The services section is where people find out what they can apply for, what to bring and how long it takes. EU law does not set out how a services section must be organised, so most of what follows is good practice, not a legal checklist. One exception is the Single Digital Gateway Regulation (EU) 2018/1724. For procedures that people use to exercise their EU internal-market rights in the areas listed in its Annex I, Article 10 requires Member States to ensure that, before users have to identify themselves, they can read a clear explanation of the steps, the competent authority and its contact details, the accepted means of identification and signature, the evidence to submit, the means of redress, the fees and online payment methods, and any deadlines or, where there are none, the indicative processing time. Municipal authorities had to make this information available by 12 December 2022 (Article 39). Separately, the Web Accessibility Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2102) requires the pages, forms and documents to be accessible. This article is part of our series on what a public body’s website should contain.
What to say about each service
- The name in plain words, who the service is for and what the person receives at the end.
- What to submit, how long it takes and the fee, if any, with how to pay it.
- Who is responsible, with a working contact.
- The rules that apply, linked to their official, current text.
Group services by life situation (‘Housing’, ‘Schools’, ‘Business’) rather than by department, and give licences, permits and certificates the same structure so people can compare them.
Forms and documents: where accessibility applies
In Ireland and Malta, websites must meet the relevant requirements of EN 301 549, broadly equivalent to WCAG 2.1 level AA. Office documents published before 23 September 2018 are exempt in both countries, but only ‘unless such content is needed for active administrative processes’ – so do not rely on it for a form people still use. Ireland’s National Disability Authority recommends that PDF forms should be avoided for all online services in favour of accessible HTML. Every field needs a label or instruction (WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2).
Let people tell you what is not working
Each covered website needs an accessibility statement with a feedback mechanism, so anyone can report a problem or ask for content they cannot use; in Malta the answer is due within 15 working days. Link to it from service pages too. A short ‘Was this page helpful?’ question also shows which descriptions need rewriting.
Link instead of duplicating
If a service is already described on a national portal or another official site, link to it rather than copying the text – two copies drift apart. Our website audit checks content and accessibility together.