What is an Accessibility Audit? How to Audit Your Website
Quick Definition: An accessibility audit is a comprehensive review of a website to identify barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using it.
Accessibility Audit Explained
An accessibility audit evaluates your website against accessibility standards (usually WCAG 2.1 AA) to find issues that need fixing.
**Types of accessibility audits:**
**Automated testing:** - Uses tools to scan for common issues - Fast and consistent - Catches ~30-40% of issues - Good for finding obvious problems
**Manual testing:** - Human review of pages - Tests with assistive technology - Catches nuanced issues - Required for complete assessment
**User testing:** - Real users with disabilities test the site - Reveals practical usability issues - Most valuable but resource-intensive
**What an audit covers:** - All WCAG success criteria - Keyboard navigation - Screen reader compatibility - Color contrast - Form accessibility - Multimedia accessibility - Document accessibility
Why Accessibility Audit Matters for Your Website
For Users
An audit identifies the specific barriers preventing users with disabilities from accessing your content.
Legal Risk
Regular audits demonstrate good faith effort toward accessibility. They're often required after legal settlements.
SEO Impact
Many issues found in accessibility audits (heading structure, link text, alt text) also impact SEO.
How to Check for Accessibility Audit Issues
AccessiCheck provides automated accessibility audits of your website, identifying WCAG 2.1 AA violations with plain-English explanations.
Check Your Website NowHow to Fix Accessibility Audit Issues
Start with automated scanning
Run an automated audit to get a baseline and identify the most common issues quickly.
Prioritize by severity
Address critical issues (that completely block access) before moderate issues (that make things difficult).
Test key user journeys
Manually test your most important flows: checkout, signup, contact forms, main content.
Establish ongoing monitoring
Accessibility isn't one-and-done. Regular scanning catches regressions and new issues.
Related Terms
Check Your Website for Accessibility Audit Issues
Get a free accessibility scan and see exactly what needs to be fixed.
Start Free Scan