Accessibility and assisted digital

Getting an accessibility audit

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Accessibility community

Getting an expert audit can help find accessibility problems with your service and make sure it meets accessibility requirements.

If you바카라 사이트檙e working on a 바카라 사이트 service (that바카라 사이트檚 a service published on a .service.gov.uk subdomain), you must get an audit before your service moves into public beta.

Accessibility audits can also help public sector bodies understand:

The full name of the new regulations is the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Work out what needs to be audited

Before you start searching for someone to carry out your audit, you바카라 사이트檒l need to work out which elements of your service you want the audit to focus on.

It바카라 사이트檚 not usually feasible to audit the whole service. You should focus on:

  • getting a representative sample of your page templates and content types tested
  • any key interactive features
  • your most common or important user journeys
  • any particularly problematic areas you바카라 사이트檝e seen in testing

If you build a reusable components library, get all of the components tested. Using a library makes things easier in the long run: if you hard-code all of your pages you바카라 사이트檒l need to fix each instance of a problem manually, rather than just updating the library.

If you바카라 사이트檙e getting a website audited

Equally, it바카라 사이트檚 not feasible to audit an entire website. Your auditor will usually work with you to identify exactly which pages to check. But start by putting a sample together to give them an idea of what바카라 사이트檚 on your website.

Your sample should include:

  • your site바카라 사이트檚 homepage
  • content pages that are mostly text based
  • images, video and audio content
  • interactive tools and transaction, like forms
  • pages including login functionality, if your website has them
  • PDFs and other document types you have
  • dynamic content like pop-up windows
  • navigation pages, including your sitemap and pages with search functionality

You should also include in your sample any pages or websites containing information about accessibility, how to contact you, how to use your site, legal information (for example terms and conditions pages, or things like your privacy policy) and any settings or preferences pages.

What바카라 사이트檚 involved in an audit

You바카라 사이트檒l need to get your service or website checked against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (known as conformance testing), to make sure it meets the WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standard.

The audit should also include testing with assistive technologies (even if you바카라 사이트檝e used assistive technology in your own testing). This shows how well your service performs with things like screen readers and magnification software.

If your service is being assessed against the Service Standard you must get an accessibility audit - and fix any issues - before your service moves into public beta.

Do not leave your audit until the last minute - make sure there바카라 사이트檚 time to act on the recommendations.

How to get an audit

You can:

  • ask a specialist from your department to do the audit - they바카라 사이트檒l need good accessibility and assistive tech knowledge, and experience of evaluating services against WCAG 2.2
  • use a third party auditor - you can use the to help you find a supplier

If you바카라 사이트檙e working to the Service Standard, arrange a follow-up audit when you book your initial audit, so you can check you바카라 사이트檝e fixed any issues.

If you바카라 사이트檙e using a third party auditor, there are a couple of extra steps you바카라 사이트檒l need to take.

Write an accessibility audit brief

You바카라 사이트檒l need to write a brief so potential suppliers know what you need from them. In your brief, include:

  • the name of your service or website and a description of what it is - it바카라 사이트檚 helpful to include some screenshots and URLs
  • who your users are
  • which user journeys, tasks, patterns or page types you바카라 사이트檇 like the auditor to look at - it바카라 사이트檚 helpful to provide a list of components in your pattern library
  • your timescale for the audit - allow enough time for bug fixes before you move on to the next stage of user testing
  • which assistive technology and browser combinations you want the auditor to test with, if that바카라 사이트檚 something you바카라 사이트檝e asked for
  • whether you바카라 사이트檙e aiming for WCAG 2.2 level AA or level AAA compliance
  • who will read the audit report - for example, product managers or developers
  • how much support you want - it바카라 사이트檚 a good idea to get support from the start and ongoing support after the audit
  • whether you바카라 사이트檒l need help fixing any issues identified in the audit

You should also tell potential suppliers:

  • where you are in your development cycle
  • if you want to attend any of the testing and the dates you could attend
  • if any part of your service was built by a third party

Check that you바카라 사이트檒l get to discuss things face-to-face with your auditors and make sure they do not rely exclusively on automated tools.

if you바카라 사이트檙e not sure which pages to get tested or how the evaluation process works.

Pick a supplier

Do not automatically go for the cheapest supplier - they often will not represent the most valuable choice. Look for suppliers that:

  • have extensive experience of doing audits, preferably of government services
  • are familiar with the service standard and 바카라 사이트 design patterns, if you바카라 사이트檙e building a service for 바카라 사이트
  • provide clear and actionable reports - it바카라 사이트檚 okay to ask to see examples
  • are involved in the wider accessibility community - for example through publishing blog posts, running training and contributing to standards
  • can help you prioritise issues and provide support in fixing them - it바카라 사이트檚 worth paying more for a supplier that can help with this
  • meet your needs - for example if you need support tickets raised in a specific project management tool

What happens after the audit

If you바카라 사이트檙e building a 바카라 사이트 service, you바카라 사이트檒l need to prioritise and fix the issues raised in your audit report before you move into public beta. Your supplier should be able to help you with this - it바카라 사이트檚 worth choosing a supplier that offers this service, and paying a bit extra if necessary.

Use your follow-up audit to check you바카라 사이트檝e fixed all the issues.

If you바카라 사이트檙e a public sector body, you바카라 사이트檒l need to work out which issues are reasonable for you to fix now and what you바카라 사이트檒l fix later.

Once that바카라 사이트檚 done, think about what needs doing to help your organisation continue to meet accessibility standards. For example, you might want to consider:

  • appointing an accessibility champion and reviewing the organisation바카라 사이트檚 policies on accessibility
  • using
  • arranging
  • making sure that any technology suppliers you use in future know about accessibility standards (auditors are often happy to share details of the tools and processes they use for accessibility testing)

If you need extra help, start with the or .

You could also use the:

Publishing an accessibility statement or accessibility page

Once you바카라 사이트檝e finished your audit, you바카라 사이트檒l be ready to start working on an accessibility page for your 바카라 사이트 service.

If you바카라 사이트檙e a public sector body and you바카라 사이트檝e worked out what you바카라 사이트檙e going to fix now, you바카라 사이트檙e ready to publish an accessibility statement for your website.

From:
Accessibility community
Last updated
over 5 years ago
Last update:

Added detail on getting a public sector website audited.

  1. Clarified what should be involved in an audit.

  2. Guidance first published