Accessibility audits

An accessibility audit is a comprehensive set of tests run by an independent team of specialists. Depending on the size and complexity of your product or website you can have an internal or external audit.

An audit will check to make sure your product or website meets the WCAG 2.2 Level AA accessibility guidelines and how well it performs with assistive technologies.

During an audit, accessibility specialists will test:

After an audit you will receive a report which details accessibility issues in your product or website.

Why you need an audit

An accessibility audit will give you an understanding of the types of barriers users may face when using your product or website. It will also provide remediation techniques to help resolve any issues.

It will check whether your product or website meets WCAG 2.2 Level AA and the public sector bodies accessibility regulations. You can read more about some of the most common issues found in DfE audits.

Before going into public beta, your product or website must work with a combination of assistive technologies and browsers. An audit will ensure this and will help you to meet Service Standard point 5.

You can use the report to help to create your accessibility statement.

What's included in the audit report

The report will tell you:

  • where your product or website is failing to provide a good user experience, especially for people with disabilities
  • which guidelines you are failing to meet
  • why you have not met the criteria and how to resolve issues

It will provide users with an understanding of where they could face accessibility barriers. They can then make a choice to use your product or website or think about workarounds.

Get an audit

You should start planning for your audit at alpha phase, and ensure that sufficient time, resource and cost have been planned into your delivery. This will allow you to have had an audit, updated your accessibility statement and resolved any issues before users start to use your product or website.

Get help to understand what audit you need

Complete the audit requirements form (MS Form, internal only) and DesignOps will contact you to discuss your audit needs. They can also help to ensure you have all the information you need to give to an auditor to complete an accessibility audit.

Information about this page
Created
6 August 2024
Last reviewed
23 October 2024
Last updated
23 October 2024
Reason this page exists
This page exists to help people understand the need, and how to get an accessibility audit, and what to do with the results.
Suggest a change or comment
Issue 34