Testing and procurement

Automated scans find only part of the problems. These rules add tests with assistive technology and with disabled people, an audit method, an owner and deadlines for fixes. They also cover what to ask for when you buy a component and what to publish when you sell one.

Recommended

• Check accessibility in every build

  AXS-81

  Run an automated accessibility check on every page or screen in the test suite, and fail the build on any violation.

• Test each critical journey with a keyboard and a screen reader

  AXS-82

  Before each release that changes a critical journey, complete it with a keyboard alone and with two screen readers. Record the result for each journey.

• Test with more than a screen reader

  AXS-61

  Before each release that changes a critical journey, also complete it with voice control, with switch access and at 400% zoom or a screen magnifier. Record a pass or fail for each.

• Test with disabled people

  AXS-62

  Before a new product or a redesign launches, watch at least 3 people who use assistive technology every day try its critical journeys. Fix what blocks them before launch.

• Audit a sample chosen by the W3C method

  AXS-71

  Base each accessibility audit on a written scope and a sample. The sample holds every common screen, every critical journey from start to end, each page type and each technology. Add random pages that make up at least 10% of that sample.

• Give accessibility one owner per product

  AXS-79

  Name one person who owns accessibility for each product. They own the WCAG target, the audit plan, the statement and the queue of accessibility defects.

• Fix accessibility defects by a deadline

  AXS-80

  Label every accessibility defect by severity. Fix one that stops a person finishing a critical journey within 5 working days. Fix every other WCAG A or AA failure within 90 days, or list it as a known gap in the statement.

• Ask for a conformance report before you buy

  AXS-63

  Before you buy a component your customers will see, such as a chat widget or a booking tool, get its Accessibility Conformance Report. It covers EN 301 549 or WCAG 2.2 AA. Test its worst claims yourself.

Optional

• Publish your own conformance report

  AXS-64

  If you sell to businesses or the public sector, publish an Accessibility Conformance Report for each product from your latest audit. Give every criterion a result and a remark.

Avoid

• Accessibility overlay widgets

  AXS-45

  Installing an accessibility overlay widget instead of fixing the site. Overlays do not make a site meet WCAG.

Read this with

• Testing playbook

  Scan every build for accessibility and test critical journeys with a keyboard and screen readers.