The Web Guidelines are meant for everyone

The Web Guidelines are a so-called open standard. That means they are not owned by one single organisation, but can be used freely by everyone. In 2004, they were developed by the ICTU Foundation, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and Cinnamon Interactive, commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.

This Ministry is still the commissioning party for the Web Guidelines quality model. The administration and further development lies with ICTU. The Quality Mark drempelvrij.nl Foundation administers the inspection of websites against the Web Guidelines.

Commissioning party: the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

The Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations has commissioned the Web Guidelines. The Dutch government aims for all citizens to be able to find, understand and use information on government websites. This aim requires these websites to be built soundly and accessibly. In order to help organisations build (or: commission) accessible, high-quality websites, the Ministry decided to have the Web Guidelines developed. Read more about the background of the Web Guidelines.

Development and administration: the ICTU Foundation

ICTU has developed the Web Guidelines together with the research agency TNO and the creative agency Cinnamon Interactive. The administration of the guidelines likewise rests with ICTU. The team involved in this is called the Web Guidelines project and is part of the e-Government for Citizens programme.

Support and information

The Web Guidelines project provides support for the implementation of the Web Guidelines. Service desk staff answer questions about the guidelines by phone and e-mail. Moreover, in collaboration with other parties, the project team regularly organises presentations, workshops and trainings on substantive and project-based aspects of the Web Guidelines.

Further development

Technology is not static and new insights arise. That is why the project team is also working on the further development of the Web Guidelines. They do not lack assistance. A large group of people from civil service and the business community who are involved with the Web Guidelines in a variety of professions give their advice. This Advisory Group Web Guidelines meets regularly to discuss ideas, experiences and practical developments. Anyone who is involved with the Web Guidelines may apply for this advisory group.

Inspection: the Quality mark drempelvrij.nl Foundation

The Web Guidelines are a norm: a set of of established rules. This norm is administrated by the ICTU Foundation. An inspection regulation has been coupled to the norm: a reliable, independent way of checking a website against the Web Guidelines. The inspection regulation is administrated by an independent party: the Quality mark drempelvrij.nl Foundation.

The document describing how the Web Guidelines are to be checked is called the Normative Document Web Guidelines. This document has been developed by the Quality mark drempelvrij.nl Foundation. In the document, the Web Guidelines are formulated in such a way that they can be checked objectively. Read more about the checking for compliance with Web Guidelines.

The Quality mark drempelvrij.nl Foundation does not execute these checks (also called: inspections) itself. They are executed by accredited inspection institutions. For an institution to be accredited, the Dutch Accreditation Council (RvA) has found this institution to be competent and impartial. The accreditation criteria are severe. Therefore, you can rely on the inspection institutions to check your website honestly and in a well-informed manner.