The government has asked companies providing essential digital services to make them easier to use, more accessible and less likely to exclude customers. For small businesses, the message is worth treating as an early prompt to review online customer journeys before voluntary expectations harden into more formal standards.
In an open letter published on 17 July, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said too many people find digital services difficult, frustrating or inaccessible. It cited evidence that around 27% of UK adults are “narrow internet users”, while approximately 43% ask somebody else to complete an online task for them.
The letter is aimed at sector leaders providing essential private-sector services, rather than announcing a new legal duty for every SME. However, it sets a clear direction: government wants businesses to improve usability and accessibility through voluntary, standards-led collaboration, with the possibility of further intervention kept under review.
What the government is asking businesses to improve
DSIT highlighted three broad priorities. Digital services should be easy to navigate and understand; they should be designed with disabled people and those at risk of digital exclusion in mind; and safety, privacy and security should be built in without making the service unnecessarily complicated.
The department also wants industry partners to agree what good practice looks like, support a voluntary approach based on standards, and develop a cross-sector roadmap and timetable for adoption.
This is not simply a website-design issue. A customer journey can fail at many points: an account may require an inaccessible identity check, a form may not explain an error, a payment page may time out, or help may be available only through the channel that the customer cannot use. Each problem can turn a willing customer into a lost sale or a support complaint.
Why this matters to smaller firms
Large organisations may be the immediate focus of government engagement, but SMEs often operate within the same digital chain. They supply services to bigger companies, use third-party booking and payment tools, and compete for customers who increasingly expect straightforward online access.
Improving accessibility can widen the pool of people able to buy from a business. It can also reduce abandoned transactions and avoid preventable calls or emails caused by unclear digital processes. Clearer instructions, sensible error messages and a reliable route to human support tend to help all customers, not only those with a recognised disability.
There is also a procurement angle. If bigger organisations adopt common accessibility and usability standards, suppliers may be asked to show that their own websites, portals or software meet them. Small technology providers and agencies should therefore watch for new expectations in tenders and supplier questionnaires.
A practical accessibility check for SMEs
Small firms do not need to launch an expensive redesign immediately. A short review of the most important customer task is a sensible starting point. That might be placing an order, booking an appointment, requesting a quote or paying an invoice.
- Complete the whole task using only a keyboard and check that the current position is always visible.
- Zoom the page substantially and confirm that important content remains readable without overlapping or disappearing.
- Check that form labels and error messages explain what is required in plain English.
- Review colour contrast and make sure colour alone is not used to communicate an error or status.
- Test the journey on a mobile phone and on a slower connection.
- Provide a clear alternative contact route when a customer cannot complete the digital process.
- Ask a small group of customers, including people with different access needs, to try the journey and describe where they get stuck.
Businesses using hosted platforms should not assume the supplier has solved every issue. Templates, plug-ins, uploaded documents and custom colour choices can introduce barriers even when the underlying platform is capable of accessible delivery. Responsibility for fixing an issue may be shared, so it is useful to record which problems can be changed internally and which need to be raised with a vendor.
What to watch next
The government has expressed a preference for voluntary collaboration, not announced a new compliance deadline. SMEs should avoid treating the letter as a new law, but they should monitor the proposed standards and cross-sector roadmap. Trade bodies, software suppliers and larger customers may translate the government’s objectives into more specific requirements.
For now, the useful response is to identify the most valuable digital journey, test it with real users and fix the clearest obstacles. That is a proportionate improvement that can help customers today while leaving the business better prepared for whatever standards follow.
Source
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: improving access to and use of digital services
