Red Flags in Cheap Accessibility Audits

Not all digital accessibility audits are created equal. In fact, like any other product or service available in the online market, the quality of these audits ranges from entirely sub-par (total waste of your money!) to best-in-class (an audit and a smart business investment!). But how do you know which is which? 

There’s good news for anyone in this situation- you don’t have to rely on your intuition or natural business instincts to determine whether a website accessibility audit is high quality or low quality. There are actually a whole host of red flags that light the path directly to the answer for you. 

Let’s take a look!

The 9 Red Flags of a Low-Quality Web Accessibility Audit

1. No Specifics Provided: What gets reviewed? What method is used? What standards are the basis? If you come across an auditing product or service that promises comprehensive results, but doesn’t specify exactly how they’re getting from point A to point B or what standards they’re using, consider yourself warned.

   A creditable audit will lead with complete transparency about the process and the standards used. You should know which pages and elements are being reviewed, whether software or manual review is employed, and if you’re looking for compliance with the ADA, WCAG 2.1, 2.2, etc.

2. Over-Reliance on Automated Tools: There are an assortment of free tools available online for running basic, introductory web audits. (We’ve covered some of these in prior posts, so check out our blog for more details.) But, automated tools are limited in what they can offer. They should be viewed as a baby step in the right direction, not a final product. 

   Some estimates put the effectiveness of these automated tools at approximately 30-40%, meaning that most accessibility barriers still go undetected in the absence of manual (human) review.

3.  No Manual Testing: This overlaps with red flag #2. If you discover a digital accessibility audit that does NOT directly state that they use manual testing as part of their review, you should move on. On the waste-of-money-o-meter, these audits are sunk. 

   Manual review is just another way of saying human review. But in the context of accessibility audits, it refers specifically to human review carried out by people with disabilities. It is fair to say that a website audit using human reviewers who are NOT blind or low-vision is utterly pointless. The only way to detect every single accessibility barrier is to hand over the review reins to the people who rely on accessibility every single day.

4. Vague or Generic Findings: Unfortunately, this is the kind of red flag you might not discover until after you’ve received a report of the findings. If the official feedback you get about your website’s accessibility barriers says stuff like “some images are missing alt text” or “some headings are missing,” you can just file your report right in the trash bin. 

   The expectation should be that you receive an audit report that includes specific examples, direct URLs, screenshots where necessary, etc. There should be no question or ambiguity about exactly what and where the problems are and what needs to be fixed.

5. No Remediation Guidance: This overlaps with red flag #4. If you aren’t provided with a direct, comprehensive, and specific action plan for precisely what steps need to be taken to bring your website into compliance, then you’ve wasted your money. 
6. Overly Technical Jargon: If you receive an audit report or remediation plan that is heavily and obstructively dense or technical, this is likely an attempt at masking an incomplete, superficial, or pointless audit. Again, clarity is the key! You should be able to understand your auditing results and be able to easily and quickly ask questions of someone involved in the audit as needed.

7. Outdated Standards: If your web accessibility audit doesn’t rely on, reference, and understand current national and global standards, it’s more smoke and mirrors than actual solution. 

   Globally, the accessibility standards at the moment are the WCAG 2.2. This is the gold-standard that any website seeking accessibility compliance should strive to meet. There is no exception. In addition, any website operating in the United States should utilize an auditing service that understands the impact and compliance requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

8. No Assistive Technology Testing: If you don’t know, you don’t know, but if you’re running a website, you SHOULD know that blind and low-vision users rely on assistive technology to navigate the web. This is critically important because it means that an audit that does not run (manual!) tests using technology like screen readers, magnifiers, or voice controls is NOT taking the audit seriously. Don’t be fooled just by the mere mention of assistive technologies either. Make sure that these tools are, in fact, used during the auditing process and that clear and direct remediation tasks are linked to them as needed.

9. No Follow-Up Audit: When you’ve paid for and received your accessibility audit report, you should not only expect a clear plan for how to move forward with remediation, but you should also expect a concrete plan for running a follow-up audit. Even if your coding and development team understands every aspect of the remediation plan and implements it quickly, you will not know if everything worked as expected without a follow-up audit.

   While some places might suggest that their one and done approach is a fast, easy fix for your website, it is actually a sign that they don’t care whether the audit and remediation actually work. It’s the equivalent of an auto mechanic fixing a problem with your car without test driving it before letting you pay and leave. They may know what needs to be fixed and know how to fix it, but they still need to run a test to make sure everything is now operating as expected. Anything less than this is a total failure of accountability.

What to Expect with a High Quality Audit 

If you’re thinking, I guess a good audit would include the exact opposite of everything that made the red flag list, you’re right! 

A best-in-class web accessibility audit, like those provided by AllyADA, should include: 

• A specific, detailed auditing report and remediation plan
• Clear terminology that you can understand & a personal contact to answer questions
• Manual review by blind and low-vision users
• Automated tools used in conjunction with human review to bolster data points
• Assurances that assistive technologies are fully functional across the website
• Direct guidance on current standards (WCAG 2.2) and a keen understanding of the impacts of the ADA
• A scheduled follow-up once your remediation steps have been implemented
• CPACC-certified accessibility specialists

Why A Good Quality Accessibility Audit Matters

Reliance on an insufficient, ineffective, or sub-par web accessibility audit leads to two major downsides:

• Website Vulnerability: You think you’ve done right by your business by purchasing a web accessibility product or service that is supposed to bring you into compliance. You know that bringing your website into compliance is the only way to ward off unnecessary and expensive ADA lawsuits and regulatory fines.

  But because you trusted a brand that promises more than it delivers, your website is still vulnerable. And, if you make any claim of being accessible (through your marketing, communications, or client engagement efforts), you’ve set yourself up for a fall. 

   

• Wasted Money: Your business budget doesn’t just matter, it’s everything. You carefully calculate how to allocate and spend your money to optimize outcomes and maximize profits. But every dollar sunk into a low-quality accessibility audit is a dollar wasted. And, since your website is still vulnerable to legal and regulatory hits, more wasted dollars are likely to follow. (Is there anything worse than paying out money to a lawyer who realized your business was a sitting duck and filed a lawsuit?)

On the flip side, reliance on a top tier digital accessibility audit leads to a bucket of business benefits that turn your auditing expenses into a concrete investment that goes right back into your very own business:

• Boost SEO rankings, grow your brand & reach more people
• Meet U.S. & global accessibility standards
• Get lucrative tax breaks & invest in your growth
• Avoid costly lawsuits & regulatory fines 

Want to learn more? Give us a call. Have a chat. Ask some questions. 

At AllyADA, we’re one of the good guys. Free consultations. Affordable services. Real solutions.