Website Accessibility Audit: DIY Guide

Why DIY Accessibility Auditing

Accessibility can feel overwhelming—legal requirements, technical standards, specialized knowledge. Many organizations delay accessibility work because it seems too complex or expensive. But you can make meaningful progress with basic tools and systematic checking.

This guide covers how to conduct a practical accessibility audit yourself. You won't catch everything a professional auditor would, but you'll identify the most common and impactful issues. Often, fixing these basics dramatically improves the experience for users with disabilities.

Automated Testing

Free Automated Tools

• WAVE: Browser extension showing issues visually on the page
• axe DevTools: Chrome extension with detailed issue explanations
• Lighthouse: Built into Chrome DevTools, includes accessibility audit
• Pa11y: Command-line tool for automated scanning

How to Use Automated Tools

1. Test representative pages

   Home page, content pages, forms, navigation—cover the major templates.

2. Run multiple tools

   Different tools catch different issues. Use at least two.

3. Review findings critically

   Not every flagged issue is equally important. Prioritize.

4. Document and track

   Record findings and track fixes. This helps measure progress.

What Automated Tools Miss

• Whether alt text is actually meaningful
• Logical reading order of content
• Whether error messages make sense
• Focus management in dynamic content
• Video caption quality

Keyboard Testing

Many users navigate without a mouse. Test your site with keyboard only.

Basic Keyboard Test

• Start at the address bar and Tab through the page
• Can you reach every interactive element?
• Is the focus indicator visible?
• Does Tab order follow visual layout?
• Can you access dropdown menus with keyboard?
• Can you close modals with Escape?

Key Combinations

Common Keyboard Issues

• Focus gets trapped in elements
• No visible focus indicator
• Skip links missing or non-functional
• Interactive elements unreachable by Tab
• Custom controls missing keyboard support

Visual Testing

Color Contrast

Text must have sufficient contrast with its background:

• Normal text: 4.5:1 minimum ratio
• Large text (18pt+): 3:1 minimum ratio
• UI components: 3:1 minimum ratio

Use tools like WebAIM Contrast Checker or browser extensions to verify.

Images and Alt Text

Check every image:

• Does it have alt text?
• Is the alt text meaningful? ("Photo of team meeting" not "image123.jpg")
• Decorative images should have empty alt (alt="")
• Complex images (charts, diagrams) need longer descriptions

Text Resizing

• Zoom browser to 200%
• Is content still readable?
• Does layout break?
• Is horizontal scrolling minimized?

Screen Reader Testing

Test with an actual screen reader to understand the experience.

Getting Started

• VoiceOver (Mac): Built-in, Cmd+F5 to start
• NVDA (Windows): Free download
• JAWS (Windows): Professional tool, paid
• TalkBack (Android): Built-in for mobile testing

What to Test

• Are headings announced and in logical order?
• Do images have meaningful descriptions read?
• Are form fields properly labeled?
• Are links descriptive? ("Read more" vs. "Read more about our services")
• Is dynamic content announced?

Common Screen Reader Issues

• Missing or improper heading structure
• Form inputs not associated with labels
• Links that say "click here" or "read more"
• Tables without proper headers
• Content that changes without announcement

Forms and Errors

Form Accessibility Checklist

• Every input has an associated label
• Required fields are indicated (not just by color)
• Input purpose is clear (use autocomplete attributes)
• Error messages are specific and helpful
• Errors are announced to screen readers
• Focus moves to error messages

Common Form Issues

• Placeholder text used instead of labels
• Validation errors not associated with fields
• Required indicator only shown by asterisk color
• Custom selects not keyboard accessible

Prioritizing Fixes

High Priority (Fix First)

• Keyboard access blocked
• Form fields without labels
• Images without alt text
• Videos without captions
• Insufficient color contrast on key content

Medium Priority

• Heading structure issues
• Link text clarity
• Focus indicator visibility
• Error message improvements

Lower Priority

• Decorative images with non-empty alt
• Minor contrast issues on non-essential elements
• Optimization of already-functional features

Start Your Audit

You now have the tools and approach to conduct a basic accessibility audit. Start with automated testing, verify with keyboard and visual testing, and experience your site through a screen reader. Document what you find, prioritize fixes, and iterate.

Remember: accessibility isn't a one-time project. Build it into your ongoing development process. Every improvement makes your site usable by more people.