Asking for a change to your website

When someone else looks after your website, each change starts with a message from you. A clear message gets the change made once, the way you meant it.

What a clear request contains

  1. The page. Copy the web address from the address bar and paste it in.
  2. What it says now. Copy the words you want changed, or attach a screenshot.
  3. What it should say. Write the new words in full, ready to paste.
  4. When. Give the date it should go live, and the date it should come down if it is for an event or an offer.
  5. Who agreed it. Name the person who signed it off, if more than one person decides.

Several changes travel well as a numbered list in one message, so each can be ticked off.

Sending pictures

Send each picture as the original file, with one sentence saying what it shows. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium explains why. Images must have text alternatives that describe the information or function represented by them, so that people with various disabilities can use them.

For a photo that carries information, the WAI says the text alternative should be at least a short description conveying the essential information presented by the image. A picture that only decorates the page gets an empty one. The WAI also advises keeping words out of images other than logos. Where an image does carry words, its text alternative repeats them.

Links and headings

When you ask for a link, give the words it should sit on. The WAI asks writers to make link text describe where it goes, and to avoid ambiguous link text, such as 'click here' or 'read more'.

For a new section, suggest a short heading. The WAI's writing tips say to use short headings to group related paragraphs and clearly describe the sections.

Checking the change

Open the page once the change is made and read it through. Look at it on a phone as well. Google notes that most searches are now done on mobile devices, and asks site owners to make sure content displays properly on every screen size.

If the change adds a form that collects names or email addresses, the Information Commission (which took over from the ICO on 30 September 2026) expects people to be told how their details will be used at the moment they hand them over.

The standard a supplier works to

When a business buys a service in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 applies. Where the supplier is acting in the course of a business, the contract carries an implied term that the supplier will carry out the service with reasonable care and skill. Contracts covered by the consumer rules below are outside this section.

If you buy as a consumer, section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 offers the same protection in its own words, across the UK. Under it, the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.

Useful links