WCAG Audit Services: Web Accessibility & Compliance Audit

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines were published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and are recommendations on how organizations can make digital content more accessible. While “WCAG compliance” is often used when discussing digital accessibility, the more accurate term is “WCAG conformance” as WCAG is a voluntary standard rather than a law. WCAG conformance refers to voluntarily following the guidelines and proactively implementing them into digital content.

The cost for accessibility audit services will largely depend on the platform being used to conduct the WCAG audits. Some WCAG testing tools are free to use while others may have a small fee.

• There are numerous benefits to conforming with WCAG guidelines, including:
• Improving usability for individuals with disabilities, including those who rely on assistive technologies such as screen readers. 
• More individuals want to do business with organizations whose core values align with theirs. By creating an accessible website, you send a message that you’re committed to supporting the disabled community. This can boost your brand’s reputation and expand your customer base.
• As you boost the usability of your site, you also improve your overall SEO rankings which drives more traffic to your site.
• Improving accessibility means more people can use your site, which means more people can make purchases. This results in more revenue for your brand.
• WCAG conformance also helps you avoid lawsuits as the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.While the ADA does not directly address web accessibility, the Department of Justice has extended it to the digital realm.

Searching online for accessibility consultants will yield a number of results. We recommend partnering with one that provides not just a website accessibility audit, but also provides audit reports and remediation services.

Audits for WCAG can provide you with an idea of where your WCAG conformance levels are at and where improvement is needed.

Automated accessibility testing is an important first step in conformance with WCAG guidelines. The methodology is fast and simple and check your entire website in minutes. However, automated testing can only test for 70% of common WCAG errors. Expert manual testing bridges those gaps and resolves more complex accessibility issues, such as errors in videos, PDFs, audio, or mobile apps. Using a hybrid approach enables you to meet more accessibility compliance guidelines and create a more accessible site.