Accessibility Audit
Systematic evaluation of digital products against accessibility standards.
Definition
An accessibility audit is a comprehensive evaluation of digital products against accessibility standards like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Audits identify barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using websites, apps, and digital services effectively.
Accessibility audits combine automated testing that catches technical issues with manual testing using assistive technologies and expert review. Results prioritize issues by severity and provide remediation guidance. Audits are increasingly required by law and expected by users.
Why It Matters
Billions of people have disabilities that affect digital access. Accessibility audits ensure products work for everyone while reducing legal risk from inaccessibility.
For organizations, accessibility is both an ethical imperative and increasingly a legal requirement.
Examples in Practice
An accessibility audit reveals that a checkout process is impossible to complete using only a keyboard, blocking many disabled users.
A company's audit identifies missing alt text across thousands of images, prioritizing the most critical for immediate remediation.
Post-audit, a redesigned navigation reduces support calls from users with visual impairments by 60%.