A web accessibility audit is a qualified, in-depth assessment of how well your digital assets and website satisfy the needs of people with disabilities, abide by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and meet the technical requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
This isn’t something anybody can know just by spending a few minutes using your app or glancing at your website. When a website auditing service is carried out appropriately, a specialist tests and scans your web property’s most vital flows and functions. When it’s complete, you can be assured that the website auditing services have recognized the accessibility barriers it contains.
What does an accessibility audit process entail?
A web accessibility audit is created using three accessibility testing techniques, and if possible, these techniques should be used to support and assess compliance with web accessibility standards.
1. Automated testing
Automated testing is a vital component of a web accessibility audit. It allows you to report and scan your digital property’s accessibility issues (some digital properties and native apps are tested mostly through manual evaluation).
Effects from a web accessibility audit will flag definite accessibility obstacles and their severity, often containing a holistic accessibility health score.
Your mark can serve as a standard as you track your accessibility enhancements over time. Automated testing can examine several of the most common violations of WCAG criteria. It reports an automatic “fail” or “pass” as to whether a particular condition is met on a web page, such as the presence of alternative text (“alt-text”) to describe an image or set standard for color contrast.
Automated testing cannot find every obstacle, but often it’s a useful tool, particularly when it comes to monotonous tasks.
Additionally, having a platform that understands the results is crucial, even though having the right testing tools is essential. The Acadecraft platform, for instance, provides clarity and context to accessibility findings across web properties, with useful visibility to the history of issues identified.
2. Manual testing
Manual testing shapes automated scanning, challenging for many WCAG criteria that automated tests can’t. Also, because automated tests tend to yield false positives where no obstacles exist, those must be established by a human consultant.
Judgment is also required to assess particular features further. For example, an automated test can express that alt text has been compromised for an image, but it can’t tell if the text precisely explains what the image is for or conveys what’s in it. It also can’t tell you whether the tabbing order on the site is in an order that makes sense. It takes an individual to do that.
Instances of activities achieved during the manual assessment include:
Using a screen reader to assess the display of data
Using keyboard tabs to direct through a page
Estimating the color contrast of a web page
3. Functional testing
Functional testing is also vital because a platform, app, or website that appears to be accessible might be terrible for some individuals with disabilities. Generally, the only way to determine this is by actually using it.
For instance, can forms be submitted or products selected by people who type gently or use voice commands or a keyboard instead of a computer mouse? Functional testing, which generally involves individuals with disabilities and users of assistive technologies, confirms that ATs, such as screen readers, can interact correctly with content and digital property.
Technologies that may be used in the web’s accessibility audit
In completing an accessibility audit, diverse assistive technology tools and software and techniques can be used, depending on diverse factors, including:
Ease of access for individuals with disabilities, i.e., free technologies like VoiceOver and NVDA
The most popular browser, according to WebAIM metrics, is Chrome.
· Effect on system performance when the AT integrates with the operating system, i.e., whether the AT might cause system performance to be slower for users after installation
Wrapping up
Every digital accessibility program needs to finish Web accessibility audits, but they are only one element of the bigger picture. Acadecraft offers this end-to-end, comprehensive solution with a package suitable for your company’s needs.
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