Parish Council websites must meet accessibility standards, handle data securely, and comply with UK regulations.
Running a Parish Council website in 2026 means navigating a landscape of compliance requirements that simply didn’t exist a decade ago. From accessibility standards to domain regulations, the responsibilities can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling meeting schedules, resident enquiries, and the day-to-day administration of your council.
However, compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. Understanding what’s actually required is the first step towards getting it right.
The good news is that compliance isn’t about ticking boxes or meeting arbitrary standards. It’s fundamentally about making sure your council’s digital presence serves everyone in your community effectively and securely.
Understanding website accessibility requirements
Since September 2020, all public-sector websites (including council sites) have been legally required to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standards.
This isn’t a recommendation or a nice-to-have feature; it’s a legal obligation under the Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. It’s also about ensuring everyone in your community can access your website.
In practice, this means your website needs to be navigable for everyone, including those with visual impairments, hearing difficulties, motor disabilities, or cognitive differences.
This covers everything from ensuring proper colour contrast and readable font sizes to making sure your site works properly with screen readers and can be navigated using only a keyboard.
The requirements also extend to any documents you publish on your site. PDFs of meeting minutes, planning documents, or consultation papers must also be accessible.
This often catches councils by surprise, as historic documents uploaded years ago might no longer meet current standards. Many councils need to conduct accessibility audits of their existing websites and then work through a potentially lengthy list of fixes.
For sites built on older platforms or created without accessibility in mind from the start, this can become a significant (and very time-consuming) project. The reality is that retrofitting accessibility is considerably more challenging than building it in from the beginning.
The .gov.uk domain question
One of the most common questions Parish Councils ask is whether they need a .gov.uk domain. The short answer is, it’s not a legal requirement (yet); however, the longer answer is more nuanced and worth considering carefully.
Parish Councils have historically used .org.uk, .co.uk, or various other domain extensions. Although these work perfectly well from a technical standpoint, and there’s nothing wrong with keeping your existing domain if it’s serving you effectively.
That being said, .gov.uk domains carry a specific weight and trustworthiness that other extensions simply can’t offer.
The .gov.uk namespace is restricted and controlled; not just anyone can register. You’ll need to prove you’re a legitimate public sector organisation, and this exclusivity means residents immediately recognise .gov.uk addresses as official and trustworthy.
With so many online scams and misinformation circulating, instant credibility matters more than you might think. There’s also a practical security element.
When residents see official communications from a .gov.uk email address rather than a generic webmail service or a .org.uk domain, they can be more confident they’redealing with a legitimate service. This helps protect both you and your community from impersonation attempts.
If you’re considering the switch, the process is more straightforward than it used to be, though there are still verification requirements.
Data protection & GDPR obligations
Your Parish Council website inevitably handles personal data, even if it’s just through a simple contact form or newsletter signup. This means GDPR compliance is non-negotiable, and your website plays a central role in meeting these obligations.
Every form that collects resident information needs to be clear about what you’re doing with that data and why you’re collecting it. Privacy notices need to be accessible and written in plain English, not buried in legal jargon.
Contact forms should be secure, protecting data from the moment someone hits submit until it reaches you safely. Then there are the technical security requirements, such as SSL certificates to ensure encrypted connections, regular security updates to prevent vulnerabilities, and proper data storage that meets UK protection standards.
These might sound technical, but they’re fundamental to protecting your residents’ information and meeting your legal obligations as a data controller.
During the Assertion 10 process, many councils discovered just how much their website compliance intersects with broader data protection requirements. Having systems in place that handle data properly from the start makes these annual attestations considerably more straightforward.
Cookie consent & privacy regulations
The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) require websites to obtain consent before placing certain types of cookies on visitors’ devices. This is separate from GDPR but equally important.
If your website uses analytics tools, embedded maps, social media feeds, or various other common features, you’re almost certainly placing cookies. Managing this properly means implementing a cookie consent system that actually works, one that doesn’t just show a banner but genuinely gives visitors control over their preferences.
Getting this wrong is surprisingly easy. Many council websites either have no cookie consent mechanism at all or use one that doesn’t actually prevent cookies from being set before consent is given, both of which put the council at risk of non-compliance.
The challenge of keeping up
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of website compliance is that it’s not a one-time task. Standards evolve, regulations are updated, and new requirements emerge.
The accessibility regulations themselves have already moved on; WCAG 2.2 is now the standard that councils should work towards, with enhanced requirements for mobile accessibility and cognitive support.
Security is an ongoing process. New vulnerabilities are discovered regularly, and keeping your website secure means staying up to date with updates and patches.
For a Parish clerk already managing a full workload, this constant vigilance can feel overwhelming. There’s also the broader digital landscape to consider.
Residents increasingly expect their local council’s website to work as smoothly as any commercial site. Meeting compliance requirements is the baseline, but providing a genuinely good user experience takes things further.
How HugoFox approaches compliance
This is where purpose-built platforms make a significant difference. HugoFox was created specifically for Parish Councils, which means compliance isn’t an afterthought; it’s built into the platform from the ground up.
Accessibility compliance is automatic. Every HugoFox website meets WCAG 2.2 AA standards without requiring any technical knowledge from councils.
The templates, colour schemes, navigation systems, and content editors are all designed with accessibility built in, meaning you can focus on what you’re saying rather than worrying about how it’s being delivered.
Our platform not only handles .gov.uk domain integrations seamlessly, but (if you’re eligible) we will take care of everything from registration, setup, configuration and renewals for free for life.
GDPR compliance and data security are managed through encrypted forms, automatic integration of privacy notices, secure cloud hosting that meets UK standards, and regular security updates that occur behind the scenes. Cookie consent management works properly from the start, handling visitor preferences correctly without requiring you to become a privacy law expert.
HugoFox also automatically updates your site as regulations and standards evolve, so you don’t have to worry about technical updates or building a brand-new website every time legislation changes.
Our support team understand local government compliance requirements, and we have decades of experience supporting councils just like yours. When you have questions about compliance, you’re talking to people who already understand your specific requirements and can support you.
Moving forward with confidence
Compliance requirements for Parish Council websites will only become more demanding, not less, especially as we continue to shift to digital solutions across all aspects of modern life.
Meeting these requirements doesn’t have to mean endless stress or trying to become a technical expert alongside everything else you’re juggling.
The key is having infrastructure in place that makes compliance a natural part of how it operates, rather than treating it as an additional burden on already busy councillors and clerks. When your website platform is designed specifically for local government needs, compliance becomes straightforward rather than overwhelming.
Your residents deserve a council website that works properly for everyone, protects their data, and presents your council professionally. Meeting compliance requirements is how you deliver that, and with the right approach, it’s considerably more achievable than it might first appear.
If you want to find out more, get in touch with our team today.