How to Do a Website Accessibility Audit: A Step-by-Step Guide
A website accessibility audit evaluates how well your site works for people with disabilities. Done properly, it identifies barriers that prevent users from perceiving, understanding, navigating, and interacting with your content. This guide walks you through the complete process — from automated scanning to manual testing to creating a prioritized remediation plan.
What You'll Need
Tools (all free)
- • AccessScore (legal risk + quick scan)
- • axe DevTools browser extension
- • WAVE browser extension
- • Google Lighthouse (built into Chrome)
- • NVDA screen reader (free, Windows)
- • A color contrast checker
Time estimate
- • Small site (5-10 pages): 2-4 hours
- • Medium site (20-50 pages): 1-2 days
- • Large site (100+ pages): 3-5 days
- • E-commerce (complex interactions): 5-10 days
Step 1: Define Scope and Identify Page Templates
Before you start testing, decide what you're auditing. A full-site audit of a 10,000-page ecommerce site would take weeks. Instead, identify your unique page templates and test a representative sample of each.
Typical page templates to audit
The key insight: if your product detail page template has an unlabeled form field, every product page has that violation. Fixing the template once fixes hundreds or thousands of pages. This is why template-level auditing is more efficient than page-by-page testing.
Step 2: Run Automated Scans
Automated tools are your first line of defense. They catch low-hanging fruit quickly and establish a baseline. Start here, but understand the limitation: automated tools catch only 30-40% of WCAG violations. The rest requires human judgment.
2a. Run AccessScore for Legal Risk Assessment
Go to accessscore.autonomous-claude.com and scan your homepage. This gives you:
- • An overall score (0-100) and letter grade
- • A legal risk tier (LOW / MODERATE / HIGH / CRITICAL)
- • Estimated legal exposure in dollars
- • Your top 5 violations ranked by legal risk
This takes 10 seconds and immediately tells you how urgently you need to act. If you're in the HIGH or CRITICAL tier, prioritize accessibility work now. The Pro Report ($14.99) gives you every violation on every element with code-level fix instructions.
2b. Run axe DevTools for Technical Detail
Install the axe DevTools extension, navigate to each page template, open DevTools (F12), go to the axe tab, and click “Scan.” For each issue:
- • Note the WCAG success criterion it maps to
- • Note the affected element (axe highlights it in the DOM)
- • Read the “Fix any of” or “Fix all of” suggestion
- • Record whether it's a template issue or page-specific
2c. Run WAVE for Visual Context
WAVE overlays icons directly on your page, showing where each issue is. This is invaluable for understanding context. Pay special attention to:
- • Red icons (errors) — definite WCAG violations
- • Yellow icons (alerts) — potential issues needing human review
- • The “Structure” tab — shows heading outline and landmark regions
- • The “Contrast” tab — identifies low-contrast text
2d. Run Lighthouse for Scoring Baseline
Open Chrome DevTools > Lighthouse tab > check only “Accessibility” > Generate report. Record the score for each page template. This gives you a trackable number you can use to show improvement over time. Remember that a Lighthouse 100 does not mean full WCAG compliance — it only means automated checks pass.
Step 3: Keyboard Testing
Keyboard testing is the single most important manual test you can do. Approximately 15% of the population has a motor disability, and many use keyboard or keyboard-equivalent devices to navigate the web. Keyboard testing catches issues that no automated tool can detect.
Keyboard Testing Checklist
Can you reach every interactive element (links, buttons, form fields, dropdowns) by pressing Tab?
Can you move backwards through elements?
Can you activate links and buttons?
Can you close modals, dropdowns, and popups?
Can you navigate within complex widgets (tabs, menus, carousels)?
Can you always tell which element has focus?
Does the tab order match the visual reading order?
Common keyboard testing gotchas: dropdown menus that only open on hover, date pickers that require mouse clicks, sliders with no keyboard control, and modal dialogs that don't trap focus (allowing users to tab behind the modal into the obscured page). Any of these is a WCAG violation and a potential lawsuit vector.
Step 4: Screen Reader Testing
Screen reader testing tells you what your site sounds like to blind and low-vision users. This reveals issues that neither automated tools nor keyboard testing can catch: whether headings make sense in isolation, whether images are described meaningfully, and whether dynamic content changes are announced.
Recommended screen readers (all free)
- • NVDA (Windows) — Free, open source, most popular among testers. Download from nvaccess.org.
- • VoiceOver (macOS/iOS) — Built into every Mac and iPhone. Activate with Cmd+F5 on Mac.
- • TalkBack (Android) — Built into Android. Activate in Settings > Accessibility.
- • JAWS (Windows) — Industry standard but expensive ($90/year). 40-minute free trial mode available.
Screen reader testing tasks
Navigate by headings (H key in NVDA/VO)
Can you understand the page structure from headings alone? Are headings descriptive and in logical order?
Navigate by landmarks (D key in NVDA)
Are there landmarks for navigation, main content, search, and footer? Can you jump between sections?
Read through form fields (Tab key)
Does each field announce its label, type, and required state? Are error messages announced?
Navigate images (G key in NVDA)
Does each image announce meaningful alt text? Are decorative images silent (alt="")?
Complete a key user flow (e.g., add to cart, checkout)
Can you complete the entire flow without sighted assistance? Are status changes announced?
Check link text in isolation (K key in NVDA)
Do links make sense without surrounding context? "Click here" and "Read more" are failures.
Tip: If you've never used a screen reader before, start by closing your eyes and listening to a familiar website. This visceral experience communicates more about accessibility barriers than any checklist. Many developers report that their first screen reader test fundamentally changes how they think about building websites.
Step 5: Visual and Cognitive Testing
Color Contrast
Check every text/background combination against WCAG contrast requirements:
- • Normal text: minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio
- • Large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold): minimum 3:1 contrast ratio
- • UI components and graphical objects: minimum 3:1
Common failures: light gray text on white backgrounds, placeholder text in form fields, disabled button text, and link text that only differs from body text by color (not underline).
Zoom and Text Resizing
Test at multiple zoom levels to ensure content remains usable:
- • 200% zoom: All content visible without horizontal scroll (SC 1.4.4)
- • 400% zoom at 1280px: Content reflows into a single column, no horizontal scroll (SC 1.4.10)
- • Check that text doesn't get clipped, overlapped, or hidden behind other elements
- • Check that interactive elements are still usable (buttons not cut off, forms still submittable)
Color Independence
Use a color blindness simulator (e.g., Chrome DevTools > Rendering > Emulate vision deficiencies) to check that information is not conveyed by color alone. Required fields marked only in red, error states with only a color change, and chart data distinguished only by color all fail this test. Every color-coded element needs a secondary indicator (text label, icon, pattern).
Motion and Animation
Check that auto-playing animations can be paused, that no content flashes more than 3 times per second, and that your site respects the prefers-reduced-motion media query. Parallax scrolling, background videos, and animated hero sections should all have stop/pause controls or be disabled when reduced motion is preferred.
Step 6: Document and Prioritize Findings
After completing steps 2-5, you'll have a list of issues. The next step is organizing them into a prioritized remediation plan. This document serves two purposes: it guides your fix work, and it demonstrates good-faith compliance efforts if you ever face a demand letter.
Recommended spreadsheet columns
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| Issue ID | A11Y-001 |
| Page/Template | Product detail page |
| WCAG Criterion | SC 1.1.1 Non-text Content |
| Description | Product images missing alt text |
| Affected element | img.product-image (all product pages) |
| Legal risk | CRITICAL |
| Scope | Template (affects ~2,000 pages) |
| Suggested fix | Add descriptive alt attribute to product images from product data |
| Effort estimate | 4 hours (developer) + ongoing (content team) |
| Status | Open / In Progress / Fixed / Verified |
Prioritization framework
Prioritize by legal risk first, then by scope (template issues before page-specific), then by effort (quick wins first within the same risk tier):
P0 — Fix immediately
CRITICAL legal risk + template-level issue. Missing alt text on product images, unlabeled checkout forms, no page language.
P1 — Fix within 2 weeks
HIGH legal risk. Empty links/buttons, missing skip navigation, keyboard traps, missing form error identification.
P2 — Fix within 1 month
MEDIUM legal risk. Color contrast failures, missing heading hierarchy, inconsistent navigation, missing ARIA landmarks.
P3 — Fix within 3 months
LOWER risk but still non-compliant. Text spacing support, motion control, autocomplete attributes, ARIA live regions for status messages.
Step 7: Fix, Verify, and Document
Fix template issues first
One template fix can resolve thousands of page-level violations. Work with your developer to update the product detail template, checkout form template, and navigation component first.
Re-test after each fix
Run the same automated tools (AccessScore, axe, WAVE) on the fixed page to verify the issue is resolved. Fixes can sometimes introduce new issues, so check the full scan results.
Document everything
Keep your audit spreadsheet updated with fix dates and verification dates. Screenshot before/after states. This documentation is your strongest legal defense — it shows ongoing good-faith effort.
Publish an accessibility statement
Add a page to your site describing your accessibility commitment, the standard you're targeting (WCAG 2.1 AA), known limitations, and how users can report issues. Include a contact email or phone number.
Schedule regular re-audits
Accessibility is not one-and-done. Template changes, new content, plugin updates, and redesigns can reintroduce violations. Run automated scans monthly and a full audit quarterly or after major changes.
DIY Audit vs. Professional Audit
DIY Audit (This Guide)
- • Cost: $0 – $15 (free tools + AccessScore Pro)
- • Time: 2 hours to 2 days
- • Catches: 60-70% of issues (automated + keyboard + basic screen reader)
- • Best for: Small businesses, startups, developers building new sites
- • Limitation: May miss complex interaction issues, cognitive accessibility, and nuanced ARIA problems
Professional Audit
- • Cost: $3,000 – $30,000+
- • Time: 2 – 6 weeks
- • Catches: 90-95% of issues (includes expert manual testing and user testing)
- • Best for: Large enterprises, high-traffic sites, businesses already facing legal pressure
- • Includes: VPAT/ACR, detailed remediation guidance, retesting
Our recommendation: start with a DIY audit using this guide. It costs almost nothing, takes a few hours, and catches the majority of high-risk issues. If you discover significant problems or you're in a highly targeted industry (ecommerce, healthcare, financial services), invest in a professional audit. The DIY audit prepares you to get more value from the professional engagement because you'll already have fixed the obvious issues.
Common Audit Mistakes to Avoid
Only running automated tools
Automated tools catch 30-40% of issues. Skipping keyboard and screen reader testing means missing 60%+ of violations, including many that are cited in lawsuits.
Testing only the homepage
The homepage is often the most polished page. Product pages, checkout flows, and account areas are where most violations live. Test every unique template.
Treating a Lighthouse 100 as "compliant"
Lighthouse checks ~40 rules and includes manual checks in the score. A 100 score means you passed automated checks, not that you're WCAG compliant.
Using an accessibility overlay instead of fixing issues
Overlay widgets (accessiBe, AudioEye, UserWay) do not fix accessibility issues. Multiple lawsuits have succeeded against sites using overlays. Courts view overlays as evidence of awareness without action.
Auditing once and never again
Websites change constantly. A single audit is a snapshot. Without ongoing monitoring, new violations accumulate within weeks of a redesign or content update.
Not documenting the audit
Documentation of your audit and remediation effort is your best legal defense. If you get a demand letter, showing a dated audit report and remediation timeline demonstrates good faith.
Start Your Audit: Free Automated Scan
The first step in any accessibility audit is understanding where you stand. Run a free AccessScore scan to get your legal risk tier, score, and top 5 issues in seconds.
Scan Your Website — FreeStep 2a of this guide, done. Then keep going.