How to carry out a Web Accessibility audit
The World Wide Web is so called because of its global reach and interconnectivity. Inventor Tim Berners-Lee came up with the name because it fit his vision for a network that gave users all over the world open access to an endless stream of information at the touch of a button
At least that was the idea.
The reality is very different for those living with disability. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 1 in 6 people worldwide experience significant disability. That’s 1 in 6 people whose effective use of the web relies on assistive technology and accessible websites built in line with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Currently, only 3% of websites are fully accessible to people with disabilities – a pretty poor figure for a service intended to be ‘worldwide’.
So, as business owners and website builders, what can we do to address this?
What is a web accessibility audit?
A web accessibility audit is a systematic check of your website’s features and functions. It assesses its compliance with the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) set out by The World Wide Web Consortium (W3) using a combination of manual and automated tests.
These guidelines cover a range of website elements including text, design, images, and video to help developers build inclusive websites that support access for users of different abilities.
WCAG are arranged into three categories for access: WCAG A, AA, and AAA standard. Websites that achieve WCAG A meet criteria for the most basic level of access for users with disabilities. AAA is the highest standard – so high, in fact, it’s virtually unattainable for many businesses as its specialist requirements make websites with AAA access prohibitively expensive to build.
To strike a balance between accessibility, affordability and practicality, most providers aim to achieve at least a WCAG level A for their website with as many AA criteria ticked as possible.
You can read more about the different WCAG standards and how they are assessed in one of our older blog posts.
Why are web accessibility audits important?
Carrying out a web accessibility audit is something all businesses and organisations should do. Regular audits ensure your website meets the specified WCAG for users with disabilities and complies with the legal access requirements for your area of business.
Audits also improve accessibility for a wide range of other users – those with limited technical knowledge, for example – and helps your website performance and SEO rankings, because Google’s crawlers like helpful websites built with accessibility in mind.
When should you carry out a web accessibility audit?
As soon as possible! If your website is already up and running and hasn’t been assessed for accessibility, it’s something you should do right away.
Although aftermarket fixes for accessibility issues aren’t the ideal approach and can be labour intensive, they will address obstacles to access for some users and improve the overall accessibility rating and SEO of your website.
A better approach is to build a website with accessibility in mind from the outset. If your business or organisation is considering a website redesign, this is the perfect opportunity to ensure your fresh new look also incorporates inclusive design at its core.
At Formation, we specialise in creating websites built and tested to WCAG AA standard and above. Our website developers and designers have extensive experience working with Public Sector bodies whose websites are legally required to comply with these high standards. Some examples of our inclusive website projects can be found here.
Accessibility criteria are continually reviewed and updated, and as your website content evolves, it’s important to carry out regular audits to ensure your WCAG A or AA status is maintained.
Who can carry out a web accessibility audit?
With access to the right digital tools and WCAG guidelines, an experienced web developer or someone with a good working knowledge of websites should be able to perform a basic accessibility audit.
However, the WCAG criteria are thorough and the time and expense of carrying out your own audit may make it unfeasible for some businesses and organisations.
Enlisting the help of a third party is a time and money-saving alternative that ensures your website complies to a specified WCAG standard. At Formation, we have the digital tools and website expertise to carry out an accessibility audit; then address and resolve any barriers to accessibility that we encounter.
While performing your accessibility audit, we can also carry out additional checks on the overall performance of your website, assess its SEO and User Experience (UX), and suggest any necessary improvements
How to prepare for an accessibility audit
You don't need to assess every single page of your website to perform an accessibility audit; a good cross section of pages is enough to give an accurate indication of your site's accessibility level.
Be sure to include:
- Your website homepage
- Text-based content
- Images
- Video
- Audio
- Contact forms
- Login pages
- Navigation menus and search bars
- Downloadable content
How to perform a basic accessibility audit
Basic checks you can perform yourself to assess the accessibility of your website include:
Tab test – check that all your website sample pages are navigable using just the keyboard tab key. This is a minimum requirement for keyboard-only access. There should be different focus styles available for the various clickable elements on the page, clearly showing users all the interactive elements and allowing easy access.
Forms, video, audio, text links, search bars and downloadable contents should all be accessible using just the tab key.
Skip links are another keyboard access feature. These are shortcuts that allow keyboard users to skip to key sections of the website. These should also be clearly visible and easy to use with the tab key.
It’s equally important to ensure keyboard users can’t accidentally click on something that’s not relevant. Pop-ups and moving elements can cause issues for keyboard users, so check your site for any obstructive or obscured content that could confuse the tabbing process.
Screen reader test – ChromeVox is Google Chrome’s free built-in screen reader technology; it can be used to read aloud elements on a webpage and give an accurate account of how well a webpage will be interpreted for someone accessing it using a screen reader. You can use it on any operating system that has Chrome, including Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and Linux.
To activate ChromeVox, open your website to a page you want to test and select Command + F5 if you are using a Mac or Ctrl+Alt+z if you’re on a PC. If you’re unfamiliar with screen reader technology, there is the option to take a short tutorial that talks you through how to use it.
Run ChromeVox – or another screen reader on each of your test pages and make a note of any problems or ways you can improve elements to make them more accessible for screen readers.
Check to make sure all visual elements like images and video have adequate alt text and that there are clearly labelled shortcuts available that allow users to skip to other relevant sections of your website.
Interactive elements, like customisable buttons for e-commerce sites (those that let you select size and colour from multiple options, for example) should also be clearly labelled for the screen reader and operable using the arrow and tab keys.
Structure test – this is another important test that ensures screen readers can get the most accurate information from a webpage. Using headings with the correct hierarchical structure means screen readers will read them in the right order and prioritise the most important information for user coming onto that page. It also means the webpage will make sense when read aloud.
Control+Alt or Control+Option+U will open the headings navigation tool in ChromeVox and you can use this to see – or rather hear – what kind of a navigational structure and overview your webpage will provide using its headings and landmarks for someone using a screen reader.
Colour and contrast test – there are various extensions available on Chrome which you can use to check the colour contrast on screen that make it easier for people with low vision to read and discern text clearly.
These automated tools will carry out an audit on the colour contrast of various on-page elements and flag any issues where there is insufficient contrast with a pathway that describes the element so you can find and fix it. Some of these tools will even provide you with a colour suggestion that would make a good replacement.
Ideally, you should be aiming for a contrast ratio of 4.54 for WCAH level AA and 7.01 for meeting AAA criteria.
DIY or professional audit?
While these basic checks are a good starting point and will catch most major barriers to accessibility within your website, they are by no means exhaustive. By enlisting the help of an accessibility expert to carry out an audit – or even a full rebuild, you can ensure accessibility is baked into the fabric of your website.
This is important for all websites, but especially for those that operate as the face of Public Sector services.
At Formation, we have experience supporting various businesses and organisations with assessing the accessibility of their websites and addressing any issues that arise to ensure they are WCAG compliant.
We also have extensive experience working alongside Public Sector Services to ensure their websites are functional and inclusive for all users to WCAG AA standard and above.
