You might have wound up here because you received a demand letter from someone who said your website isn’t usable. Or you’ve heard from a few customers that they’ve had issues navigating your website. Or maybe you’ve heard from friends and family members who have disabilities and how tough using the internet can be. No matter what brought you here, you know that your website has problems, and people are telling you to start with an accessibility audit.
What even is that?
In short, an accessibility audit is a professional review of how well a website (or other digital assets) works for people with disabilities.
That all sounds easy enough, but what makes an accessibility audit thorough and professional enough to rely on?
Let’s talk about it. In this article, you’ll learn how to spot real accessibility audits, what to expect, and how to start implementing them.
Table of Contents
Why You Need an Accessibility Audit
Your website needs to work for everyone. This isn’t a pie-in-the-sky, rainbows-and-unicorns wish either. Yes, you want to reach all of your potential customers and help them buy from you, but this is also a legal requirement.
Your legal requirements depend on where you are located:
- United States: ADA requires businesses and federal agencies to meet international standards
- United States: Section 508 requires federal agencies to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
- United Kingdom: Equality Act requires every organization to provide reasonable adjustments and meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
- Europe: The European Accessibility Act (EAA) requires improved access and non-discrimination. You must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
- Ontario, Canada: Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requires any business selling to Ontario to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
Even if you are located in the US, if you do business in the UK or EU, you must still follow their accessibility requirements.
And while the US DOJ does not often fine organizations for accessibility violations under the ADA, private parties can still file suit for violations. They do not need to be located in your area to file suit either.
An accessibility audit helps you understand where your website currently stands relative to the various WCAG guidelines and whether you are close to compliance.
Accessibility is For People
Just a quick side note. Yes, accessibility is a legal requirement. But let’s just get one thing clear: this is about helping real people navigate your website. If you don’t meet WCAG standards or violate these legal requirements, real customers struggle to use your website.
Some of these standards help us make a website easier to use, but they also prevent real, physical harm. Let’s not make someone’s day worse just because they landed on our website.
Web Accessibility Standards for Testing
How does anyone know what makes a website harder for people with disabilities to use? When we perform web accessibility audits, we don’t just look for random problems. We test against a specific set of standards.
To determine how accessible a website is, various laws follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). An international organization created these criteria to ensure everyone can access the information they need on your website.
When auditing websites, we follow WCAG to identify potential roadblocks. Because most international laws require multiple versions, we test against WCAG 2.2 Level AA to provide the best possible experience for customers. Complying with a higher WCAG level will never cause issues with laws that require a lower level. It will also improve your user experience, too.
Side note: WCAG 3.0 is currently in development. These requirements could change soon, so it’s best to test against the highest level possible.
Automated vs Manual Testing
Perhaps the most important, yet most confusing, part of researching web accessibility audits: can I rely on an automated tool?
You probably see these advertised all the time. Download this plugin, pay monthly, and your accessibility issues are solved! Or just run your website through this scanner (it’s a one-time fee), and you’ll magically find all the fixes you need.
The problem? Automated tools only find about 30% of web accessibility issues.
In an age of “AI can solve everything,” people really do think that we can code around a human experience. But the truth? We can’t. Web accessibility isn’t about the easy fixes. It’s about removing very real roadblocks from people’s daily lives.
Many automated tools are great at finding color contrast problems, skipped heading levels, or missing ALT text, but they cannot identify when that ALT description isn’t actually helpful. They also cannot see how a keyboard user would navigate the website or what a screen reader would convey to a blind user.
Any accessibility audit should include a mix of automated scans and manual testing. Always.
What Do Manual Tests Find?
Manual testing is really key for the real-life, human experience. The best usability testing includes functional testing with people with disabilities who use assistive technology every day. However, this can be more expensive and time-consuming.
At minimum, your manual testing should include assistive tools, keyboard testing, and code-level checks to ensure everything works.
Manual tests often identify problems like:
- Keyboard traps, where you cannot move away without using a mouse.
- Misordered HTML, which will jumble how a screen reader delivers content.
- Missing link text context, so people know exactly what they are clicking on.
- Design inconsistencies that can confuse users.
- Overall readability that can confuse people about your actual offer.
- Flashing animations that can cause physical harm to certain users.
Any automated tool can scan thousands of pages on your website, but only a manual test will show you whether something is stopping a real human from moving through your website.
What Should Be in Accessibility Audit Reports
If you’ve done any research on web accessibility audits, you have probably read about VPATs and ACRs. These standardized reports are required under Section 508, but not all VPATs are created equal.
VPATs, or Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates, were created to help organizations understand their WCAG conformance level. A VPAT is basically the audit, and an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) is what is created from the VPAT.
Frankly, unless you are trying to get funding from the US government, you don’t need a VPAT. While many web accessibility experts will follow the VPAT format, not all of these reports are actually clear. You need an audit that walks you through the exact changes that will make your website compliant.
A great web accessibility audit should include:
- Annotated screenshots identifying the exact accessibility violations
- Violations broken down by page so you know where to find them on your website
- Direct notes of the broken success criteria
- Prioritization for fixes (Critical, Major, and Minor)
- Guidance and HTML/CSS snippets to show how to fix issues
Getting Started
An accessibility audit isn’t about having a report to show you’ve started the work. It’s about getting a clear understanding and a path to fixing these issues on your website.
Think of an accessibility audit like that multi-point inspection you get with an oil change. Your mechanic points out the problems with your car, but it’s your choice to fix things. If you ignore them, your car may eventually break down on the side of the road.
Except if you ignore accessibility issues, you’re not just putting yourself at risk. You’re causing problems for up to 28% of your potential audience.
Web accessibility audits are the first step towards compliance. A great one will be the roadmap you need to get there.
Get started with your web accessibility audit from Captain Coder and start moving towards compliance.
