Understanding Your AccessibilityChecker Score
#accessibilitychecker #WCAG
Now that you’ve scanned your site using the AccessibilityChecker tool, let’s take a closer look at what your score says about your website.
Web accessibility scores range from 0 to 100 and different ranges indicate how much work you need to do on your site.
A score of 49 or less indicates significant accessibility issues, meaning your website is largely inaccessible to users with disabilities. Users with disabilities may find your website unusable, which could lead to legal risks in various jurisdictions.
A score within this range means your website has some accessibility features in place but there are still notable barriers that hinder a fully accessible experience. While some users with disabilities might be able to navigate parts of your site, others may still face obstacles.
Scores between 70 and 89 indicate your website demonstrates a reasonable level of accessibility, with many issues addressed, but there are still areas for improvement. Your site is somewhat usable for users with disabilities, but the experience may not be fully inclusive or seamless.
If your score falls between 90 and 95, your website is most likely fully compliant. However, you will still need to validate any required manual audits if you want to be able to avoid lawsuits and provide the best possible experience for all users.
A question we are often asked is, why can I never achieve a score of 100 with the automated AccessibilityChecker tool?
The answer is that web accessibility audits also have a subjective element. To get to a score of 100, your website needs a human pair of eyes to validate your accessibility.
Certain elements on a site require human interaction to show up. A form with multiple steps is an example of this. Our automated tools wouldn’t be able to complete the first page of a form to trigger the next – only a person can do this.
It’s these types of elements that will show up as a required manual audit in your AccessibilityChecker report.
We also recommend that you test your site using assistive technology such as screen readers and with a keyboard only during this process.
Once you remediate any remaining manual issues, you will be 100 percent compliant. However, please keep in mind that we cannot provide you with this validation in a report – you would need to mark the required manual audits as resolved yourself.
If for any reason you don’t have the resources to undertake a manual audit, we can assist you. Find out more about our manual audits here.
Once your site is fully compliant with WCAG guidelines, there is another step you need to take – creating an accessibility statement.
An accessibility statement is a simple, public declaration housed on your website that explains the steps you’ve taken to ensure your site is usable for everyone, including people with disabilities. It usually tells users:
If you are a government agency, it’s also highly recommended that you generate a VPAT or ACR report.
A VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) or ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report) is necessary for government agencies to ensure compliance with accessibility standards and laws, such as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in the United States or similar regulations in other countries.
Congratulations! Your website is accessible and compliant. Now to keep it that way.
It’s important to remember that websites are ever-evolving, which means web accessibility needs to be an ongoing priority.
To make this easier, our automated software packages come with a built-in domain crawler that will scan your site every 7 days. This way, if any new accessibility issues are detected, you’ll receive an email notification and can deal with them as soon as possible.