What is an Accessibility Audit?

An accessibility audit is a thorough, professional evaluation of how well your website and other digital properties meet the needs of people with disabilities, conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and comply with legal standards like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Sections 508 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

A thorough web accessibility audit involves experts identifying existing barriers by rigorously scanning and testing the most critical functions and user flows of your digital properties.

Why are website accessibility audits important?

The internet is an integral part of everyday life for all of us. According to Pew Research, 75% of people with disabilities in the U.S. use the internet daily, yet many websites still contain barriers that make it difficult or even impossible for some users with disabilities to navigate.

For example, if closed captions are not provided for video content, people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may find it difficult to understand dialogue and other audio cues. And, if the images on a page aren’t accompanied by alt text, screen reader users may miss out on important visual information.

This is where accessibility audits become critical. By obtaining an audit, an organization takes the first step toward ensuring that its digital content is accessible. This means the content can be perceived, understood, navigated, and interacted with by all users.

Accessibility audits identify areas where improvements are needed so teams can implement the fixes required to provide an inclusive online experience.

Are accessibility audits a legal requirement?

There are various global regulations that mandate web accessibility. Achieving compliance with these laws can be a complex process. It typically begins with auditing your website for conformance with relevant accessibility standards.

To ensure your digital platforms meet the right requirements, it’s important to understand which laws apply to your organization. This is based on factors like your region and industry.

Some examples of accessibility legislation are:

• The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a U.S. civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination in many areas of public life. The ADA applies to many different types of organizations across the private and public sectors, and it has implications for web accessibility. Title II of the ADA was recently updated to include specific technical standards for the websites of state and local governments, and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has clarified that Title III applies to the websites of private businesses.

• Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandates digital accessibility for U.S. federal government agencies and has implications for their vendors.

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act includes accessibility requirements for many organizations in the U.S. that receive federally funding, including public educational institutions and healthcare providers.

• The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a Canadian provincial law mandating that both private and public sector organizations in Ontario meet accessibility standards.

• The European Web Accessibility Directive (WAD) establishes accessibility requirements for public-sector organizations in the European Union. The standard for digital accessibility compliance is EN 301 549.

Non-compliance with these laws and regulations can have consequences. In the U.S., over 14,000 web-related lawsuits were filed under the ADA between 2017 and 2022, and the velocity of litigation has remained high in recent years. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of ADA demand letters—often the precursor to a lawsuit—are sent each year. These lawsuits can result in costly settlements, as well as fines and legal fees.

A web accessibility audit (or more broadly, a digital accessibility audit) can help organizations understand the current state of their digital properties’ accessibility, including whether it complies with applicable legal mandates. Organizations can use this information to develop a roadmap for bringing their digital experiences into compliance.

Which standards should accessibility audits test against?

The most universally recognized standard used in testing for accessibility is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

WCAG was established by the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, and provides a single, shared, and regularly updated global framework for digital accessibility.

WCAG has evolved several times since its conception. Each version of WCAG includes testable success criteria organized into three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA. To learn more about the latest updates to WCAG and how to audit your site for alignment with the success criteria, request our checklist for WCAG conformance.

While WCAG itself is not a piece of legislation, it is referenced in numerous laws and regulations around the world, and it has become the international standard for web and digital accessibility. For example, Title II of the ADA requires alignment with WCAG 2.1 AA, and the DOJ has pointed to this standard as the go-to benchmark for Title III compliance in its private enforcement efforts. Meanwhile, Section 508 and the AODA both mandate conformance with WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA success criteria.

How do you run an accessibility audit?

An accessibility audit should focus on important web pages and key user flows, such as a checkout function or appointment-booking process. It should be conducted by an accessibility expert using a combination of devices, operating systems, browsers, and assistive technologies (ATs).

During an accessibility audit, an expert will use several different types of testing to understand whether your digital content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Here’s a breakdown of what a comprehensive audit should entail:

Automated testing

Automated testing (also called automated scanning) is often the first step in a web accessibility audit. Automated tools enable an individual to rapidly scan a web-based property for common accessibility issues. (Native apps and some other digital properties are tested mainly through manual evaluation.) These tools will flag accessibility barriers and may provide information about their location and severity.

Automated testing can identify many of the most frequent violations of WCAG criteria. Tools will typically report an automatic “pass” or “fail” as to whether a certain condition is met on a web page, such as sufficient color contrast or the presence of alt text describing an image.

Importantly, while automated testing provides a baseline understanding of the accessibility of a digital experience,, it isn’t capable of finding every barrier that may impact users. It is not uncommon for automated tests to also generate false positive results.

Manual testing

Manual testing builds upon automated scanning. During this phase of an audit, an accessibility expert will manually evaluate the accessibility of the important components of a user’s digital experience. Examples of activities performed during the manual assessment include:

• Using a screen reader to evaluate the display of information
• Using keyboard tabs to navigate through a page
• Evaluating the color contrast of a web page

Manual testing is essential to the audit process. It can uncover WCAG violations that automated tests may miss. It can also verify whether automated test results include false positives, or if actual barriers exist.

Additionally, human judgment is necessary to properly evaluate certain features. For instance, an automated test can tell you that alt text has been included for an image, but it can’t tell you whether the text accurately conveys what’s in the image or explains what the image is for. It also can’t tell you whether the tabbing order on the page is in a sequence that makes sense. This requires human evaluation.

Functional testing

During functional testing, experts—typically people with disabilities—will use assistive technologies to navigate your digital experience the way a user would. For example, to audit an e-commerce site, a functional tester might try to browse for a product, add it to their cart, and complete the checkout process. Or, to audit a banking platform, they might try to log in and check their balance.

Whereas both automated and manual testing focus on conformance with specific WCAG criteria, functional testing focuses on the user experience of people with disabilities. This type of testing is critical because some barriers only emerge when users actually try to use your website or product

Can I conduct an accessibility audit myself?

While it may be tempting to try to perform your own accessibility audit by using readily available automated scanning tools, this approach has significant limitations.

A self-audit, run through automated scanning only, is likely to be incomplete, potentially leaving your organization at risk of non-compliance.

Professionals acknowledge the limitations of automated tools and incorporate manual and functional testing as critical components of a thorough accessibility audit.

Additionally, experts can help you interpret and prioritize the results of both automated and manual testing. Automated scans, in particular, can yield a large number of issues, with minimal context for how to address them. An expert can help you determine which issues are creating the most critical barriers to users’ online experiences, allowing you to prioritize and address them first. They can also provide you with specific directions for fixing issues, and validate that errors have been remediated.

Digital accessibility is good for business

By obtaining a thorough and reliable accessibility audit, organizations don’t just make progress toward meeting legal regulations—they also take the first step toward unlocking significant business benefits.

In the U.S., people with disabilities make up nearly a quarter of the adult population and control an estimated $490B in annual disposable income. Globally, these figures are even higher: over 1B people worldwide live with disabilities, and together with their families and friends, it’s estimated that this community controls over $13 trillion annually.

Organizations that prioritize accessibility are also more likely to be perceived positively by all consumers, especially at a time when brands’ values heavily influence purchasing decisions.

By acting on the findings from a web accessibility audit, organizations can reach and serve a broader market, expanding their customer base as well as enhancing their reputation.

Start your journey to digital inclusivity with an accessibility audit

Accessibility audits are a crucial component of any organization’s digital accessibility efforts, but they are only the first step in an ongoing journey.

Once web accessibility audits are complete and results are made available, organizations must get to work to make their digital offerings accessible.

Ultimately, a well-conducted accessibility audit should be the launchpad for a sustainable accessibility program. Maintaining inclusive digital offerings will be a continuous process as web content and regulations evolve.

Level Access provides a comprehensive solution with a package suitable for your organization’s particular needs. Our suite of software and services includes:

• Automated and manual testing performed by experts, including people with disabilities
• Remediation roadmap development to help resolve issues in order of their severity and impact for users
• Responsive re-testing to ensure fixes have been implemented correctly
• Guidance and training to educate internal teams and ingrain accessibility and compliance standards into business processes
• Ongoing access to subject matter expertise to continue building in-house capabilities
• Legal expertise to evaluate any legal complaint (including ADA demand letters) and support response efforts
• Creation of Accessibility Conformance Statement Reports (or VPAT reports) to document digital accessibility. The VPAT process will start with an audit to assess how well your digital products meet accessibility standards
• Ongoing monitoring and maintenance through an all-in-one platform to ensure accessibility efforts are sustained
• Development of an organization-wide accessibility policy, creating clear structure and organizational clarity when it comes to your commitment to accessibility, and creation of a public-facing accessibility statement to communicate that commitment

Level Access combines technology, managed services, and legal expertise to help you make your digital assets accessible and compliant, and ensure they stay that way over time.

FAQ

Do accessibility audits cover mobile apps and other digital platforms beyond just websites?

Yes, accessibility audits can cover mobile apps, software, and other digital platforms to ensure all user interactions are accessible, not just websites.

Can I audit my website for compliance with different laws?

Yes. For example, you can conduct an audit to test for compliance with the ADA or conformance with EN 301 549 standards. If you’re a federal agency or federally funded organization in the U.S., you can also audit for Section 508 and Section 504 compliance. Each audit ensures your digital platforms meet the required accessibility regulations for your specific context.

Can my in-house team conduct an accessibility audit, or should I hire external experts?

For thorough and accurate results, an accessibility audit should be performed by a third-party digital accessibility expert, who will bring specialized tools, experience, and an unbiased perspective.