Web Accessibility Consultants: What You Need to Know

Website accessibility can bring your business a host of benefits, beyond legal compliance. A well-executed accessibility strategy can result in enhanced user experience, satisfied customers, and improved sales figures. And this impactful work often starts with engaging a web accessibility consultant.

But what exactly is a web accessibility consultant, and will your organization benefit from their services? Let’s explore the value that these professionals offer, including how they can help improve your website’s usability for every visitor.

What does a website accessibility consultant do?

Web accessibility consultants provide a wide range of services to support organizations with creating, and maintaining, accessible digital experiences. Here are some of the ways they can help.

Accessibility auditing

For many people, “accessibility consulting” is synonymous with identifying potential accessibility barriers. This service is also known as accessibility auditing, and it involves performing a series of tests to locate accessibility issues on your website. In a thorough audit, an accessibility consultant should use three types of testing:

• Automated testing: Automated testing involves using automated tools to scan your website for common issues. While automated testing tools can scan your website in a matter of minutes, they are not yet capable of detecting all potential barriers.

• Manual testing: During manual testing, a tester will manually evaluate your website to find issues that automated tools cannot identify.

• Functional testing: In this phase, a tester will try to perform specific tasks on your website, such as logging in or completing a purchase, using different types of assistive technology, such as keyboard navigation and screen readers. For the most accurate results, functional testing should be performed by people with disabilities.

The findings from this evaluation are consolidated into an accessibility audit report.

Accessibility remediation

Once auditing is complete, a web accessibility consultant may help your team fix the issues listed in the audit report. Accessibility remediation—the process of addressing identified issues—can take time, and may involve changes in your website’s design, code, and / or support infrastructure. While some fixes—such as changing the colors of an infographic—can be implemented relatively quickly, others—such as incorporating responsive design—can be more complex.

Accessibility training

Building your team’s accessibility knowledge and skills will enable them to more efficiently remediate accessibility issues and prevent new ones from surfacing. A digital accessibility consultant may be able to train your workforce on best practices for accessible design and development, and how to incorporate these practices into their day-to-day responsibilities. They may also provide education on the general importance of accessibility, and accessibility laws such as the ADA and Section 508.

Accessibility compliance documentation

Once you’ve started improving website accessibility, you’ll probably want to spread the word about your efforts in a public accessibility statement. This documentation doesn’t just enhance your organization’s image—it’s also a best practice for compliance with laws like the ADA.

A well-crafted accessibility statement expresses your organization’s commitment to digital accessibility, outlines the steps you’re taking to make your website accessible, and acknowledges any limitations of your accessibility measures. Importantly, it should also include a way for users to contact you about any accessibility barriers they encounter. A website accessibility consultant can provide guidance on writing this statement, since they will be familiar with the state of your website’s accessibility and compliance, as well as best practices for this type of public documentation.

How does one become a web accessibility consultant?

Reputable web accessibility consultants acquire their expertise through a long process of education, training, and certification. Before hiring a consultant for your website, it’s important to ensure they have the appropriate experience and credentials. Consider reviewing their background for the following qualifications.

Formal education and experience

Most accessibility consultants have some form of higher education, majoring in computer science, software engineering, information design, or multimedia arts. They may also have experience in web or software development, equipping them with the technical skills needed to support your team with code-level changes to your website.

Training on WCAG, accessibility laws, and assistive technology

Every accessibility consultant should have an in-depth understanding of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines are the established global benchmark for accessibility, and have been incorporated into laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If legal compliance is a priority for your organization, you may want to work with a consultant who is familiar with applicable laws. It’s also important for a consultant to be knowledgeable about different assistive technologies, including screen readers like JAWS and NVDA.

IAAP WAS certification

Finally, a digital accessibility consultant should have a certification. The most widely recognized accessibility certification, the IAAP Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS), is only granted to professionals who have been working in digital accessibility for at least three years. To obtain this certification, consultants also need to take a comprehensive examination that covers HTML and JavaScript code analysis, accessibility testing in multiple environments, WCAG 2.1 standards, and assistive technology. A consultant with the IAAP WAS certification is likely competent enough to tackle the most complex accessibility issues.

How do web accessibility consultants know the needs of users with disabilities?

Many accessibility consultants have disabilities themselves, have friends and family members with disabilities, or work closely with people with disabilities. Whether or not they have experienced accessibility barriers first-hand, a credible accessibility consultant understands how users with different types of disabilities navigate your website and the challenges they may encounter. More importantly, they can provide solutions to these challenges that improve your users’ experience.

How can an accessibility consultant help with ADA compliance audits?

If your organization is covered by the ADA, an accessibility consultant can play a key role in helping you ensure that your website is ADA compliant. This process typically starts with performing an audit of your website for conformance with WCAG—specifically, WCAG version 2.1 level AA. WCAG 2.1 AA is the standard for compliance with ADA Title II, and the benchmark that has been referenced by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in its private enforcement of ADA Title III. The consultant may use automated, manual, and functional testing to identify any violations of WCAG 2.1 AA standards, document them in an audit report, and work with you to remediate these issues and achieve compliance.

Can an inclusive design consultant help you make critical UX decisions?

Accessibility and user experience (UX) are inextricably linked. Over one billion people worldwide have disabilities, so chances are that a significant portion of your website visitors fall into this category. Inclusive design ensures that all users, including those with disabilities, can explore and interact.

A website accessibility consultant can educate you about inclusive design best practices that will make your site easier to use for everyone. For example, they may provide guidance on the proper positioning, labelling, and behavior of website elements, the right use of modal and non-modal popups, and choosing between path-dependent and path-independent input methods.

How does a web accessibility consultant help keep your website accessible after remediation?

Your accessibility journey doesn’t end once you’ve achieved WCAG conformance; in fact, it’s only just begun. Similarly, the work of a web accessibility consultant doesn’t necessarily end once remediation is complete. Depending on your engagement with the consultant, they may offer you the following services to keep your website accessible and usable over time.

Ongoing accessibility testing and remediation support

Every time you add new content to your website, you risk introducing new accessibility barriers. An accessibility consultant may perform tests on a regular basis, such as monthly or quarterly, to check for potential barriers. They may also provide continuous support remediating issues these tests identify.

Additional training

Accessibility standards constantly change along with the emergence of new technologies. For example, WCAG is regularly updated with new criteria. Beyond foundational training, an accessibility consultant can provide additional education to keep your web developers, designers, and compliance teams up to date on most relevant guidelines, and ensure your teams have the necessary skills to keep pace with changes.

Improve your UX with industry-leading technology and expertise

Building an optimal web experience for everyone involves more than creating personas and wireframes. It involves putting the user’s needs first. A web accessibility consultant can help you get started identifying the needs of users with disabilities, locating and remediating barriers to effective use, and keeping your website both easy to use and compliant with applicable laws. However, for streamlined, long-term accessibility, it’s wise to engage a digital accessibility solution provider that can equip you with advanced technology as well as a deep bench of expertise.

Level Access has more than 25 years of experience supporting organizations of all sizes to achieve their digital accessibility goals. Our holistic approach includes digital accessibility consulting as well as an integrated platform designed to help you embed accessibility into every stage of digital experience creation and easily report on progress. To learn more about how Level Access can help transform your user experience, contact us today.