Alt text for images."," An image saying \"Sale: buy one, get one on the whole collection\" needs a description a screen reader can read out. The widget doesn't know what the image says. Widgets that try to guess with AI produce descriptions like \"smiling woman next to a table\", technically correct and completely useless to someone who wanted to know what the sale was.",[11,378,379,382],{},[20,380,381],{},"Form labels."," A field with no label connected in the code is announced as \"edit text\" and nothing more. Is it a name? A phone number? An ID number? The widget can guess from the placeholder, if there is one. When it guesses wrong, it fails silently, and nobody knows.",[11,384,385,388],{},[20,386,387],{},"Keyboard navigation."," A menu that only opens on mouse hover, a button built from a div, a popup that focus escapes from - all of these require changes to the site's own code. A widget that adds a \"keyboard navigation\" button doesn't change the fact that your menu ignores the Enter key.",[11,390,391,394],{},[20,392,393],{},"Headings and content structure."," A \"heading\" that is really just big bold text, links that all say \"click here\", a table that's actually a picture - that's content, and content gets fixed at the source.",[11,396,397,398,401],{},"And the standard requires all of these. ",[42,399,400],{"href":49},"I covered what IS 5568 requires in detail",", but the bottom line is simple: most of the work lives where a widget can't reach.",[25,403,405],{"id":404},"why-the-widget-sometimes-does-harm","Why the Widget Sometimes Does Harm",[11,407,408],{},"This is the part people talk about less. A blind visitor to your site already arrives with a screen reader they know inside out, tuned to the speed and voice that suit them. They don't need an accessibility menu. What actually happens with some widgets:",[78,410,411,417,423],{},[81,412,413,416],{},[20,414,415],{},"Noise."," The widget adds its own announcements and buttons to the page, and the screen reader reads them before the content.",[81,418,419,422],{},[20,420,421],{},"Collisions."," \"Automatic fixes\" that inject inaccurate ARIA attributes can turn a component that worked reasonably into one that's announced wrong.",[81,424,425,428],{},[20,426,427],{},"Keyboard traps."," The widget's own menu is sometimes the least accessible thing on the page.",[11,430,431,432,438,439,444],{},"This isn't just developers' opinion. The international accessibility community has documented these problems for years, for example in the ",[42,433,437],{"href":434,"rel":435},"https:\u002F\u002Foverlayfactsheet.com\u002F",[436],"nofollow","Overlay Fact Sheet",", signed by hundreds of practitioners in the field. And in the US, in 2025, the ",[42,440,443],{"href":441,"rel":442},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ftc.gov\u002Fnews-events\u002Fnews\u002Fpress-releases\u002F2025\u002F04\u002Fftc-approves-final-order-requiring-accessibe-pay-1-million",[436],"Federal Trade Commission approved a final order against one of the large overlay vendors"," over misleading claims that its product makes websites WCAG compliant. A product the regulator barred from claiming it guarantees compliance is not a product to build your defense on.",[25,446,448],{"id":447},"what-about-the-plugin-includes-an-accessibility-statement","What About \"The Plugin Includes an Accessibility Statement\"?",[11,450,451,452,455,456,459],{},"Many widgets also offer a ready-made accessibility statement. Double caution here. The regulations require the statement to describe the accessibility adjustments ",[313,453,454],{},"you made"," and give a way to contact you about accessibility. A generic statement declaring an accessible site, with only a widget underneath, is a document recording in your own words that you knew what was required. ",[42,457,458],{"href":185},"I wrote a separate guide on the accessibility statement",": what must be in it, and how to write it without shooting yourself in the foot.",[25,461,463],{"id":462},"so-what-does-cover-you","So What Does Cover You",[11,465,466],{},"There's no shortcut, but there is a sensible order of work:",[144,468,469,475,481,487],{},[81,470,471,474],{},[20,472,473],{},"A real audit."," An automated tool (Lighthouse, WAVE) for a first picture, then a manual pass with keyboard and screen reader. Automated testing catches only part of the problems, and the part it misses is exactly the part a widget doesn't fix.",[81,476,477,480],{},[20,478,479],{},"Fix at the source."," Alt text, labels, keyboard navigation, contrast, heading structure. On most business sites this is defined, finite work, not an endless project.",[81,482,483,486],{},[20,484,485],{},"A real accessibility statement"," that reflects what was done, with a contact channel someone actually answers.",[81,488,489,492],{},[20,490,491],{},"Keep it that way."," Every new page, banner or embedded component can break what was fixed. Accessibility is part of maintenance, not a one-time event.",[11,494,495],{},"And if after all that you'd like to keep the widget for text sizing and contrast modes - go ahead. On top of a properly accessible site, it's a legitimate extra. Just remember that the browser and operating system already offer most of those options (zoom, high contrast, reduced motion), and the people who need them usually know exactly where they are.",[25,497,499],{"id":498},"questions-that-keep-coming-up","Questions That Keep Coming Up",[11,501,502,505],{},[20,503,504],{},"\"The vendor said the plugin covers me legally.\"","\nAsk what the contract says about the case where a lawsuit arrives. Usually the answer is in the fine print, and it's that the responsibility is yours. I'm a developer, not a lawyer, but the technical part I can say with confidence: a widget does not meet most of the standard's requirements.",[11,507,508,511,512,187],{},[20,509,510],{},"\"I already got a complaint, and the widget was installed.\"","\nA very common situation, and it has its own order of steps: ",[42,513,515],{"href":514},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-demand-letter-what-to-do\u002F","what to do in the first week after an accessibility complaint",[11,517,518,521],{},[20,519,520],{},"\"My site is on Wix, which has built-in accessibility settings.\"","\nPlatform settings help with the infrastructure. The content, images, forms and apps you added are still your responsibility, and that's where most of the problems are.",[25,523,525],{"id":524},"bottom-line","Bottom Line",[11,527,528],{},"An accessibility widget is makeup, and the standard checks the skeleton. If it's all your site has, you're not covered - you only feel covered, which is the more dangerous state.",[11,530,531,532,535,536,539],{},"Need real work rather than a widget? ",[42,533,534],{"href":254},"Website accessibility to IS 5568"," is exactly what I do: I fix the code, and a certified accessibility professional I work with audits the site. ",[42,537,538],{"href":262},"Talk to me",", and we'll figure out together how much work there really is.",{"title":266,"searchDepth":267,"depth":267,"links":541},[542,543,544,545,546,547,548],{"id":326,"depth":267,"text":327},{"id":360,"depth":267,"text":361},{"id":404,"depth":267,"text":405},{"id":447,"depth":267,"text":448},{"id":462,"depth":267,"text":463},{"id":498,"depth":267,"text":499},{"id":524,"depth":267,"text":525},"2026-10-21","A floating accessibility widget doesn't make a site comply with IS 5568. What the widget really does, where it fails, why it sometimes hurts, and what does cover you.",[552,555,558],{"q":553,"a":554},"Is an accessibility plugin enough for a website to comply with the law?","No. The regulations require conformance with IS 5568 at level AA, and most of its requirements concern how the site is built: alt text for images, labels on form fields, keyboard navigation, heading structure. A floating widget changes the display; it doesn't fix code and doesn't know what's in your images.",{"q":556,"a":557},"Can an accessibility plugin do harm?","Yes. Screen reader users already arrive with assistive technology set up exactly the way they like it, and a widget that meddles with the page's code can clash with it: adding noise, changing focus order, or trapping the keyboard inside its own menu.",{"q":559,"a":560},"So should I remove the plugin?","Not necessarily right away. If the site was made accessible properly, some of the widget's options are a legitimate extra. If it's all there is, the problem isn't the widget but what's missing underneath it - and that's where the work starts.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-plugin-is-it-enough\u002Fog-en.jpg",{},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-plugin-is-it-enough",{"title":303,"description":550},"en\u002Fblog\u002Faccessibility-plugin-is-it-enough","rcUIQYGcrqFUoMD7Iua9i5ofpsNiXUPbHC1IGRuQCfA",{"id":568,"title":569,"body":570,"category":282,"date":549,"description":825,"extension":285,"faq":826,"image":836,"meta":837,"navigation":289,"path":838,"readingTime":291,"seo":839,"stem":840,"updated":286,"video":286,"__hash__":841},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-accessibility-statement.md","How to Write a Website Accessibility Statement in Israel (With a Template)",{"type":8,"value":571,"toc":816},[572,577,580,584,592,611,617,620,624,628,660,664,670,680,686,692,696,699,702,706,709,771,778,780,789,795,801,803,806],[11,573,574,576],{},[20,575,310],{}," Regulation 35E of Israel's service accessibility regulations requires a statement, in a prominent place on the site, with three things: information on the accessibility adjustments you made, a way to contact you to report a problem or request an adjustment, and your accessibility coordinator's details if you're required to appoint one. Everything else - standard, level, parts not yet accessible, last-updated date - is what turns the statement from a formality into a credible document. A ready template waits at the end.",[11,578,579],{},"The accessibility statement is one of the only documents on a site that no customer reads, but everyone checking accessibility reads first. It's also where I see the most copy-paste: the exact same text on completely different sites, sometimes including the previous company's name that someone forgot to delete.",[25,581,583],{"id":582},"what-the-regulations-require-exactly","What the Regulations Require, Exactly",[11,585,586,591],{},[42,587,590],{"href":588,"rel":589},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aisrael.org\u002F%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%93%D7%A2-%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%99%D7%A9\u002F%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%98\u002F%D7%AA%D7%A7%D7%A0%D7%AA-%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%98-%D7%A1%D7%A2-35-%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%A7%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%A0\u002F",[436],"Regulation 35E of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities (Service Accessibility Adjustments) Regulations"," (Hebrew) is fairly short. It requires you to state \"in a prominent place\" on the site, and in your app if there is one, a statement that includes:",[144,593,594,599,605],{},[81,595,596],{},[20,597,598],{},"Information on the accessibility adjustments you made.",[81,600,601,604],{},[20,602,603],{},"The accessibility coordinator's details and how to reach them"," - if you're required by law to appoint one. Not every business is, and it's worth checking with a qualified professional rather than guessing.",[81,606,607,610],{},[20,608,609],{},"Contact details"," for reporting a missing accessibility adjustment or requesting one.",[11,612,613,614,187],{},"On top of that, the regulation points to the Israeli standard IS 5568's guidance on accessibility statements, and adds one important requirement: anyone granted an exemption from a specific adjustment must provide alternative access and ",[20,615,616],{},"publish both the exemption and the alternative in the statement",[11,618,619],{},"That's the minimum. Now for the part that separates a statement that ticks the box from one that actually helps you.",[25,621,623],{"id":622},"whats-worth-adding-even-if-it-isnt-spelled-out","What's Worth Adding, Even if It Isn't Spelled Out",[128,625],{"alt":626,"height":365,"src":627,"width":367},"Anatomy of an accessibility statement: what was done, what's not yet, how to reach us, when it was updated","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-accessibility-statement\u002Fanatomy-en.webp",[78,629,630,636,642,648,654],{},[81,631,632,635],{},[20,633,634],{},"What the site was made accessible to."," IS 5568 at level AA, and to what extent. One sentence, but it shows you know what the standard requires.",[81,637,638,641],{},[20,639,640],{},"What still isn't accessible, and why."," A third-party component you don't control, old PDF files, an archive not yet handled. Honesty here isn't weakness: it shows you checked, and it usually comes with an alternative (\"you can get this information by phone\").",[81,643,644,647],{},[20,645,646],{},"How the site was tested."," Manual testing with keyboard, screen reader, in major browsers. You don't need to list every tool, but \"tested\" says more than \"accessible\".",[81,649,650,653],{},[20,651,652],{},"Last-updated date."," A 2019 statement on a site redesigned in 2025 describes nothing real.",[81,655,656,659],{},[20,657,658],{},"Physical accessibility arrangements",", if you have an office, shop or clinic that receives visitors.",[25,661,663],{"id":662},"four-things-you-never-write-in-a-statement","Four Things You Never Write in a Statement",[11,665,666,669],{},[20,667,668],{},"\"The site is fully accessible.\""," Almost no site is fully accessible, and this sentence turns every problem anyone finds into proof the statement is false.",[11,671,672,675,676,679],{},[20,673,674],{},"\"The site is made accessible by an accessibility plugin.\""," That describes a tool, not adjustments. ",[42,677,678],{"href":44},"A floating widget doesn't meet most of the standard's requirements",", and writing that it's your solution documents that the solution is missing.",[11,681,682,685],{},[20,683,684],{},"Contact details nobody answers."," An inbox nobody reads, or a general call-center number. Someone contacting you about accessibility should get a response, and that's exactly where a small issue can be resolved before it becomes a big one.",[11,687,688,691],{},[20,689,690],{},"Another company's name."," Sounds funny, happens all the time. Read your statement word by word at least once.",[25,693,695],{"id":694},"where-to-put-it","Where to Put It",[11,697,698],{},"A separate page, at a stable URL, linked from the footer of every page on the site. That's where people look for it, and it's the simplest way to satisfy \"a prominent place\". If you have an app, the regulations require the statement there too.",[11,700,701],{},"And the page itself must be accessible. An accessibility statement inside a scanned PDF, or on a page with light gray text on white, is a joke people have already heard.",[25,703,705],{"id":704},"a-template-you-can-adapt","A Template You Can Adapt",[11,707,708],{},"This is a starting point, not a document to copy as is. Everything in square brackets gets filled in for your site, and every sentence that isn't true for you gets deleted.",[171,710,711,716,723,732,741,749,765],{},[11,712,713],{},[20,714,715],{},"Accessibility Statement",[11,717,718,722],{},[719,720,721],"span",{},"Business name"," is committed to providing equal service to all customers, and works to make this site accessible to people with disabilities.",[11,724,725,728,729,187],{},[20,726,727],{},"Adjustments made:"," This site was made accessible in accordance with the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities (Service Accessibility Adjustments) Regulations, 2013, and Israeli Standard IS 5568 at level AA. Among other things: full keyboard navigation, alt text for images, labels on all form fields, color contrast per the standard, proper heading structure, and the ability to pause moving content. The site was tested ",[719,730,731],{},"manually with keyboard and screen reader \u002F in browsers: ...",[11,733,734,737,738],{},[20,735,736],{},"Parts not yet accessible:"," ",[719,739,740],{},"e.g. the appointment booking system is run by an external provider and is not fully accessible. Appointments can also be booked by phone ...",[11,742,743,737,746],{},[20,744,745],{},"Accessibility at our office:",[719,747,748],{},"if relevant",[11,750,751,754,755,758,759,762,763,187],{},[20,752,753],{},"Ran into a problem?"," We'd like to hear about it and fix it. ",[719,756,757],{},"Coordinator or responsible person",", phone: ",[719,760,761],{},"...",", email: ",[719,764,761],{},[11,766,767,768,187],{},"This statement was last updated on ",[719,769,770],{},"date",[11,772,773,774,187],{},"For a live example, you can peek at ",[42,775,777],{"href":776},"\u002Fen\u002Faccessibility-statement\u002F","this site's own accessibility statement",[25,779,499],{"id":498},[11,781,782,785,786,187],{},[20,783,784],{},"\"I'm a small business. Do I need a statement too?\"","\nThe regulations have carve-outs for small businesses, but they're conditional, and in some cases you're still required to publish on the site how to contact you to receive the service. Don't assume an exemption without checking it. ",[42,787,788],{"href":49},"I wrote here about who must make their site accessible",[11,790,791,794],{},[20,792,793],{},"\"Who writes the statement, me or the developer?\"","\nWhoever made the site accessible knows what was done and what wasn't, so they should write the technical part. But responsibility for the statement and for answering inquiries lies with the site owner.",[11,796,797,800],{},[20,798,799],{},"\"How often should it be updated?\"","\nAfter every significant change to the site, and at least once a year to make sure it's still accurate. If the contact details change, immediately.",[25,802,525],{"id":524},[11,804,805],{},"A good accessibility statement is short, specific and honest: what you did, what's not done yet, and who to contact. It doesn't replace making the site accessible, but a bad statement can definitely work against you.",[11,807,808,809,812,813,815],{},"Want an accessible site and a statement that describes reality? On every ",[42,810,811],{"href":254},"accessibility project"," I fix the code, and the audit is done by a certified accessibility professional I work with - so the statement rests on a real check. ",[42,814,538],{"href":262}," and we'll start there.",{"title":266,"searchDepth":267,"depth":267,"links":817},[818,819,820,821,822,823,824],{"id":582,"depth":267,"text":583},{"id":622,"depth":267,"text":623},{"id":662,"depth":267,"text":663},{"id":694,"depth":267,"text":695},{"id":704,"depth":267,"text":705},{"id":498,"depth":267,"text":499},{"id":524,"depth":267,"text":525},"The accessibility statement under Regulation 35: what the regulations require in it, where to put it, what never to write, and a template you can adapt to your site.",[827,830,833],{"q":828,"a":829},"What must a website accessibility statement include in Israel?","Under Regulation 35E of the service accessibility regulations: information on the accessibility adjustments you made on the site, contact details for reporting an accessibility problem or requesting an adjustment, and your accessibility coordinator's details if you're required to appoint one. If you received an exemption from a specific adjustment, the exemption and the alternative you offer must appear in the statement too.",{"q":831,"a":832},"Where should the accessibility statement go?","The regulations require the statement to appear in a prominent place on the site, and in your app if you have one. In practice: a separate page, linked from the footer of every page, and often from the accessibility menu or main navigation as well.",{"q":834,"a":835},"Can I copy an accessibility statement from another site?","The structure, yes. The content, no. The statement is supposed to describe the adjustments made on your site and what is still not accessible on it. A copied statement claiming things that weren't done is a document that works against you.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-accessibility-statement\u002Fog-en.jpg",{},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-accessibility-statement",{"title":569,"description":825},"en\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-write-accessibility-statement","Hc4ftObgeZfWiRqMRdjXVmifW3afFr3VkM_SS3rdT_k",{"id":843,"title":844,"body":845,"category":282,"date":1257,"description":1258,"extension":285,"faq":286,"image":1259,"meta":1260,"navigation":289,"path":1261,"readingTime":1262,"seo":1263,"stem":1264,"updated":1265,"video":286,"__hash__":1266},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fisraeli-website-accessibility-law.md","Israel Website Accessibility Law (IS 5568): Who Must Comply [2026]",{"type":8,"value":846,"toc":1244},[847,850,853,857,860,863,877,880,884,898,901,904,908,911,978,984,988,993,996,1001,1004,1007,1017,1021,1028,1031,1034,1038,1044,1074,1080,1084,1087,1142,1150,1154,1157,1160,1163,1177,1180,1184,1187,1190,1193,1195,1201,1207,1213,1219,1227,1230,1233],[11,848,849],{},"Let me be honest with you: most business owners have heard \"something about an accessibility law,\" installed a floating widget with a wheelchair icon, and moved on feeling covered. I understand the appeal - it takes five minutes and looks official. The problem is that in most cases it does not satisfy the legal requirements, and meanwhile accessibility lawsuits against websites are no longer a theoretical scenario in Israel. They are routine.",[11,851,852],{},"I've been working on website accessibility for years, and this article collects everything you actually need to know: who is obligated, what the Israeli standard really demands, what that means for your site in practice, and what genuine compliance looks like - as opposed to the \"we installed a plugin\" kind.",[25,854,856],{"id":855},"who-is-required-to-make-their-website-accessible","Who is required to make their website accessible?",[11,858,859],{},"The legal foundation is Israel's Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, together with the regulations enacted under it - the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (Service Accessibility Adjustments). Regulation 35 of those regulations deals specifically with the accessibility of internet services, and it is what extends the accessibility obligation to websites.",[11,861,862],{},"The principle is simple: if you provide a service to the public, and your website is part of how the public receives that service, the website must be accessible. That casts a very wide net:",[78,864,865,868,871,874],{},[81,866,867],{},"Businesses selling products or services through their site - online stores, obviously, but also brochure sites with a contact form",[81,869,870],{},"Professional service providers: law firms, accountants, clinics, salons",[81,872,873],{},"Restaurants and cafes that display a menu or take orders online",[81,875,876],{},"Public bodies and government entities, which face even stricter requirements",[11,878,879],{},"The regulations do include certain exemptions and qualifications, some of them tied to the scale of the business - but I strongly recommend not banking on an exemption without checking with a professional. Exemptions come with specific conditions, and some still require you to take certain actions (such as publishing an accessibility statement). The assumption \"we're a small business, this doesn't apply to us\" is exactly the assumption that ends in a demand letter from a lawyer.",[25,881,883],{"id":882},"what-is-is-5568-and-how-does-it-relate-to-wcag","What is IS 5568, and how does it relate to WCAG?",[11,885,886,887,892,893,187],{},"Israeli Standard 5568 (ת\"י 5568) is the standard that defines what an \"accessible website\" means for the purposes of the regulations. The good news: the Standards Institution of Israel did not reinvent the wheel. The Israeli standard essentially adopts ",[42,888,891],{"href":889,"rel":890},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.w3.org\u002FWAI\u002Fstandards-guidelines\u002Fwcag\u002F",[436],"WCAG - the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines"," - the international guidelines for web content accessibility developed by the W3C, the body that standardizes the web itself. The full criterion-by-criterion list is in ",[42,894,897],{"href":895,"rel":896},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.w3.org\u002FWAI\u002FWCAG21\u002Fquickref\u002F",[436],"the official W3C quick reference",[11,899,900],{},"WCAG defines three conformance levels: A (basic), AA (intermediate), and AAA (strict). The requirement in Israel, as in most of the Western world, is conformance at level AA. In other words: if your site meets WCAG at level AA, you are on the right track for the Israeli standard as well.",[11,902,903],{},"This carries an encouraging implication: accessibility is not some \"Israeli invention\" that requires special local solutions. A site built properly to accepted international standards is an accessible site. Anyone telling you that you need a \"special Israeli solution\" in the form of this or that plugin is probably selling you something.",[25,905,907],{"id":906},"what-does-aa-mean-in-practice-ten-real-world-examples","What does AA mean in practice? Ten real-world examples",[11,909,910],{},"\"Level AA conformance\" sounds like a contract clause. In practice it is a list of very concrete requirements. Here are ten of the central ones, in human language:",[144,912,913,919,925,931,942,948,954,960,966,972],{},[81,914,915,918],{},[20,916,917],{},"Full keyboard navigation."," Everything a user can do with a mouse - menus, buttons, forms, popups - must also be possible with a keyboard alone. People with motor disabilities, and screen reader users, simply don't use a mouse.",[81,920,921,924],{},[20,922,923],{},"Alternative text for images (alt text)."," Every image that conveys information needs a text description a screen reader can announce. A banner image saying \"50% off everything\" with no alt text is, for a blind user, an empty rectangle.",[81,926,927,930],{},[20,928,929],{},"Sufficient color contrast."," Light gray text on a white background looks \"clean\" to a designer but is unreadable for people with low vision - and for anyone checking their phone in the sun. The standard defines minimum contrast ratios between text and background.",[81,932,933,936,937,941],{},[20,934,935],{},"Forms with clear labels."," Every form field needs a label programmatically associated with it, and error messages must explain what went wrong and how to fix it - not just turn the field red. Incidentally, that same form also has to satisfy ",[42,938,940],{"href":939},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fprivacy-law-amendment-13-guide\u002F","the notice duty of Privacy Law Amendment 13"," - worth sorting both out in the same round.",[81,943,944,947],{},[20,945,946],{},"Captions for videos."," Video content with speech needs captions so that deaf and hard-of-hearing users can consume it.",[81,949,950,953],{},[20,951,952],{},"A proper heading structure."," Headings (H1, H2, H3) must reflect the logical structure of the page, because screen reader users navigate through them. A heading that is really just large bold text doesn't count.",[81,955,956,959],{},[20,957,958],{},"Links that explain themselves."," \"Click here\" and \"read more\" are meaningless when announced out of context. A link should say where it leads.",[81,961,962,965],{},[20,963,964],{},"The ability to stop moving content."," Carousels, animations, and auto-rotating sliders must be pausable. Content in constant motion is a genuine barrier for people with attention and cognitive disabilities.",[81,967,968,971],{},[20,969,970],{},"Text resizing without breaking the page."," A user who enlarges the text in their browser should get a readable, usable page - not a salad of overlapping elements.",[81,973,974,977],{},[20,975,976],{},"Screen reader compatibility."," Interactive components - accordions, modal dialogs, tabs - must be built so a screen reader understands what they are and what state they're in. That requires proper semantic code, and sometimes judicious use of ARIA.",[11,979,980,981,983],{},"Notice the pattern: every one of these requirements concerns how the site is ",[313,982,319],{},". Which brings us to the most important point in this article.",[25,985,987],{"id":986},"why-an-overlay-widget-doesnt-solve-your-problem","Why an overlay widget doesn't solve your problem",[128,989],{"alt":990,"caption":991,"height":115,"src":992,"width":119},"Two identical-looking forms: one broken, one accessible","From the live demo on this site","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fisraeli-website-accessibility-law\u002Fdemo-forms.webp",[11,994,995],{},"Floating accessibility overlays - those widgets that add a corner icon with options like text enlargement and contrast toggles - are the most common \"solution\" in the Israeli market. They are also, in most cases, not enough.",[171,997,998],{},[11,999,1000],{},"An overlay can change how your site looks. It cannot change how your site is built - and most of the standard's requirements are about exactly that.",[11,1002,1003],{},"Look back at the list above: a widget cannot add meaningful alt text to your images, because it has no idea what's in them. It cannot fix a form built without labels, cannot reorganize a broken heading structure, and cannot turn a menu that doesn't work with a keyboard into one that does. It is a cosmetic layer over the existing code.",[11,1005,1006],{},"Worse - some overlays actively interfere with assistive technology users, because they manipulate the page in ways that clash with screen readers users have already configured exactly how they need them. And the legal bottom line: installing a widget does not, by itself, confer conformance with the standard, and accessibility lawsuits are filed against sites with a prominent accessibility icon in the corner all the time.",[11,1008,1009,1010,1013,1014,187],{},"That doesn't mean overlays have no place - some of what they offer is a nice addition ",[313,1011,1012],{},"on top of"," a properly accessible site. An addition, though. Not a substitute. ",[42,1015,1016],{"href":44},"I broke down what an accessibility widget does and can't do here",[25,1018,1020],{"id":1019},"what-happens-if-you-dont-comply-on-legal-exposure","What happens if you don't comply? On legal exposure",[11,1022,1023,1024,1027],{},"Here's the part that makes business owners sit up straight. The Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law allows for statutory compensation - meaning monetary damages awarded ",[20,1025,1026],{},"without any need to prove actual harm",". A person with a disability who encounters an inaccessible website does not need to show they lost money or suffered tangible injury; the discrimination itself is the cause of action.",[11,1029,1030],{},"The practical consequence: a whole field of website accessibility litigation has emerged in Israel, and some plaintiffs scan sites systematically. A business with an inaccessible website is an easy target - the check is simple, the violation is easy to demonstrate, and the compensation doesn't require proof of damages. I'm deliberately avoiding specific figures, because they vary between cases and you should get current legal advice; but trust me that the cost of proper accessibility work is significantly lower than the cost of dealing with a lawsuit, even one that ends in a settlement.",[11,1032,1033],{},"Beyond the legal angle, there's plain business logic: people with disabilities are a large customer base, and an inaccessible site is a site voluntarily turning customers away. There's a bonus, too: many accessibility principles (semantic structure, alt text, heading hierarchy) overlap with the principles of good SEO. An accessible site is almost always a better-ranking site.",[25,1035,1037],{"id":1036},"the-accessibility-statement-the-page-your-site-must-have","The accessibility statement: the page your site must have",[11,1039,1040,1041,1043],{},"Part of the requirements is publishing an ",[20,1042,255],{}," on the site - a dedicated page, itself accessible and easy to find (usually linked from the footer), which details:",[78,1045,1046,1052,1058,1064,1069],{},[81,1047,1048,1051],{},[20,1049,1050],{},"The site's accessibility status"," - which adjustments it meets, under which standard and at what level",[81,1053,1054,1057],{},[20,1055,1056],{},"Which parts are not accessible",", if any, and why (for example, a third-party component you don't control)",[81,1059,1060,1063],{},[20,1061,1062],{},"Contact details for the accessibility coordinator or responsible person"," - name, phone, email - so a user who hits a barrier knows who to turn to",[81,1065,1066,1068],{},[20,1067,658],{},", if the business has a branch or office serving the public (accessible parking, wheelchair access, and so on)",[81,1070,1071],{},[20,1072,1073],{},"The date the statement was last updated",[11,1075,1076,1077,187],{},"An accessibility statement is not marketing copy, and not a file to copy-paste from another site. A statement declaring \"this site is fully accessible\" when it isn't can actually make your position worse - it documents, in your own words, that you knew what was required. ",[42,1078,1079],{"href":185},"A separate guide covers exactly what the regulations require, with a template to adapt",[25,1081,1083],{"id":1082},"a-practical-checklist-where-to-start","A practical checklist: where to start",[11,1085,1086],{},"If you've read this far and want to know what to do tomorrow morning, here's the order of operations I recommend:",[144,1088,1089,1095,1101,1107,1113,1119,1125,1131],{},[81,1090,1091,1094],{},[20,1092,1093],{},"Audit the current state."," Run an automated scan (tools like Lighthouse or WAVE give a free first impression), but remember automated testing catches only a portion of the issues. Manual testing with a keyboard and a screen reader is the real test.",[81,1096,1097,1100],{},[20,1098,1099],{},"Navigate your site with a keyboard only."," Try reaching every menu, button, and form without touching the mouse. If you get stuck, so do your users.",[81,1102,1103,1106],{},[20,1104,1105],{},"Check your images."," Do meaningful images have descriptive alt text? Are decorative images marked as such?",[81,1108,1109,1112],{},[20,1110,1111],{},"Check contrast."," Free tools will measure text-to-background contrast ratios against the standard.",[81,1114,1115,1118],{},[20,1116,1117],{},"Go through your forms."," Labels, clear error messages, and the ability to complete and submit with a keyboard.",[81,1120,1121,1124],{},[20,1122,1123],{},"Handle video and moving content."," Captions for videos, a pause control for carousels.",[81,1126,1127,1130],{},[20,1128,1129],{},"Write and publish an accessibility statement"," that reflects the true state of things, including contact details.",[81,1132,1133,1136,1137,1141],{},[20,1134,1135],{},"Set up ongoing maintenance."," Accessibility is not a one-time project - every new page, banner, or plugin can break it. Fold an accessibility check into every significant update, and if your site accumulates technical issues over time, ",[42,1138,1140],{"href":1139},"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Fwebsite-fixes\u002F","proper fixes and maintenance work"," is the place to address that too.",[11,1143,1144,1145,1149],{},"And if your site is old, built on an outdated template, or full of code nobody understands anymore - sometimes ",[42,1146,1148],{"href":1147},"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Fwebsite-development\u002F","rebuilding it as an accessible site from the ground up"," is cheaper and simpler than retrofitting accessibility onto what exists. That's a calculation worth making with open eyes.",[25,1151,1153],{"id":1152},"the-part-people-break-without-noticing-embedded-widgets","The Part People Break Without Noticing: Embedded Widgets",[11,1155,1156],{},"Plenty of sites that were made properly accessible break a week later for the same reason: someone embedded a third-party component. A booking form, a chat widget, a map, a video player, a calculator, a payment module.",[11,1158,1159],{},"These usually sit inside an iframe, which makes them a world of their own - your code doesn't control them, and your accessibility work doesn't apply to them. If the chat can't be closed by keyboard, or a booking can't be completed without a mouse, that counts as a blocker on your site, even though the code isn't yours.",[11,1161,1162],{},"What I check on every embedded component before it goes in:",[78,1164,1165,1168,1171,1174],{},[81,1166,1167],{},"Can you enter and leave it by keyboard alone, without getting trapped inside it?",[81,1169,1170],{},"Can you complete the action it exists for - book, pay, send - without a mouse?",[81,1172,1173],{},"Does it have alternative text or a description for someone who can't see it?",[81,1175,1176],{},"If it fails to load, is there still another way to complete the action?",[11,1178,1179],{},"If the answer to any of those is no, there are three options: ask the vendor for an accessible version (sometimes one exists), switch vendor, or leave a clear alternative route - phone, WhatsApp, a plain form - that completes the same action. The third is usually the quickest, and it's simply good service anyway.",[25,1181,1183],{"id":1182},"the-files-you-upload-count-too-pdfs-menus-and-catalogs","The Files You Upload Count Too: PDFs, Menus, and Catalogs",[11,1185,1186],{},"A common blind spot: the site itself was made properly accessible, but the menu is a photo uploaded as a PDF, the price list is an image of a table, and the catalog is a scan of the printed brochure. To a screen reader, all of these are blank pages - and they are part of the service your site provides, exactly like any other page on it.",[11,1188,1189],{},"The order of priorities I recommend: first, whatever can live as a regular page on the site should live as a regular page. A restaurant menu as HTML text is accessible, indexable by Google, and quick to open on a phone - three birds on the same page. If a PDF is genuinely needed (a printable document, an official form), it should be generated from a text file - Word or a design tool with accessible export - not from a scan, so the text inside it can be selected and read aloud.",[11,1191,1192],{},"And wherever an inaccessible file remains, the rule from the previous section applies here too: a clear alternative way to get the same information - a parallel text page, or at least a phone number someone answers.",[25,1194,499],{"id":498},[11,1196,1197,1200],{},[20,1198,1199],{},"\"My site is on Wix\u002FShopify - does that cover me?\"","\nNo. The obligation sits with the site owner, not the platform. A good platform makes the work easier because some of the underlying structure is already accessible, but the content you uploaded, the theme you picked and the apps you added are yours.",[11,1202,1203,1206],{},[20,1204,1205],{},"\"My site is small, five pages. Even then?\"","\nYes. Size doesn't change the obligation - it only changes how much work there is. Five pages without complex forms is usually a short job.",[11,1208,1209,1212],{},[20,1210,1211],{},"\"I made the site accessible three years ago. Does that still hold?\"","\nDepends what happened since. Every new page, banner, plugin and theme change can break existing accessibility. If nobody has touched the site, you're probably fine. If a store, a form or a popup went in, it's worth re-checking.",[11,1214,1215,1218],{},[20,1216,1217],{},"\"Who is supposed to sign the accessibility statement?\"","\nThe statement sets out the state of the site and how to raise an issue, and responsibility for it sits with the site owner. If someone offers you a generic statement without actually reviewing the site, it isn't worth the file it's written in.",[11,1220,1221,1224,1225,187],{},[20,1222,1223],{},"\"I received an accessibility complaint. What now?\"","\nThat's a different situation with its own order of operations - I wrote a separate guide on it: ",[42,1226,515],{"href":514},[25,1228,1229],{"id":524},"Bottom line",[11,1231,1232],{},"Website accessibility in Israel is a legal obligation, but I'd suggest looking at it another way too: it's an opportunity to build a better site - one more people can use, one Google likes more, and one that isn't waiting for a demand letter in the mail. A floating widget won't do the job; professional work on the code, content, and structure will.",[11,1234,1235,1236,1239,1240,1243],{},"Feeling like your site isn't there yet? I offer ",[42,1237,1238],{"href":254},"a professional accessibility audit and remediation to IS 5568"," - ",[42,1241,1242],{"href":262},"get in touch"," and we'll go through it together, no jargon and no scare tactics.",{"title":266,"searchDepth":267,"depth":267,"links":1245},[1246,1247,1248,1249,1250,1251,1252,1253,1254,1255,1256],{"id":855,"depth":267,"text":856},{"id":882,"depth":267,"text":883},{"id":906,"depth":267,"text":907},{"id":986,"depth":267,"text":987},{"id":1019,"depth":267,"text":1020},{"id":1036,"depth":267,"text":1037},{"id":1082,"depth":267,"text":1083},{"id":1152,"depth":267,"text":1153},{"id":1182,"depth":267,"text":1183},{"id":498,"depth":267,"text":499},{"id":524,"depth":267,"text":1229},"2026-06-10","A plain-language guide to Israel's website accessibility law: who must comply, what IS 5568 and WCAG AA require, and why overlay widgets fall short.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fisraeli-website-accessibility-law\u002Fog-en.jpg",{},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fisraeli-website-accessibility-law",9,{"title":844,"description":1258},"en\u002Fblog\u002Fisraeli-website-accessibility-law","2026-09-06","4d5fSDANHRRFuQyo9Cg1-7FLcVCeUBE-QQItlF4ip8w",{"id":1268,"title":1269,"body":1270,"category":282,"date":1483,"description":1484,"extension":285,"faq":286,"image":1485,"meta":1486,"navigation":289,"path":1487,"readingTime":291,"seo":1488,"stem":1489,"updated":286,"video":286,"__hash__":1490},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fprivacy-law-amendment-13-guide.md","Israel's Privacy Law Amendment 13: What a Site Owner Actually Has to Do",{"type":8,"value":1271,"toc":1474},[1272,1279,1285,1289,1292,1318,1324,1328,1331,1338,1342,1348,1351,1365,1372,1375,1380,1384,1387,1390,1394,1400,1444,1447,1451,1454,1456,1463],[11,1273,1274,1275,187],{},"Is there a contact form on your site? A name and phone field? Then Amendment 13 to Israel's Privacy Protection Law is talking to you too - not just to banks and HMOs. It has been in force since 14 August 2025, and most small sites simply haven't caught up yet. This guide explains what to do; and if you'd rather someone simply did it, that's exactly ",[42,1276,1278],{"href":1277},"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Fprivacy-amendment-13\u002F","the Amendment 13 compliance service",[11,1280,1281,1284],{},[20,1282,1283],{},"The usual clarification first:"," I'm a developer, not a lawyer. What's written here is the site's side - what the code and the pages need to do. The full legal side gets closed with a lawyer, preferably one who works in privacy.",[25,1286,1288],{"id":1287},"what-changed-in-two-minutes","What Changed, in Two Minutes",[11,1290,1291],{},"The Privacy Protection Law dates from 1981. Amendment 13 is its big update for an era where every business collects digital information, and it does several things at once:",[78,1293,1294,1300,1306,1312],{},[81,1295,1296,1299],{},[20,1297,1298],{},"Expands the duty of notification."," When personal information is collected, the person must be told clearly: what is collected, for what purpose, whether it is passed to anyone else, and what their rights are - access, correction and deletion.",[81,1301,1302,1305],{},[20,1303,1304],{},"Significantly strengthens enforcement."," The Privacy Protection Authority has broader powers than before, and there is exposure to lawsuits as well. I deliberately avoid quoting amounts - they depend on circumstances, and that is what legal counsel is for.",[81,1307,1308,1311],{},[20,1309,1310],{},"Requires appointing a privacy protection officer"," in certain kinds of organisations.",[81,1313,1314,1317],{},[20,1315,1316],{},"Reduces the database registration obligation"," - less bureaucracy on that side, more responsibility on the transparency side, toward the people themselves.",[11,1319,1320,1321],{},"For an average site owner, the line that matters is the first one: ",[20,1322,1323],{},"the duty of notification meets you at every form.",[25,1325,1327],{"id":1326},"what-counts-as-personal-information-on-a-normal-site","What Counts as \"Personal Information\" on a Normal Site",[11,1329,1330],{},"More than you'd think. A name and phone in a form - yes. A newsletter email address - yes. But also what you can't see: a Facebook pixel identifying visitors, an analytics system recognising a return visit, a mailing platform tracking opens. If something on the site sends data about the visitor to any server - it's in scope.",[11,1332,1333,1334,1337],{},"Which is why the first step is not writing a policy. The first step is ",[20,1335,1336],{},"mapping",": which forms exist, which scripts run, and what each one collects. You can't notify about what you haven't mapped.",[25,1339,1341],{"id":1340},"the-duty-of-notification-on-forms-what-right-looks-like","The Duty of Notification on Forms: What Right Looks Like",[128,1343],{"alt":1344,"caption":1345,"height":1346,"src":1347,"width":119},"This site's contact form, with the notification line beside the submit button","How it looks on this site",900,"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fprivacy-law-amendment-13-guide\u002Fform-notice.webp",[11,1349,1350],{},"The requirement is not a long legal page beside every field. It's a few clear lines, attached to the form itself:",[78,1352,1353,1356,1359,1362],{},[81,1354,1355],{},"What is collected (name, phone, email).",[81,1357,1358],{},"Why (to get back to you about your enquiry).",[81,1360,1361],{},"Whether the information is passed on (to a mailing system, for example).",[81,1363,1364],{},"A link to the full privacy policy, and how to request access or deletion.",[11,1366,1367,1368,1371],{},"Two principles turn this from fine print into something real: the notice sits ",[20,1369,1370],{},"beside the form",", not buried in the footer; and it's written in human language, not contract language.",[11,1373,1374],{},"And if there's marketing email - its consent is separate, not pre-ticked, and not a condition for getting the service.",[171,1376,1377],{},[11,1378,1379],{},"A privacy policy is a declaration. What matters is whether the site actually does what it says - and doesn't do what it doesn't say.",[25,1381,1383],{"id":1382},"the-common-mistake-a-generated-policy","The Common Mistake: a Generated Policy",[11,1385,1386],{},"Because the law came into force, tools popped up that produce a \"customised privacy policy\" in one click. The problem is identical to floating accessibility widgets, and regular readers already know the line: the generator adds a page, it doesn't change what the site does.",[11,1388,1389],{},"If the policy declares \"we do not share information with third parties\" while a Meta pixel fires on every page - you've created a document that contradicts reality, which is worse than writing nothing. The right order is the reverse: first fix what the site does, then write down what it does.",[25,1391,1393],{"id":1392},"a-practical-site-checklist","A Practical Site Checklist",[128,1395],{"alt":1396,"caption":1397,"height":1398,"src":1399,"width":119},"This site's cookie notice - one button, no toggles","This site's cookie notice",800,"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fprivacy-law-amendment-13-guide\u002Fcookie-notice.webp",[144,1401,1402,1408,1414,1420,1426,1432,1438],{},[81,1403,1404,1407],{},[20,1405,1406],{},"Map."," Every form, every external script, everything that collects something. Half an hour's work on most small sites.",[81,1409,1410,1413],{},[20,1411,1412],{},"A notice beside every form."," Short, clear, in human language.",[81,1415,1416,1419],{},[20,1417,1418],{},"Separate marketing consent",", never pre-ticked.",[81,1421,1422,1425],{},[20,1423,1424],{},"Cookie and measurement disclosure."," A notice about the use, detail in the policy.",[81,1427,1428,1431],{},[20,1429,1430],{},"A privacy policy describing this site",", not a generic one - including a contact route for access and deletion requests.",[81,1433,1434,1437],{},[20,1435,1436],{},"HTTPS and minimisation."," Don't collect fields you don't need. Every field removed from a form is both one less obligation and more conversions.",[81,1439,1440,1443],{},[20,1441,1442],{},"A consistency check",": the policy, the forms and the actual behaviour all say the same thing.",[11,1445,1446],{},"If you want to see it live - this very site went through the process: a cookie notice, form notification, and a policy written from what actually runs here.",[25,1448,1450],{"id":1449},"what-about-sites-that-also-serve-abroad","What About Sites That Also Serve Abroad?",[11,1452,1453],{},"Amendment 13 is Israeli law and applies to your Israeli site regardless. If you also sell to customers in the EU, GDPR is a separate and in places stricter obligation. The good news: a site in order under Amendment 13 has covered serious ground in that direction too.",[25,1455,245],{"id":244},[11,1457,1458,1459,1462],{},"Amendment 13 is not a reason to panic, but it is the end of the era when a form on a site was purely a design decision. And speaking of regulation arriving by mail - if you received an accessibility demand letter, ",[42,1460,1461],{"href":514},"this is the first-week guide",". For an average site, compliance is orderly work of days, not months - and it costs far less than the alternative.",[11,1464,1465,1466,1469,1470,1473],{},"Want to know where your site stands? That's exactly ",[42,1467,1468],{"href":1277},"the service"," - or just ",[42,1471,1472],{"href":262},"send me the URL"," and I'll tell you what's missing, jargon-free.",{"title":266,"searchDepth":267,"depth":267,"links":1475},[1476,1477,1478,1479,1480,1481,1482],{"id":1287,"depth":267,"text":1288},{"id":1326,"depth":267,"text":1327},{"id":1340,"depth":267,"text":1341},{"id":1382,"depth":267,"text":1383},{"id":1392,"depth":267,"text":1393},{"id":1449,"depth":267,"text":1450},{"id":244,"depth":267,"text":245},"2026-08-24","Amendment 13 covers almost any site collecting details: what the duty of notification requires on forms, what to do about pixels, and a policy that holds up.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fprivacy-law-amendment-13-guide\u002Fog-en.jpg",{},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fprivacy-law-amendment-13-guide",{"title":1269,"description":1484},"en\u002Fblog\u002Fprivacy-law-amendment-13-guide","OJbUwidRI39Q65HRGc8eEEDyEXaNHz-MpGKyNYAV61s",1792660232519]