WCAG Compliance Auditing
EAA, 508 & ADA Compliance testing of websites, SaaS & mobile apps starts with WCAG auditing
The Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) serve as the standard for digital accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as the European Accessibility Act, Ontario’s AODA, and other global regulations. While cloud-based software, SaaS platforms, web apps, and mobile apps also require compliance, the primary legal focus remains on websites. The latest WCAG version is 2.2, but in practice, compliance requirements generally align with WCAG 2.1 A and AA for 508 and ADA compliance.
The most effective approach to WCAG testing combines both automated and manual evaluations. Despite advancements in AI, automated tools are still limited, detecting only about 30-40% of accessibility issues. That’s why we follow best practices with a three-step WCAG compliance audit, which includes automated scanning, human assistive technology testing, and manual UX and code reviews. If you need confidence in your WCAG compliance, our audits are conducted by highly skilled and credentialed accessibility experts.
Every member of our team is senior-level, with over eight years of experience in comprehensive WCAG audits and remediation consulting.
No Junior Devs. No Offshoring. Just the Pros.
A few key points to keep in mind:
- The European Accessibility Act (EAA), similar to GDPR, applies to U.S. companies that engage with EU citizens.
- Be cautious of overlay solutions—not only do they fail to deliver on their promises, but they can also increase the risk of lawsuits.
- Legal risks related to web accessibility are growing and unlikely to disappear.
- The compliance process involves three steps: a website WCAG audit, followed by remediation, and then verification.
- Automated testing tools, even with AI, can only detect about 30% of WCAG issues.
Before starting the process, consider where your website is in its lifecycle. Has it been updated in the past four or five years? If not, it may be more cost-effective to invest in a fully WCAG-compliant website designed and developed by accessibility experts, rather than spending resources on auditing and remediating an outdated site.
If your current website is in good shape and you’re ready to move forward with auditing and remediation, here’s what that process looks like:
WCAG Website Auditing Plans for Section 508 & ADA Compliance
To ensure accessibility for people with disabilities and reduce legal risks, we offer three levels of web accessibility audits.
1. Automated WCAG Testing
In this process we will use multiple systems to thoroughly test the site. We start by using top industry software for site-wide testing and issue documentation. While software is effective in catching the broad volume of issues, software is “dumb” and can only identify ~30% of issue types. Software alone cannot provide thourough web accessibility and WCAG compliance auditing.
2. Human WCAG Testing
All unique pages are tested by a highly qualified accessibility expert so that systemic errors can be identified and remediation applied across the entire system in an efficient manner. This includes manual code review, UX review, and keyboard-only testing with multiple devices and browser combinations.
3. Assistive Technology Testing
We put ourselves in the position of the individual with a disability and navigate through core use-cases and unique pages. In so doing, we identify the particular pain points that seniors and people with disabilities encounter when using various Assistive Technologies (ATs) – screen readers in particular.