Ada Access Group

Website Accessibility Audit Services

A meaningful accessibility audit goes beyond running a scanner. We combine automated checks with manual keyboard and screen reader evaluation to find barriers automated tools cannot detect — and give your team findings they can actually act on.

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What Is a Website Accessibility Audit?

A website accessibility audit is a structured evaluation of a website or web application against defined accessibility criteria — most commonly WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard incorporated into the Department of Justice's ADA Title II web accessibility rule and referenced in many procurement and legal contexts.

The goal is to identify barriers that prevent people with disabilities from perceiving information, navigating the interface, operating controls, and completing important tasks. That includes people who are blind or have low vision, people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people with motor disabilities, and people who use different forms of assistive technology.

A genuine audit is not a scanner score. Automated tools can identify certain machine-detectable issues efficiently, but a large portion of WCAG requires human judgment: whether keyboard focus behavior is usable, whether a screen reader can navigate a form, whether alternative text accurately communicates image content, or whether a complete transaction can actually be completed without a mouse.

What Our Accessibility Audit Includes

Every audit combines automated detection with manual evaluation across the areas that matter most for real users.

Automated testing

Efficient detection of machine-testable patterns across pages and components — missing alt text, label associations, color contrast failures, and markup issues.

Keyboard testing

Every important interaction tested without a mouse: menus, dialogs, forms, carousels, custom widgets, and complete transactional flows.

Screen reader testing

Evaluation with assistive technologies across relevant platform combinations. We assess headings, landmarks, roles, names, states, and dynamic announcements.

Forms and validation

Labels, instructions, required fields, error identification, correction guidance, and complete form journeys from input to confirmation.

Focus and navigation

Visible focus, logical focus order, focus management on dialogs and dynamic updates, skip links, page titles, and consistent navigation.

Critical user journeys

End-to-end testing of the flows that matter most — registration, checkout, booking, search, account management, and other high-impact transactions.

Third-party components — many sites rely on embedded forms, chat widgets, payment processors, booking tools, and other third-party systems. We identify which third-party components fall within scope and evaluate their accessibility as part of the complete user experience.

Automated Scan vs Full Accessibility Audit

Automated scanFull audit
Missing alt text (some cases)✓✓
Color contrast failures (some)✓✓
Missing labels (some)✓✓
Keyboard operation–✓
Focus order and management–✓
Screen reader behavior–✓
Meaningful alt text accuracy–✓
Form error handling–✓
Dynamic content announcements–✓
Complete user journey testing–✓
Third-party component review–✓

W3C guidance is explicit: automated tools cannot determine complete accessibility or WCAG conformance on their own. Human evaluation is required. Learn more about automated vs manual testing.

What You Receive

Every audit delivers findings that are immediately usable — not a list of scanner warnings that requires another expert to interpret.

  • Executive summary for stakeholders — what was found, what the risk level is, and recommended next steps
  • Developer-ready findings report — each issue mapped to a specific WCAG success criterion
  • Severity and priority scoring — distinguishing critical blockers from lower-impact issues
  • Reproduction steps — enough detail for a developer to locate and verify each barrier
  • Remediation guidance — practical direction for fixing each confirmed issue
  • Optional accessibility statement guidance

Our Audit Process

A structured process means findings are reproducible, prioritized, and tied to specific success criteria — not a list of vague recommendations.

  1. 01

    Define scope

    We identify important templates, components, user journeys, and third-party integrations to include in the evaluation.

  2. 02

    Automated baseline

    Automated checks identify machine-detectable patterns efficiently and establish a technical baseline across the scope.

  3. 03

    Manual review

    Knowledgeable testers evaluate keyboard operation, assistive technology behavior, dynamic content, forms, and complete user journeys.

  4. 04

    Report

    Confirmed findings are documented with WCAG criteria, severity, reproduction steps, and remediation direction.

  5. 05

    Remediation support

    We answer developer questions, clarify findings, and help your team prioritize fixes effectively.

  6. 06

    Retest

    Significant fixes are verified against the original condition to confirm barriers have been resolved.

Who Needs an Accessibility Audit?

Any organization whose website is a meaningful part of how it delivers services, generates revenue, or communicates with the public should understand its accessibility barriers — before a complaint or lawsuit makes that evaluation urgent.

  • E-commerce businesses with checkout and account flows
  • SaaS products with complex UI — dashboards, tables, modals, drag-and-drop
  • Healthcare organizations with patient portals and appointment systems
  • Financial services with account management and application flows
  • Government and public-sector organizations under ADA Title II
  • Companies facing ADA demand letters or active litigation
  • Organizations preparing a VPAT or Accessibility Conformance Report
  • Teams about to launch or redesign a website or web application

WCAG 2.1 vs WCAG 2.2

Our audits evaluate against WCAG 2.1 Level AA by default — the version incorporated into the Department of Justice's ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility rule for state and local governments, and the most widely referenced standard in legal and procurement contexts.

WCAG 2.2 was published as a W3C Recommendation in October 2023 and adds nine new success criteria addressing focus visibility, dragging alternatives, target size, redundant entry, and accessible authentication. WCAG 2.2 is backward compatible with WCAG 2.1: content conforming to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to WCAG 2.1.

If your organization wants to evaluate against WCAG 2.2 criteria — or if a specific contract, procurement requirement, or policy requires it — we can include those criteria in the audit scope. We document the target standard clearly so your report reflects the version that was actually tested.

Read our guide to WCAG 2.1 AA and WCAG 2.2 →

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a website accessibility audit take?
Timeline depends on scope — the number of templates, components, and user journeys included. A focused audit of a standard marketing site typically takes 5–10 business days. Larger applications or e-commerce sites with complex flows take longer. We confirm scope and timeline before starting.
What is the difference between an automated scan and a full accessibility audit?
An automated scan detects machine-testable patterns — missing attributes, some color contrast failures, certain markup issues. It is fast and useful for establishing a baseline, but automated tools cannot evaluate keyboard behavior, screen reader output, the meaningfulness of labels and alt text, or whether a complete user journey is actually operable. A full audit adds the manual evaluation that is required to assess those areas.
Does a clean automated scan mean the site is accessible?
No. Automated tools detect a subset of potential accessibility issues. Many WCAG success criteria require human judgment to evaluate. W3C explicitly states that automated tools cannot check every aspect of accessibility. A clean scan means certain machine-detectable problems were not found — it does not indicate that the site meets WCAG conformance.
Which WCAG version does the audit use?
We evaluate against WCAG 2.1 Level AA by default, which is the version referenced by the DOJ's ADA Title II web accessibility rule for state and local governments. We can also include WCAG 2.2 criteria when requested. We document the target standard clearly in the report.
Can the audit findings be used as a VPAT or Accessibility Conformance Report?
A full accessibility audit provides the underlying evaluation data needed to inform a VPAT or ACR. If you need a formal conformance report in a specific format, let us know and we can discuss scope and deliverable format.
What happens after the audit?
We deliver the findings report and are available to support your team during remediation. We offer a retest to verify significant fixes. For ongoing accessibility assurance, we also offer monitoring and periodic re-evaluation.

Request an Accessibility Audit

Tell us about your website, application, or digital service. We will confirm scope, timeline, and next steps — no obligation.

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ADA Access Group provides technical digital accessibility services and does not provide legal advice.