The idea of a website accessibility audit can be overwhelming, especially if you have never conducted one before. But if you are serious about your business and want it to reach the maximum audience so that you can expand your business and increase sales, an accessibility audit for your website is a vital step that you should not miss. In this guide, you will learn how to audit your website with the help of a website accessibility checker and human intervention, making meaningful improvements that benefit all users.
Understanding Accessibility Audits?
An accessibility audit is a comprehensive evaluation process that is used to assess the digital accessibility of a website, web app, mobile app, or any other digital content. This involves reviewing the digital content against the WCAG 2.2 guidelines, which provide standards for making digital content accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. In addition to accessibility, the website accessibility checker conducts usability checks to determine if there are any accessibility barriers faced by individuals with disabilities while interacting with the content.
The website accessibility audit involves a combination of automated website accessibility tools and human intervention. Automated tools are used to check the accessibility issues of a website or app automatically, but manual checks are still crucial. Manual checks involve using tools such as keyboards, color contrast analyzers, and assistive technologies. These manual checkups are vital to identify issues that might be overlooked by an automated analyzer, ensuring that the website or app is truly accessible.
What is the Need for a Website Accessibility Audit?
Website accessibility audit is essential because it ensures that the digital products and services are usable and inclusive for everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. These audits by website accessibility checkers involve systematically evaluating websites, applications, and digital platforms to identify barriers hindering accessibility. In today’s world, where everything is interconnected, digital accessibility is beyond legal requirements; it is also a moral and ethical obligation. Ensuring that your digital assets are accessible means that you open doors to a broader audience, including individuals with disabilities as well. Overall, accessibility audits allow individuals and organizations to pinpoint accessibility barriers, rectify them, and provide a smooth and equal user experience for everyone.
Steps Involved in a Website Accessibility Audit
- Define the Scope and Objectives
Before undergoing an accessibility audit with the help of a website accessibility checker or manual audit, you must set up a clear framework to guide the entire process. You need to define the scope and objectives to lay the foundation for an effective audit. For a website accessibility audit, include all public-facing and internal websites. This might involve multiple websites, especially if you have separate platforms for different functions or regions.
For a Web application, include everything, such as customer portals, e-commerce platforms, and online tools. Mobile applications have unique accessibility considerations, such as touch gestures and screen reader compatibility.
Furthermore, consider including digital documents, such as Word files, PDFs, and presentations. These documents often play a significant role in digital communication and must be accessible to all users.
- Perform Accessibility Testing
You can perform accessibility testing with an automated website accessibility checker. These accessibility checkers streamline the audit process and help focus your efforts on resolving even the most complex accessibility issues. You can use website accessibility tools, such as the accessibility Chrome extension, to make sure your websites and applications meet accessibility standards.
- Conduct Manual Audits
In addition to using a website accessibility checker, conducting manual audits is essential to review and verify the automated findings. These types of audits can help you find barriers that an automated accessibility checker might have missed. A comprehensive manual audit involves a deeper analysis compared to automated testing methods. Moreover, use assistive technologies, such as keyboard-only navigation and screen readers, to see how various disabilities affect the user experience. This can help you discover potential barriers to accessibility that people with disabilities might face.
- Document Findings
After completing your tests and audits with the website accessibility checker and manual audits, it is crucial to review the data to understand the current state of your digital assets. Organize all identified issues, from minor to major ones, into a comprehensive audit report. Ensure that the report includes clear, detailed descriptions of each problem, which may help your team understand the problem in a better way. Moreover, this documentation serves as an invaluable reference for future audits and reviews, establishing consistent improvements.
- Plan Remediation
With the help of the audit report, create a proper plan to address the accessibility barriers based on their severity and impact. Focus on and prioritize the challenges that disabled users are likely to encounter, ensuring that the most important issues are addressed first. Prioritize things according to their importance and outline actionable steps for fixing each issue. Create a task list for clear recommendations for improvement and assign each task to the appropriate team member.
- Remediated Content Testing
Once you fix the accessibility issue, retest your digital assets to ensure the fixes are working. Use the same website accessibility checker to ensure consistency and effectiveness. This step helps identify any new accessibility issues that may have arisen during the remediation process. Furthermore, beyond retesting, it is important to confirm that the improvements were effective and the fixes are truly working.
- Monitor and Maintain Accessibility
Regular monitoring and ongoing education are essential for keeping digital assets accessible as they change and develop. Schedule regular audits to monitor your digital assets’ conformance status. This can help you identify new issues that might arise as your digital products and services change. Additionally, continuous education plays an important role in ensuring accessibility. From developers to content creators, the team should be aware of the latest accessibility guidelines and best practices.
Partner with Accessibility Analyzer for Long-Term Success
Conducting a website accessibility audit is not an easy task. It is a complex, time-consuming process that demands both technical ability and meticulous attention to detail. Without the right tools and expertise, every step in planning audits to fix accessibility issues can be difficult.
Partnering with Accessibility Analyzer can transform this challenging task into a manageable process. The smart tools of the website accessibility checker and expert guidance of Accessibility Analyzer streamline the audit, so you do not have to struggle with the details, ensuring compliance and a seamless experience for all users.
Scan Your Website for Accessibility Issues — Download the Accessibility Analyzer Chrome Extension Today!