Accessibility Services
If you have to ask “is my site accessible?”, the answer will invariably be “no”. Websites are not accessible by definition – all aspects of a site need to be built to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Current statistics estimate that 96% of websites fail basic accessibility tests. Given that in April 2024, the US Department of Justice designated websites as “places of public accommodation,” this means that most website owners need to address this issue as a matter of law.*
This is a big shift in the industry, and the industry has responded by developing new and improved ways of revising sites to be more accessible. Now, what used to be an unaffordable like-to-have has become something which is now within reach. Good thing, since accessibility has now become a ‘must-have” for many kinds of companies and organizations.
*Please note that Andiamo Creative is not qualified to give legal advice. We highly recommend seeking legal counsel to find out how accessibility laws affect your business.
Step 1
Accessibility Audit and Statement
Preliminary Audit
The first step is to review your website for any existing accessibility issues. We run an automated accessibility check and perform basic manual reviews for keyboard accessibility and screen reader compatibility. Depending on the results of the audit and the age of your site, the options are to remediate or invest in a rebuild. If your site is older than 3 years, investment in a rebuild may be the sensible option.
Accessibility Statement
We also recommend adding an accessibility statement page to your site. This is a page, linked from your footer, communicates your commitment to accessibility, provides transparency, and is a place for users to get in touch with you if they need help. Please refer to WCAG advice to learn more about how to write an accessibility statement. We also recommend conferring with your own legal counsel in writing and maintaining an accessibility statement page.
Step 2
Remediate or Rebuild
The goal is continual improvement. Doing something is always better than doing nothing.
Remediation
Once we have a list of what needs to be addressed on your site, a plan of action can be structured around your budget and timeline. The list of accessibility issues can be long, so we focus on the items of the greatest and most immediate impact, and then move through the rest of the list.
Rebuild
The most direct way to address accessibility on a website is to build a site from the ground up, prioritizing accessibility at every level. If you have been considering investing in a new website in the near future, this is a good reason to put that plan into action.
Step 3
Audits & Maintenance
Professional Audit
Accessibility standards are wide open to interpretation so even if your site passes automated tests and the manual testing of a professional, another set of eyes will invariably offer a different opinion. Depending on the kind of business you run, a professional audit from an outside accessibility consultant might be a required step to ensure your site meets applicable standards. Even if it’s not required for you, getting a thumbs up from a qualified outside party gives you extra insurance that your site meets standards of multiple accessibility professionals.
Maintenance
Accessibility is a journey, not a destination, and no site is ever truly 100% accessible, 100% of the time. Therefore it’s important to work accessibility into your annual business plan. We can teach you how to use accessibility tools to maintain your site’s accessibility as you edit and add to your site over time, but there are also outside forces that can affect your site’s status. Changing standards, new technology, upgrades in software and a host of other items can cause problems over time. It’s best to plan for regular audits to keep ahead of any significant issues.
Learning and Experience
Accessibility services are a new offering from Andiamo Creative. After finding that there are no instant answers to accessibility, I have invested in learning how to prioritize accessibility standards in my site builds. I am learning best practices by taking courses and attending webinars led by accomplished professionals in the digital accessibility field. There is a lot to learn, so my intent is to build my knowledge base over time. In November 2024 I completed the Foundations of Website Accessibility course offered by Creative Boost Academy. I am currently taking a course on PDF accessibility, and future courses include learning best practices for manual testing. I will continue learning and posting my progress on this page.
AndiamoCreative.com – My first stop was putting the lessons I learned into action by building a new site for for my own company. I went live with this site at the end of 2024, and it currently passes automated accessibility tests. I am in the process of learning about manual testing and remediation as well as building accessible PDFS. I will continue to use this site as my guinea pig as I add new skills and services to my repertoire.