The Unilever Website Accreditation Plus Certificate

AbilityNet accredited websites and apps have been tested by disabled users who can provide an authentic account of the issues that they encounter. 

As part of the accreditation process, expert accessibility testing is also used to ensure that good accessibility practice has been followed.

Scope

The accreditation scope was agreed between Unilever and AbilityNet as a representative cross sample of pages. During the accreditation cycle the page Annual Report and Accounts 2021 Highlights was removed from the scope of the accreditation because substantial changes were made. These changes have not been tested. 

The expert accessibility testing scope included the following pages on desktop and mobile, accessed through public URLs: 

• Homepage 
• Results, presentations and webcasts 
• Dividend history 
• Our brands 
• A responsible taxpayer 
• Contact us 
• A beacon of diversity and inclusion 
• Unilever at a glance 
• Media assets 

The user testing scope included the above pages except for Results, presentations and webcasts and A responsible taxpayer. The Careers page was also included. 

Deliverables

Desktop and mobile audit

Expert consultants audited the pages in scope to the level AA standard of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and reported conformance failures. These issues were subsequently reviewed to confirm that they were resolved, with the exceptions noted below.

Diverse user accessibility testing 

Expert consultants facilitated user testing sessions with six participants for 90 minutes each. The participants were asked to complete tasks involving the pages in scope. The participants provided feedback on their experience, and barriers they encountered were observed. 

Participants used various technologies to access the website, such as screen readers, screen magnification, keyboard navigation, and high contrast mode. The participants included the following user groups: 

• Users with visual impairments 
• Neurodivergent users 
• Hard of hearing 
• Users with motor impairments 

Outstanding issues

Websites are subject to change as updates and improvements are released. 

A dark mode colour theme was introduced to the website in summer 2023 following the audit and user testing. The dark mode theme and the controls for changing the theme were not tested as part of the accreditation scope. 

However, websites displaying this trust mark have committed to best practice in maintaining the highest levels of accessibility and usability after certification. 

Any issues identified during the accessibility review of the pages in scope, and during the user testing have been resolved with the following exceptions. 

Desktop and mobile audit

The following WCAG conformance issue has been given dispensation for this accreditation cycle: 

When the navigation menu is open on a mobile device, background content should be hidden from assistive technology. This has been done using the HTML inert attribute. While we found in testing that the technique is not robustly supported on iOS version 15, Unilever takes an evidence-based approach to determining device support for unilever.com.

Diverse user accessibility testing 

The following issues encountered by participants during the user testing have been given dispensation for this accreditation cycle: 

There is video content on the website that plays automatically, and no mechanism is available on the site to turn off this feature. However, each video has a pause button. In response to participant feedback, the visibility of the pause buttons and the information presented to assistive technology for the buttons has been improved. When reduced motion settings are enabled on a device, the website was found to respect these settings by preventing the video content from playing automatically. 

Low visibility of keyboard focus indicators was observed when one participant accessed the site. However, this was found on Firefox 78.15. Unilever takes an evidence-based approach to determining device support for unilever.com. 

What does AbilityNet Accreditation mean?

AbilityNet Accredited websites have been tested by a broad network of genuinely representative disabled consumers who can provide an authentic account of the key issues they encounter. In addition, expert accessibility testing has been undertaken to ensure that good accessibility practice has been followed.

Websites are subject to change as updates and improvements are released. However, websites displaying this trust mark have committed to best practice in maintaining the highest levels of accessibility and usability after certification.

About the certification 

Please report any suspected misuse of this trust mark to accessibility.services@abilitynet.org.uk.  

This certificate documents that unilever.com has achieved Accredited Plus. The certificate is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

10 July 2023  
Gary Moore  
Chief Executive Officer  
AbilityNet 

About AbilityNet

AbilityNet is a national charity specialising in digital accessibility and usability, providing a wide range of services including the development and implementation of corporate accessibility standards as well as diverse user testing and support for individuals through assessments and training. 

Registered charity no. 1067673

Registered Office: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London, NW1 3ER