Elevate Your Site with Expert Website Accessibility Auditing Tricks
Tags: a11y, audit, webaudit, accessibilityaudit
Published: 2024-03-11 12:33:15

Let’s say your website is like your digital storefront—it’s a welcome sign that attracts people and showcases your amazing products or services. But what happens if the door is too narrow for a wheelchair or the lighting is so dim that you can barely see the objects? It's not exactly an inclusive experience, is it?

That’s where an expert website accessibility audit comes in. It’s like giving your website a thorough assessment to ensure everyone can access and interact with it easily, regardless of power. 

Buckle up because this post will break down website accessibility auditing into bite-sized chunks and show you how it can improve your site in surprising ways.

## What Are the Most Common Accessibility Barriers the Website Might Have?

- **Let’s face it:** websites can be minefields of accessibility issues if they aren’t designed without coverage. 
- **Lack of Alt Text:** Images are good for visual pleasure, but what if no one sees them? The alt text describes the image for a screen reader used by people with low vision.
- **Poor Colour Quality:** Low colour contrast in text and background makes reading easier, especially for people with low vision.
- **Keyboard Navigation Problems:** Only certain elements on your web page may require a mouse. All functions are easily accessible to people who rely on the keyboard.
- **Missing Headings:** Topics organise your content and make it easier to understand. Screen readers rely on titles to navigate the page.
- **Unclear Language:** Complex jargon and overly technical jargon can alienate sceptical users.

This is just a snapshot of the limitations to access that lie open on the internet.

## What Is the Process of Accessibility Auditing?

Website accessibility audit offerings take a scientific technique to figuring out and addressing those obstacles. Here is a breakdown of the precise occasion:

1. **Discovery:** This level involves understanding your website’s reason, audience, and particular accessibility wishes.
2. **Scanning and Testing:** A combination of automatic online website auditing tools and guide checking out determines accessibility issues.
3. **Analysis and Reporting:** Audit consequences are analysed, prioritised based totally on severity and effect, and provided in a clean document with actionable suggestions.
4. **Remediation:** This is where the magic happens! Findings are processed to create a website that is easy to navigate.
5. **Monitoring and Maintenance:** Once maintenance is implemented, the site is retested to ensure accessibility compliance and maintenance.

## What Parts of the Website Should Be Prioritised When Doing an Audit?

While comprehensive website availability statistics are good, here are some basic priorities:

- **Content:** Make sure your content material is apparent, concise, and handy. Break down complicated subjects using simple language, and avoid jargon.
- **Layout:** Focus on website format. Use subject matters to organise content material, create a logical journey, and make certain the listing is clear.
- **Image:** Don't forget about the alt text! Accurately and concisely describe the photographs and the usage of suitable keywords.
- **Multimedia:** Provide transcripts and transcripts for video and audio content material to make the content available to all.
- **Forms:** Provide clean characters, error messages, and keyboard navigation alternatives for your forms.

## What Are Some Quick Fixes to Improve Site Visibility?

Even in case you haven’t researched at all yet, you can take a few brief steps from the [top website auditing services](https://www.acadecraft.com/accessibility/audit-services/) to make your website extra on hand:

- **Use Clear And Concise Language:** Avoid jargon and technicalities that may confuse some users.
- **Increase Text Size:** Make sure your text is large enough to make it easy to read, especially for the visually impaired.
- **Provide Subtitles For The Video:** This will allow users who are deaf or hard of hearing to access the information presented in the video.
- **Keyboard Navigation For Drop-Down Menus:** Ensure that users can only navigate with the keyboard and use drop-down menus.
- **Closed Descriptions of Videos:** Provide closed descriptions of videos, which are audio transcripts displayed on the screen. This caters to users who are deaf or hard of hearing and in a noisy internal environment.
- **Resize the Text By Zooming In:** Make sure your website empowers online shoppers to zoom in and out without any problems with the layout. This enlarges the text to improve readability for the visually impaired.
- **Attention Cues:** When users tab content on your site, treat it with clean visual cues that show incredible insight. This helps users navigate their space on the page more efficiently.
- **Error Detection and Correction:** Make sure your website detects form errors and provides actionable messages directing customers to remove them. For example, instead of just clicking "invalid input", specify what's wrong with the entries.

## In Conclusion
A website accessibility audit isn’t just about check boxes; it’s about a website anyone can use and enjoy. By considering website auditing services and following these tips, you can open your digital doors to a wider audience, improve your brand reputation, and ensure that everyone has the same opportunity to engage with your content. And still you facing issues to make you website accessible to all please [contact an expert](acadecraft.com/contact-us/) that can help you. Remember, a truly inclusive website is a successful website!