Building an Internal Accessibility Toolkit: How to Streamline Accessibility Testing Across Your Team

Every accessibility mistake has a price.

Sometimes it’s a lawsuit. Sometimes it’s an angry social post from a frustrated customer who couldn’t use your content properly. And sometimes it’s quieter but just as costly — a drop in conversions because users simply give up trying to navigate your site. 

Most organizations know this, so they invest in digital accessibility platforms with audits, automated testing tools, and occasional fixes. But here’s the problem: without a clear internal process, accessibility testing is inconsistent. Some teams catch issues early, while others miss them until they’ve gone live. The result? More rework, higher costs, and a constant scramble to keep up. 

That’s where an internal accessibility toolkit changes the game. 

Below, we’ll give you a step-by-step framework for building an accessibility toolkit so your team can make accessibility testing repeatable, scalable, and effective across all your digital content.

What is an Internal Accessibility Toolkit?

An internal accessibility toolkit is a centralized set of resources, guidelines, and testing processes that help your team consistently identify, fix, and prevent accessibility issues. Most toolkits include:

• Accessibility testing tools include automated testing tools, browser extensions, and assistive technology simulations.

• Guidelines and checklists based on accessibility laws and standards, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

• Templates for reporting and tracking issues.

• Training materials for marketing, design, and development teams. 

• Processes for integrating accessibility testing into content and campaign workflows.

Building a toolkit enables you to turn accessibility testing into a repeatable, team-wide habit rather than a one-off checklist. Teams can catch issues early, reduce costly remediation, and maintain ongoing compliance. That proactive approach improves user experience, protects your brand, and supports long-term accessibility goals.

Why Accessibility Testing is the Cornerstone of Your Toolkit

Accessibility testing evaluates websites, mobile apps, and digital content to ensure they meet accessibility standards like WCAG and comply with relevant laws. It’s arguably the most important part of your accessibility toolkit. 

Without consistent testing, even the best guidelines, checklists, and training materials can only get you so far in creating accessible experiences. Regular and ongoing accessibility testing helps you find and fix barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing and using your digital content.

Your internal accessibility toolkit works best when it incorporates multiple types of testing. Each one catches different types of issues — and combining them provides the most accurate results:

• Automated testing: Uses scanning tools or browser extensions to quickly detect common issues such as missing alt text, poor color contrast, or empty form labels.

• Manual (or expert) testing: This involves hands-on testing from accessibility experts or users with disabilities who examine your content for more complex issues, like improper heading structure or poor keyboard compatibility. 

• Assistive technology testing: Simulates real-world usage by testing with screen readers (e.g., NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver) or other assistive technologies to ensure compatibility. 

• User testing with the disability community: Engages real users to uncover issues that automated and manual testing might miss, giving you invaluable feedback on overall usability and functionality.

As mentioned above, accessibility testing is more effective when it combines multiple methods. Automation, for instance, will catch common accessibility issues, but it can’t interpret context or usability — that requires expert testing. Combining both approaches helps you validate that your digital experience is compliant and genuinely usable. 

An accessibility symbol, with concentric circles surrounding it.

Must-Haves for Your Internal Accessibility Toolkit

Building an effective accessibility toolkit requires a few components, including reliable testing tools, clear guidelines, defined team responsibilities, and systematic documentation. Successfully embedding these into your workflows can help you make accessibility a core part of your organization. 

Below, we’ll examine these four elements in more detail. 

Accessibility Testing Tools

Look for accessibility testing tools that use both automated testing and expert audits. Automated tools should be your first line of defense, catching common issues. When choosing automated tools, prioritize tools that integrate seamlessly into your existing development workflow and that test against the latest accessibility standards. 

From here, incorporate expert testing. This allows you to catch nuanced issues that automated tools might miss — navigation problems, screen reader compatibility, and real-world visibility barriers. Some essential manual tests you should incorporate include:

• Keyboard-only navigation through all interactive elements

• Screen reader compatibility for dynamic content

• Logical tab order and focus management

• Colorblind user experience simulation

• Cognitive load assessment for more complex interactions

You’ll also want to create role-specific checklists — designers should focus on visual accessibility, developers should test specific technical implementation, and content teams should check for the correct use of information architecture. 

Accessibility Testing Guidelines

Without clear guidelines, accessibility testing is essentially a guessing game. Whether you’re using automated tools or hands-on testing, have well-defined, specific guidelines and a clear framework. These include:

• WCAG: Ensure automated tools test against the latest guidelines (WCAG 2.2) and that your internal teams regularly use a WCAG checklist to evaluate accessibility. Be sure to update your checklist as guidelines evolve.

• Legal alignment: Check additional accessibility laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), or the European Accessibility Act (EAA), to determine which apply to you and check that your content is compliant.

• Testing schedule: Build accessibility into your key projects — for example, before content goes live, during quarterly reviews, and after major updates. 

• Severity ranking framework: Establish a simple severity scale (e.g., high, medium, low) for findings so your team can prioritize fixes and allocate resources effectively. 

Roles and Responsibilities

Accessibility is a shared responsibility across teams. Be sure your toolkit defines roles and responsibilities across your entire organization.

• Marketing: Ensures campaigns, copy, and creative assets meet accessibility standards before publishing.

• Design: Includes accessible design principles such as sufficient color contrast, readable typography, clear focus states, and more. 

• Development: Implements accessible code, fixes identified issues, and integrates accessibility testing into release processes.  

Encourage collaboration so accessibility testing isn’t siloed within a single department. 

Documentation and Reporting Templates

Good documentation turns accessibility from a chaotic firefight into a smooth, predictable process. Adding these documents and reports to your toolkit can help you speed up fixes and track your progress.

• Issue logging templates: When you find accessibility issues, capture enough detail so anyone can understand and fix them. Include which guideline was broken, why it matters, how to recreate it, suggested solution, priority level, and who’s affected. Screenshots and screen recordings are critical here as well.

• Compliance progress tracking: These help you maintain visibility of your team’s accessibility performance and improvements, including how quickly you’re fixing high-priority issues, how long different fixes typically take, and what percentage of your site meets accessibility standards.

• Communication templates for development handoffs: Create ready-to-use messages for handing off findings to developers or external partners so nothing gets lost in translation. Consider including bug reports and progress updates as well.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Accessibility Toolkit

An internal accessibility toolkit works best when built with intention — not just a collection of tools. The step-by-step framework below can help you create one that supports consistent, ongoing accessibility testing and sets your team up for success. 

1. Audit Your Current Content

Start by reviewing your existing content — from your website and mobile app to downloadable documents and other digital assets. Use both automated accessibility testing tools and manual checks to get a complete picture. This will help you understand your current compliance level and prioritize areas for improvement.

2. Select an Accessibility Platform and Supporting Tools

Choose an accessibility platform that fits your specific workflows and unique accessibility needs. It should also include comprehensive features like automated scanning, issue tracking, training, legal support, and reporting. You should supplement your platform with hands-on testing checklists, expert audits, and assistive technology simulations. The goal is to cover every stage of accessibility testing, from quick scans to in-depth usability checks.

3. Document Clear Testing Protocols

Write out exactly how and when your team should test. Include which tools to use, the WCAG criteria to reference, and how to log findings. Clear protocols ensure everyone follows the same process, reducing missed issues and inconsistent results. 

4. Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Define who owns accessibility testing within marketing, design, development, and content teams. Make it clear that accessibility is a shared responsibility — not just a developer task. Cross-team ownership ensures accessibility testing is embedded into every stage of content and campaign creation. 

5. Create Training Resources for Your Team 

Equip your team with quick reference guides, WCAG checklists, and accessibility training that covers best practices. Training helps non-technical team members contribute to accessibility without slowing down production. 

6. Schedule Regular Reviews and Updates

Accessibility is not a one-time project. Build testing into your workflow on a recurring basis — before content launches, during quarterly audits, and after major design or platform updates. You may want to consider choosing an accessibility platform with continuous monitoring features, as this can help you find and fix issues before they impact your users. 

Magnifying glass and line chart

Your Toolkit is the Key to Lasting Accessibility Success

Accessibility testing isn’t a box you check once — it’s a habit you build. The brands winning on accessibility aren’t the ones scrambling to fix issues after a complaint; they’re the ones with systems in place to catch and address them before they ever become a problem. A strong internal accessibility toolkit turns accessibility into muscle memory for your team, helping you deliver better digital experiences every single time.

That’s exactly what AudioEye is built for. Our platform incorporates a three-pronged approach to accessibility, combining powerful automation with human-assisted AI technology — giving you a complete accessibility solution that grows with you. From ongoing testing and Automated Fixes to Active Monitoring and comprehensive legal support, AudioEye helps you move from reactive to proactive — and keep you there. 

Ready to see AudioEye in action? Schedule a demo today. 

Want a quick look at how accessible your site is today? Use our free Web Accessibility Checker for an in-depth breakdown.