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  • Web Accessibility Tools Worth Using in 2025

    Web accessibility tools are becoming part of everyday work for many teams. Scanners run in the background, browser extensions sit ready during reviews, and screen readers are easier than ever to test with. The challenge is rarely whether to use these tools, but how to understand the results they produce. Some findings point to genuine barriers that can frustrate users. Others are technical alerts that look urgent but may have little impact on real interaction.

    Teams that use these tools effectively tend to treat them as different viewpoints on the same experience. Automated checks help reveal patterns. Screen readers and mobile readers show how people move through a page. Design and document tools shape the foundation long before anything reaches production. When each tool has a clear purpose, accessibility work feels more manageable and less like a moving target.

    What often helps is stepping back and looking at what these tools can actually tell you and what they cannot. That perspective makes it easier to choose the right mix, set realistic expectations, and build a workflow that supports long-term accessibility rather than one-off fixes.

    Understanding the Role of Web Accessibility Tools

    Accessibility tools tend to fall into a few core roles.

    Some focus on evaluation and diagnostics. These scan pages or whole sites for common Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) issues, such as missing labels, low contrast, or heading structure problems. They are good at catching patterns and basic rules that lend themselves to automation.

    Others focus on assistive technology behavior. They help teams understand how a screen reader, keyboard navigation, or mobile reader interprets the page. These tools are closer to how people use the site in everyday life.

    Another group lives mainly in the design space. Contrast checkers and visual tools help refine palettes, typography, and layout while work is still in Figma, Sketch, or Adobe apps. Catching issues early often prevents expensive redesigns later.

    Finally, there are document and PDF tools. As organizations publish reports, forms, and guides, document accessibility has become much more important. These tools help repair structure, order, and tagging so content is usable outside the browser.

    There are limits, though. Automated tools miss subtle issues like confusing focus order, unclear instructions, or complex widget behavior. They cannot judge whether an interaction feels intuitive or whether a flow is simply exhausting to complete. Tools strengthen the workflow, but they do not replace thoughtful human evaluation or usability feedback from people with disabilities.

    With that in mind, let’s look at the tools that are shaping accessibility practice in 2025.

    A General Accessibility Evaluation Tool Where Most Teams Start

    Lighthouse

    Lighthouse remains a standard starting point for many teams. It is built into Chrome, free to use, and easy to run during development. A quick Lighthouse report gives you an accessibility score and a list of issues that can guide your next steps.

    Where Lighthouse helps most is prioritization. The report maps findings back to WCAG criteria and includes clear suggestions that point developers toward specific changes. It is especially useful for early checks on new features, quick reviews before a deploy, and tracking whether your accessibility score improves over time.

    There are tradeoffs. Because Lighthouse runs entirely through automation, it cannot assess keyboard paths, mobile gestures, or the experience a screen reader user actually has. Treat it as a baseline check, not a final sign-off.

    Screen Readers as Everyday Testing Tools

    Screen readers are often framed as tools “for users with disabilities.” That is true, but they should also be a standard part of developer and QA toolboxes. Listening to your site through a screen reader is one of the fastest ways to understand whether the experience is actually usable.

    JAWS

    JAWS continues to be widely used in professional environments, especially in enterprise and government. It is powerful, flexible, and works across many applications. Advanced scripting support allows teams to simulate complex workflows or tailor testing to specific systems.

    The tradeoff is cost and complexity. JAWS is a paid product, runs on Windows, and can feel intimidating at first. For teams that maintain high-traffic platforms or mission-critical services, however, it often becomes a core testing tool.

    NVDA

    NVDA has become a favorite among developers and accessibility testers for different reasons. It is open-source, free to use, and maintained by a strong community. It works well with major browsers and offers reliable feedback for many everyday scenarios.

    While it may lack some of the more advanced enterprise features of JAWS and can still require some practice to learn, NVDA provides an honest look at how many users navigate the web.

    Using both JAWS and NVDA gives teams a broader sense of how different setups behave and avoids relying on a single tool as a stand-in for all screen reader users.

    Color Contrast and Visual Design Tools That Support Usable Interfaces

    Visual design choices can quietly support or undermine accessibility. Contrast tools give teams a practical way to validate those choices before users are affected.

    Color Contrast Analyzer

    Color Contrast Analyzer is a widely used desktop tool for checking contrast on UI components, icons, and text over images. Designers and developers use it during reviews to confirm that colors meet WCAG thresholds.

    It relies on manual sampling, so it does not “understand” context or typography on its own. Even so, its precision makes it an everyday workhorse for UI and front-end teams.

    WebAIM Color Contrast Checker

    WebAIM’s online checker is popular for its simplicity. You enter foreground and background colors, and it immediately reports whether they pass for different text sizes and WCAG levels.

    It is not meant for full-page testing or design system governance. It shines when someone needs a quick answer during design, content editing, or code review.

    Adobe Color Contrast Tools

    Within the Adobe ecosystem, built-in contrast tools have become more important. Being able to test and adjust color values directly inside Creative Cloud apps helps designers bring accessible palettes into the development process from day one.

    These tools focus narrowly on color rather than broader criteria, which is often exactly what creative teams need while exploring options.

    Mobile Accessibility Tools for a Touch-First Web

    For many organizations, mobile traffic is now the primary way users interact with content. Mobile accessibility tools keep teams honest about how their experiences behave on actual devices.

    VoiceOver on iOS

    VoiceOver ships with iPhones and iPads and is straightforward to enable. It lets teams test gestures, focus behavior, dynamic content updates, and the clarity of labels on iOS.

    Developers quickly learn where touch targets are too small, where focus jumps in confusing ways, or where announcements do not align with what is on screen. There is a learning curve around gestures, and some apps introduce conflicts when they were not built with accessibility in mind, but the insight it provides is hard to replace.

    TalkBack on Android

    TalkBack serves a similar role in Android environments. It is deeply integrated into the OS and is used around the world on a huge variety of devices.

    Running TalkBack on your own app or site reveals how headings, landmarks, controls, and dynamic content behave on Android. Because the Android ecosystem is so diverse, testing here often surfaces issues that never appear on a single desktop configuration.

    As mobile usage continues to grow, teams that rely on VoiceOver and TalkBack gain a more accurate view of what users experience in everyday browsing.

    Browser Extensions That Keep Accessibility in the Daily Workflow

    WAVE Browser Extension

    The WAVE extension overlays accessibility feedback directly on the page. Errors, alerts, and structural details are displayed visually, which makes it easier to discuss issues with designers, developers, and content authors together.

    WAVE works particularly well for prototypes, single-page reviews, and quick checks during development. Since it evaluates one page at a time, it pairs nicely with full-site tools like SortSite rather than replacing them.

    Document and PDF Accessibility Tools That Are Easy to Overlook

    Many organizations rely on PDFs for policies, reports, and forms. If those documents are inaccessible, entire groups of users can be locked out, even if the website itself is in good shape.

    Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

    Acrobat Pro DC offers rich tools for editing tag structure, adjusting reading order, writing alt text, and labeling form fields. It allows teams to bring older documents closer to current accessibility expectations instead of rebuilding everything from scratch.

    The product is powerful and can feel overwhelming at first. Some basic training goes a long way. Once a team member becomes comfortable with Acrobat’s accessibility features, document remediation tends to move much faster and more consistently.

    As more content moves online in document form, this part of the toolkit has become hard to ignore.

    Building an Accessibility Toolkit That Lasts

    Building an accessibility toolkit that lasts is not about collecting every product available. It is about choosing the tools that give your team more clarity and less guesswork. Automated checks keep recurring problems in view. Screen reader and mobile testing show how interactions feel in everyday use. Design and document tools prevent rework before it starts. Over time, these habits strengthen the experience for everyone who depends on your site.

    At 216digital, we help teams build accessibility into their everyday workflow and shape strategies that align WCAG 2.1 compliance with real development timelines. If you want support creating a roadmap that strengthens usability, reduces risk, and fits the way your team already works, schedule a complementary ADA Strategy Briefing today.

    Greg McNeil

    December 17, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility, Accessibility testing, automated testing, evaluation tools, Web Accessibility, Web accessibility tools, Website Accessibility, Website Accessibility Tools

  • Escape the Accessibility Audit Shopping Loop

    You probably know the pattern.

    A demand letter arrives, or leadership decides it is time to “do something” about accessibility. Your team sends out a few RFPs, collects quotes, and picks a vendor to run an accessibility audit. A long report lands in your inbox. There is a burst of activity… and then daily work takes over again.

    Months later, a redesign launches, a new feature goes live, or a new legal threat appears—and you are right back where you started. New quotes. New confusion. New pressure.

    That’s the accessibility audit shopping loop: chasing one-off audits that feel busy and expensive, but don’t actually create lasting accessibility or meaningful legal protection. It is not a sign that you are doing anything wrong. It’s a sign that the way our industry sells accessibility nudges you toward short-term reports rather than long-term results. You can absolutely break this pattern—but it requires rethinking what an “audit” is for, how you evaluate proposals, and how accessibility fits into your long-term digital strategy.

    Why a One-Off Accessibility Audit Falls Short

    An audit can be useful. It can show you where some of your biggest barriers are and help you start a serious conversation inside your organization. But when an accessibility audit is treated as a one-time project, it rarely delivers what people think they are buying.

    1. A Snapshot In a Moving World

    Your site isn’t still. New campaigns launch. Content changes. Forms get updated. Third-party tools are added. A report finished in March may be out of date by June.

    If your whole plan is “we will fix this report, and then we are done,” you are treating accessibility like a static task. In reality, it behaves more like security or performance. It needs regular attention.

    2. Reports Without a Real Path Forward

    Many teams receive thick PDFs packed with screenshots and WCAG citations. On paper, it looks impressive. In practice, it can be hard to use.

    Without clear priorities and practical examples, teams are left asking what to fix first, how long it will take, and who owns which changes. When those questions go unanswered, work pauses. Other projects win. Leadership starts to think accessibility is “too big” or “too costly,” when the real issue is that the report never turned into a plan.

    3. Gaps In Scope That Leave Risk Behind

    Some audits only look at a small set of pages. Others skip key journeys like checkout, registration, password reset, or account management. Some focus on desktop and treat mobile as optional. Many rely heavily on automated tools.

    On the surface, it may seem like you “covered the site.” But important user journeys and assistive technology use can remain untested. That means real people can still run into serious barriers, even while you hold a report that says you made progress.

    4. Little Connections To Real Users

    When the work is driven only by checklists, it is easy to miss how people with disabilities actually move through your site.

    A tool might say “Form field is labeled,” yet a screen reader user may still hear a confusing sequence of instructions. Keyboard users might tab through a page in a way that makes no sense. An audit that does not consider real user journeys and assistive technologies can help you pass more checks, but still leave key tasks painful or impossible.

    How to Read an Accessibility Audit Proposal

    Breaking the loop starts before you sign anything. The way you read proposals shapes what happens next. When a vendor sends a proposal for an accessibility audit, you should be able to see what they will look at, how they will test, and how your team will use the results.

    1. Look For a Clear, Meaningful Scope

    A strong proposal spells out which sites or apps are in scope, which user journeys will be tested from start to finish, which assistive technologies and browsers are included, and which standards they map findings to, such as WCAG 2.1 AA.

    If all you see is “X pages” or “Y templates,” ask how they chose them and whether those paths match your highest-risk flows, like sign-up, checkout, or account settings.

    2. Ask For Transparent Testing Methods

    You do not need to be an expert to ask good questions. How do you combine automated tools with manual testing? Do you test with real assistive technologies, such as screen readers and magnifiers? How do you check keyboard access, focus order, and error handling? Do you ever test with people who use assistive technology every day?

    You’re looking for a process that feels like real use, not just a tool report with a logo on top.

    3. Focus On What An Accessibility Audit Actually Delivers

    Do not stop at “You will receive a PDF.” Ask to see a sample. Look for a prioritized list of issues with clear severity levels, along with code or design examples that illustrate the problem and a better pattern. A simple remediation roadmap that points out where to begin—and options for retesting or spot-checks after fixes are in place—will help your team actually move from findings to fixes.

    If the deliverables section is vague, your team may struggle to turn findings into action later.

    4. Confirm Real, Relevant Expertise

    Ask who will do the work and what experience they have. Helpful signs include familiarity with your tech stack or platform, experience in your industry or with similar products, and a mix of skills: auditing, engineering, design, and lived experience with disability.

    You are choosing the judgment of people, not just the name on the proposal.

    Using Each Audit on Purpose

    The goal is not to stop buying audits. It is to stop buying them on autopilot.

    Pressure to “get an audit” usually shows up for a reason: legal wants evidence of progress, leadership wants to reduce risk, or product teams need clearer direction. Those are all valid needs—but they do not all require the same kind of work.

    Treat every new accessibility audit as a tool with a specific job. For example, you might use an audit to:

    • Validate a major redesign before or just after launch.
    • Take a focused look at a critical journey, like checkout or application submission.
    • Test how well your design system or component library holds up in real use.
    • Measure progress after a concentrated round of fixes.

    When you frame an audit around a clear question—“What do we need to know right now?”—it becomes one step in a longer accessibility journey instead of the entire plan. It also makes it easier to set expectations: an audit can confirm risks, reveal patterns, and guide priorities, but it cannot, by itself, keep a changing product accessible over time.

    Beyond the Accessibility Audit: Building Accessibility Into Everyday Work

    To truly escape the loop, audits have to sit inside a larger approach, not stand alone.

    1. Give Accessibility a Clear Home

    Start with ownership. Someone needs clear responsibility for coordinating accessibility efforts, even if the hands-on work is shared. That anchor role keeps priorities from getting lost when other projects get loud.

    2. Thread Accessibility Through Your Workflow

    Accessibility should show up at predictable points in your lifecycle, not just at the end:

    • Design and discovery: Bring in accessible patterns, color contrast, and interaction models early so you are not “fixing” basics right before launch.
    • Development and QA: Add simple accessibility checks to your definition of done and test plans, so issues are caught while code is still fresh.
    • Content and marketing: Give writers and editors straightforward guidance on headings, links, media, and documents so everyday updates stay aligned.

    Reusable, vetted components and patterns make this easier. When your design system embeds strong semantics, keyboard behavior, and clear focus states, every new feature starts on a stronger footing.

    3. Watch for Regressions Before Users Do

    Light monitoring—through tools like a11y.Radar, spot checks, or both—helps you catch problems between deeper reviews. Instead of waiting for complaints or legal notices to reveal a broken flow, you get early signals and can respond on your own terms.

    Over time, this turns accessibility from an emergency project into part of how you build and ship. The payoff is steady progress, fewer surprises, and better experiences for everyone who depends on your site.

    Stepping Off the Accessibility Audit Treadmill

    An audit still has a place in a healthy accessibility program. But it should not be the only move you make every time pressure rises.

    When you choose vendors based on clear methods and useful deliverables, question the idea that a single report will “make you compliant,” and build accessibility into daily work, you move from a cycle of panic and paper to a steady, durable program.

    At 216digital, we’re ready to help you transition from one-off accessibility audits to an ongoing, effective accessibility program. If you want to move beyond endless audit cycles and build accessibility into your digital products for good, contact us today to start your journey with expert support.

    Greg McNeil

    December 8, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility Audit, Accessibility testing, automated testing, manual audit, Web Accessibility, Website Accessibility

  • Building an Accessible Website on a Tight Timeline

    There is a particular kind of nervous energy that comes with a full rebrand and relaunch. The clock is loud. New visuals are on the way. Navigation is changing. Content is being rewritten, merged, or retired. Everyone is juggling feedback from leadership, stakeholders, and real users—all while trying not to break traffic or conversions.

    Under that pressure, it is easy to assume something has to give. Too often, accessibility is pushed into “phase two” or handed to a single champion to figure out later. But it does not have to work that way. With clear goals, reusable patterns, and honest feedback loops, you can ship a fast, stable, truly accessible website even when the deadline feels uncomfortably close.

    This article pulls from a real full rebuild on a compressed schedule: what helped us move faster, what we would adjust next time, and how to keep people and performance in focus as you go. Take what is useful, adapt it to your team, and use it to steady the next launch that lands on your plate.

    Start with Clarity, Not Wireframes

    When time is tight, vague goals turn into stress.

    Before anyone opens Figma or a code editor, pause long enough to write down what “launch” actually means:

    • “Must launch” goals
      The essential pieces: your new homepage, top-traffic templates, core conversion flows, and basic SEO hygiene like titles, descriptions, canonicals, and redirects.
    • “Should” and “Could” items
      Lower-traffic sections, seasonal content, and “it would be nice if…” features. These are valuable, but they belong in phases 2 or 3, not on the critical path.

    Then look at your pages with a bit of distance. Instead of a long list in a ticketing tool, create a small priority matrix that weighs:

    • How much traffic each page receives?
    • How much business value does it drive?
    • Which template family does it belong to (homepage → key landing templates → high-intent pages such as pricing, contact, or product flows)

    From that view, you can sketch a realistic path to launch. Design, content, and development no longer have to move in a straight line. If your base layout and components are stable, teams can work in parallel instead of waiting on each other.

    A few shared tools keep that picture clear for everyone:

    • One spreadsheet tracking pages, owners, components, status, and risks
    • A living IA map with redirects flagged
    • A short daily standup and a twice-weekly issue triage

    It sounds simple, but that shared map is often what keeps work grounded and your accessible website from getting lost inside a noisy project.

    Designing an Accessible Website from Components Up

    On a tight timeline, the design system becomes more than a style guide. It is how you create speed without letting quality slide.

    Rather than designing one page at a time, start with the building blocks you know you will reuse:

    • Hero sections
    • Split content blocks
    • Tab sets
    • Testimonial or quote blocks
    • Carousels or sliders
    • Form layouts, including error states and help text

    For each pattern, accessibility is part of the brief, not an extra pass at the end:

    • Keyboard navigation that follows a sensible order and shows a clear, high-contrast focus state
    • HTML landmarks—header, nav, main, footer—and headings in a clean hierarchy
    • ARIA only where native HTML cannot express the behavior
    • Color, type, and spacing tokens that meet WCAG 2.2 AA, so designers don’t have to check contrast on every decision.

    Some patterns are easy to get almost right and still end up frustrating people. Tabs, carousels, and accordions deserve extra time: arrow-key support and roving tabindex for tabs, visible pause controls for sliders, and aria-expanded states plus motion settings that respect prefers-reduced-motion for accordions.

    Each component gets a small accessibility checklist and a handful of tests. That might feel slower up front. In reality, it frees teams to move quickly later because they trust the building blocks under every new layout.

    Tooling That Gives Your Accessible Website Time Back

    When deadlines are tight, you want people solving real problems, not chasing issues a tool could have caught.

    Helpful habits here include:

    • Local linting and pattern libraries
      Linters for HTML, JavaScript, and ARIA catch common mistakes before a pull request is even opened. A component storybook with notes about expected keyboard behavior and states makes reviews quicker and more focused.
    • Automated checks in CI
      Your pipeline can validate HTML, identify broken links, verify basic metadata, generate sitemaps, and ensure images have alt text where they should.
    • Performance budgets
      Agree on reasonable thresholds for LCP, CLS, and INP. When a change pushes you over those limits, treat it as a real regression, not an item for “later.”

    After launch, continuous accessibility monitoring keeps an eye on real content and campaigns as they roll out. Tools like a11y.Radar helps you see when a new landing page, promo block, or plugin introduces a fresh set of issues, so your accessible website stays aligned with your original intent instead of drifting over time.

    Browser extensions and quick manual checks still matter. They are often where nuance shows up. But letting automation handle the repeatable checks means those manual passes can focus on judgment and edge cases.

    Redirects, Voice, and All the Invisible Decisions

    Relaunches tend to stir up every piece of content you have: long-running blog posts, support docs, landing pages, one-off campaign pages, and forgotten PDFs. How you handle that swirl directly affects real people trying to find what they need.

    Structurally:

    • Map each old URL to a new destination and set permanent redirects.
    • Validate redirects in bulk so you do not discover broken flows after users do.
    • Align internal links and breadcrumbs with your new IA so pathways feel more consistent and less random.

    For the words and media themselves, think about what it feels like to scan a page while using a screen reader, magnification, or a mobile phone in bright light:

    • Write alt text that explains the role of an image, not just what it looks like.
    • Add captions and transcripts where you can, especially for core video and audio.
    • Keep headings short and clear.
    • Use link text that tells people where they are going next.

    Right before you publish, do a quick sweep for titles, descriptions, open graph tags, canonicals, and analytics events. It is basic hygiene, but it protects the hard work you have put into the content itself.

    This is also where roles matter. Someone needs to own copy approval, someone needs to own accessibility checks, and someone needs to own analytics and SEO. Clear lanes keep decisions moving and protect the tone and clarity of the experience you are building.

    Turning Design Files into Real-World Performance

    At some point, everything leaves Figma and lands on real devices with real network constraints. That moment is where a site either feels light and responsive or heavy and fragile.

    A few choices make a big difference:

    • Plan how assets will travel from design to production: icon systems, responsive images with srcset and sizes, and modern formats where they help.
    • Keep CSS lean by shipping critical styles first and deferring the rest, rather than loading everything at once.
    • Be intentional with JavaScript. Lean on native controls when you can, split code where it makes sense, and defer non-essential scripts until after people can read and interact with core content.

    Before launch, run tests that look like your users’ reality, not just the best-case lab profile: mid-range devices, slower networks, busy pages. Watch not just the scores but how quickly the page feels usable.

    These choices shape how your accessible website feels in everyday use—how quickly someone can read an article, submit a form, or complete a checkout without fighting the page.

    QA Loops That Protect Real People

    QA is where all the decisions made along the way show up side by side. When time is short, it can be tempting to “spot check a few pages” and call it done. That almost always hides something important.

    A lightweight but focused plan works better:

    • A keyboard-only pass through each template type to confirm you can reach everything, see focus at all times, and escape any interactive element without getting stuck.
    • Screen reader checks using common setups—NVDA or JAWS with a browser on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS or iOS—especially on interactive components such as menus, tabs, and dialogs.
    • Mobile testing with zoom at 200% to confirm content reflows and tap targets are large enough to hit without precision.

    Add a regression sweep on your highest-traffic legacy URLs to make sure redirects, analytics, and key flows still behave as expected.

    When issues show up, prioritize them by impact, how often they are likely to surface, and how hard they are to fix. High-impact accessibility and performance bugs move to the front of the line. The goal is not a perfect spreadsheet of checks; it is protecting the people who will rely on this build every day.

    Ship Fast, Stay Accessible, and Don’t Go It Alone

    A fast relaunch does not have to be reckless. With clear priorities, solid components, supportive tools, and a few disciplined feedback loops, you can move quickly and still ship an accessible website that feels thoughtful and dependable.

    If you are planning a rebuild—or living through one right now—and want another perspective on your accessibility and performance posture, 216digital can help. Schedule an ADA briefing with our team. We will look at where you are, highlight risk areas, and outline practical next steps that respect your timeline and stack, so you can launch quickly and know your work is welcoming the people you built it for.

    Greg McNeil

    November 20, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility, Accessibility Remediation, Accessibility testing, automated testing, Web Accessibility Remediation, Website Accessibility

  • Who’s Responsible for Web Accessibility in Your Organization?

    Most organizations recognize the value of accessibility and discuss it regularly, sometimes with real urgency. The real challenge comes after the meeting is over.

    A design issue is spotted. Someone points it out during a review. Engineering gets a ticket. Weeks later, support hears about the same problem from a customer. The issue is clear and inconvenient, but no one truly owns it.

    Without clear ownership, accessibility becomes a recurring issue rather than a matter of regular maintenance. Teams fix what they can, when they can. But as priorities change and deadlines approach, accessibility work gets pushed aside until the next complaint, audit, or legal question arises.

    Breaking that cycle is not about another checklist or tool. It is an accountability problem.

    When Everyone Owns Accessibility, No One Can Prove It

    Saying that “everyone owns accessibility” sounds like teamwork, but in reality, it usually leads to two common results.

    First, accessibility becomes reactive. Work happens in short bursts, triggered by audits, complaints, or tight deadlines. Teams fix what is visible, ship, and move on. Without a steady cadence or shared baseline, accessibility becomes something teams return to under pressure, not something the product reliably carries.

    Second, teams struggle to defend their accessibility work. It is not that the work is not happening, but no one is tracking it in a way that shows continuity. People make decisions in meetings, personal preferences, or old tickets that no longer reflect the product. When leadership, legal, or procurement asks about accessibility, teams end up giving scattered answers.

    Simple questions stall conversations:

    • Who defines what “meets the bar” at the component level?
    • Where do accessibility standards live for this product today?
    • Who has the authority to stop drift, not just respond after something breaks?

    When there are not clear answers to these questions, accessibility becomes a set of good intentions spread across teams. People are trying, but there is no real alignment. This leads to recurring gaps as the product changes.

    Those gaps rarely stay contained.

    Why Repeat Lawsuits Keep Happening

    If accessibility were a one-time fix, lawsuits would be spread out, mostly hitting first-time targets, and then taper off as organizations corrected course. That is not what 2024 showed. UsableNet found that 41% of accessibility lawsuits were against organizations that had already faced noncompliance claims. That pattern points to a maintenance problem, not just an awareness issue.

    It underscores a tough truth: “we fixed it” is not the same as “we maintain it.” Accessibility has to hold up beyond the initial remediation sprint. It needs to survive redesigns, plugin updates, content pushes, and everyday product changes. Without ownership, it rarely does.

    What Users Experience Is Consistency

    Users do not see your internal efforts. They notice whether your product is reliable.

    When accessibility lacks an owner, reliability becomes inconsistent. Things work as expected in one place, then fall apart in another. Keyboard navigation breaks. Headings lose structure. Error messages come and go, leaving users unsure what will happen next.

    These are not rare problems. They are common signs of fragmented decision-making. Teams fix issues in their own areas, but without strong shared patterns, the user experience is not consistent across releases.

    Clear ownership changes this. It makes accessibility a repeatable process instead of an improvised one.

    How Good Intentions Still Lead to Fragmented Accessibility

    Fragmentation often begins with reasonable actions that are never linked together.

    Design teams keep a checklist, but they do not connect it to engineering acceptance criteria. Engineers fix issues, but they do not push those fixes back into shared components. Content teams try their best, but they do not have consistent guidelines to prevent common errors. Support hears about barriers, but they cannot turn that feedback into prioritized work.

    As a result, accessibility becomes a set of incomplete systems.

    Teams sometimes leave a few standards in a document untouched. They label tickets with “make this accessible” without defining what done looks like. Designers let the library drift when accessibility is treated as optional. QA testers apply different checks depending on who is testing and how much time they have.

    Over time, the organization ends up fixing the same issues again and again. This is not due to failure, but because the work is not built into shared patterns.

    What Ownership Looks Like in Practice

    Ownership does not mean one person is responsible for every fix. That approach fails quickly.

    Ownership means someone is accountable for making sure accessibility keeps progressing and has the authority to connect work across teams so it does not fall behind.

    In practice, strong owners usually do four things well.

    They turn expectations into practical standards. Instead of relying on vague statements like “be accessible,” teams define clear requirements for components and user journeys. For example:

    • Which keyboard interactions must menus and dialogs support?
    • How should forms handle and surface errors?
    • Where are specific content-structure requirements expected on high-traffic templates?

    Checkpoints align with how teams already work.
    Teams build accessibility into design reviews, code reviews, QA cycles, and content sign-offs. By doing that, they catch issues early, when the fixes are simpler and far less costly.

    Clear documentation keeps knowledge from scattering.
    They document patterns, decisions, and known issues so teams keep accessibility knowledge shared and accessible instead of letting it sit with one person or disappear across scattered files.

    Sustainable practices anchor long-term accessibility.
    They treat training, time, and support as essential. Vendors are given clear expectations, not used as a shortcut to avoid responsibility.

    This approach matches W3C guidance on planning and managing accessibility, which stresses assigning responsibilities and building follow-through into the process, rather than treating accessibility as a one-time effort.

    The Legal Direction Reinforces Maintenance

    A few years ago, many teams treated accessibility as a project: audit, fix, and move on. That approach no longer fits current compliance expectations, especially in the public sector.

    For state and local governments under Title II of the ADA, the DOJ’s 2024 rule sets WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for web content and mobile apps, with compliance deadlines beginning in April 2026 for larger entities and in April 2027 for smaller jurisdictions.

    There may be different rules and processes, but the direction is the same. Accessibility is something to maintain. Ownership helps make this expectation manageable, even after deadlines pass and work continues to evolve.

    Making Ownership Practical Instead of Aspirational

    Most organizations already have someone who is the unofficial go-to person for accessibility. People turn to them when an issue comes up or a question is raised. The first step is to make this role official.

    Start by doing three things.

    • Name the owner formally. When the role stays informal, teams push it aside for whatever feels more urgent.
    • Define scope realistically. The owner is not expected to fix everything alone. Their value is in coordinating, setting standards, and ensuring continuity.
    • Protect time to lead, not just react. An owner who is always reacting to problems cannot build a system that prevents them.

    Next, create a short roadmap based on what you already know, such as audit findings, support trends, and recurring issues. Start by focusing on high-impact user journeys and templates that change frequently.

    Early successes matter because they show that accessibility can improve reliability without slowing teams down.

    Conclusion: Accessibility Needs Backbone

    Accessibility does not happen by accident. Without ownership, efforts remain scattered and reactive. With ownership, accessibility becomes a repeatable, measurable part of the team’s process.

    Clear ownership does not mean one person carries the entire load. It puts someone in charge of coordinating decisions, enforcing consistent standards, and resolving accessibility issues before they turn into a crisis.

    If your team is still unsure where accessibility should live, or if the people carrying it are stretched thin, 216digital can help. An ADA Strategy Briefing gives you a clear view of where responsibility sits today, where risk tends to build, and what it takes to move toward sustainable, development-led accessibility that your teams can maintain over time.

    Greg McNeil

    November 14, 2025
    Web Accessibility Remediation
    Accessibility Remediation, Accessibility testing, accessible websites, automated testing, Web Accessibility, Website Accessibility
  • Is ChatGPT a Substitute for Web Accessibility Remediation?

    Is ChatGPT a Substitute for Web Accessibility Remediation?

    If you’ve worked in digital long enough, you’ve probably heard it: “Couldn’t we just use ChatGPT to fix the accessibility stuff?”

    It’s an honest question. The tools are impressive. AI can summarize dense docs, spit out code snippets, even draft copy that sounds decent. When you’re staring at a backlog with limited budget, “free and fast” feels like a gift.

    Here’s the truth: speed without understanding rarely saves time. ChatGPT is great at producing. What it isn’t great at is deciding. And web accessibility—the real kind, not just error cleanup—is full of decisions.

    So, while it can support web accessibility remediation, it can’t replace it. Because remediation isn’t just about fixing what’s broken; it’s about understanding why it broke and what the right fix means in the context of your design, your users, and your codebase.

    What Remediation Really Looks Like

    Real remediation is closer to detective work than to one-off development. You trace how a problem shows up in the interface, how it travels through templates, and why it keeps coming back.

    It starts with discovery—learning how the site is put together and where risky flows live, like checkout or account pages. Then comes testing, both automated and human, to catch what scanners miss: poor focus order, ambiguous instructions, unlabeled controls, shaky widget behavior.

    From there, you triage and translate findings into work your team can actually ship. You plan fixes, weigh impact and effort, and roll changes through your stack. Finally, you validate with real assistive tech—keyboard, screen readers, voice control—to confirm the fix is a fix for real people.

    AI can sit beside you for parts of that journey. It can help reason through code or rephrase unclear labels. But it can’t feel when something “technically passes” yet still fails a user. That kind of judgment is learned, not generated—and it’s why web accessibility remediation stays a human-led process.

    Where ChatGPT Earns Its Keep

    Used by someone who understands accessibility, ChatGPT is genuinely helpful. It’s fast at rewriting small markup patterns. It can unpack a WCAG success criterion in plain language. It can draft alt text you’ll refine, or outline starter docs a team will own.

    It’s also great for teaching moments: when a new dev asks, “Why ARIA here?” AI can frame the idea before a specialist steps in with specifics.

    Think of it as an eager junior colleague—useful, quick, and worth having in the room. Just don’t hand it the keys.

    The Problem of “No Opinion”

    Here’s where AI hits the wall: it has no sense of context and no opinion of its own.

    Accessibility isn’t a math problem. Two developers can solve the same issue differently—both valid on paper, one far more usable in practice. That judgment call is the job.

    Because ChatGPT predicts what looks right, it can sound confident and still be wrong: adding a <label> but leaving a placeholder that confuses screen readers; copying a title into alt and causing duplicate announcements; “fixing” contrast by nudging color values without checking the full component state.

    Some barriers simply require a human to decide. Take alt text, for example: ChatGPT can’t actually see what an image is, how it’s being used, or what role it plays in the design. It doesn’t understand whether that image conveys meaning or is purely decorative—and that context determines whether alt text is needed at all. Without that judgment, even the best AI guess risks being wrong for the user.

    When you’re fixing accessibility, “almost right” is often still wrong. And when someone asks you to show due diligence, “we asked a chatbot” isn’t a defensible audit trail for web accessibility remediation.

    The Hidden Cost of “Free”

    Teams that lean too hard on AI learn fast that “free” isn’t free.

    You spend hours double-checking output, rewriting prompts, and chasing new issues that didn’t exist before. Sometimes you even end up debugging phantom problems the model invented.

    Meanwhile, the real barriers remain. Automated tools and AI together tend to catch only a slice of what actually affects users; the messy, contextual stuff slips through.

    So the report looks cleaner, the error count drops, and real people still struggle. That’s not progress. That’s paperwork dressed up as progress—and it leaves risk on the table, which is the opposite of web accessibility remediation.

    Even if AI manages to correct every automated scan error, it won’t protect you from real exposure. We’re now seeing a clear shift in ADA litigation: most new lawsuits aren’t built on automated findings anymore. They’re targeting manual issues—things uncovered by human testing and user experience barriers—because that’s where easy wins live for plaintiff firms. So even if AI covers one base, it leaves another wide open—and that’s the one most likely to cost you.

    Why Human-Led Web Accessibility Remediation Still Matters

    When you bring in a team that lives this work, you’re getting far more than bug fixes—you’re gaining traction. Instead of chasing one-off errors, you start to see the larger patterns behind what keeps breaking and why.

    A strong remediation partner brings clarity to your roadmap by tying priorities to real user impact and legal risk. Their fixes hold up through redesigns because they focus on underlying causes rather than surface-level symptoms.

    There’s also the advantage of human validation—review that’s defensible, thoughtful, and grounded in actual user experience. With the right process, accessibility becomes part of everyday development instead of something bolted on at the end.

    That’s the real promise of web accessibility remediation: not perfection, but predictability you can trust as your site evolves.

    How to Use AI the Right Way (With Guardrails)

    AI belongs in the workflow. It just doesn’t belong in charge.

    Use ChatGPT to speed up work you already understand, not to make calls you can’t verify. Let it draft checklists, summarize long audit exports, or propose markup for a pattern you’ve already chosen.

    Then layer on what AI can’t do: manual testing, AT validation, and the human decision-making that turns “technically correct” into “genuinely usable.”

    With that guardrail, AI becomes an accelerator for web accessibility remediation, not a shortcut that creates rework.

    What You Actually Get from Professional Remediation

    When you bring in a team that lives this work, you’re getting far more than bug fixes—you’re gaining traction. Instead of chasing one-off errors, you start to see the larger patterns behind what keeps breaking and why.

    A good remediation partner helps you understand where to focus first by tying priorities to real user impact and legal risk. They deliver fixes that continue to hold up through redesigns because the underlying causes—not just the surface-level symptoms—are addressed.

    You also gain something automated tools can’t offer: human validation that stands up to scrutiny. And with the right team, accessibility becomes part of how your site operates going forward, rather than something added after the fact.

    That’s the real value of web accessibility remediation. It’s not about perfection—it’s about creating a level of predictability you can trust as your site evolves.

    AI Doesn’t Make Judgment Calls—People Do

    ChatGPT is a powerful tool. It can teach, inspire, and save time—but it can’t care. Accessibility is about care: for users, for quality, for inclusion.

    AI can suggest the “how.” People understand the “why.” And perhaps most importantly, AI can’t shield you from the kinds of lawsuits that automation no longer catches.

    If your team is experimenting with AI and you want to make sure it helps instead of hurts, start with a conversation. Schedule an ADA briefing with 216digital. We’ll show where AI fits safely, where human oversight is non-negotiable, and how to build a plan that keeps your site open to everyone.

    That’s web accessibility remediation done right—fast where it can be, thoughtful where it must be.

    Greg McNeil

    November 10, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility Remediation, Accessibility testing, AI-driven accessibility, automated testing, Web Accessibility Remediation
  • Consultants or Automated Platforms: What’s Right for You?

    Consultants or Automated Platforms: What’s Right for You?

    Making a website accessible isn’t always a straight path. There are sleek platforms that can scan every page in minutes, and seasoned consultants who can spot problems no algorithm would catch. Each offers value—but in very different ways.

    The challenge isn’t choosing which one is “better.” It’s knowing when to rely on quick automated checks and when your site needs the nuance only human expertise can provide. Getting that balance right can turn accessibility from a one-time project into a lasting part of how your site works.

    What Automated Platforms Do Well

    Automated accessibility platforms are essentially software tools that scan your site for compliance issues. Think of them as always-on monitors quietly running in the background. They can:

    • Scan your site regularly to flag new problems as they appear
    • Track your accessibility performance over time
    • Send alerts when something changes

    They’re fast, efficient, and cost-effective. Within minutes, they can show you where your site stands and give you a benchmark to measure progress. For many organizations, this kind of real-time insight is reassuring—especially after an initial round of accessibility improvements. Automated tools can help ensure new issues don’t creep in unnoticed.

    But while they’re powerful, they’re not perfect. automated platforms can catch many surface-level problems, like missing alt text or low-contrast color pairings. What they can’t do is understand the human experience of using your site. They don’t know if your navigation makes sense to someone using a screen reader, or whether form instructions are clear enough to avoid confusion. For those nuanced judgment calls, human expertise is essential.

    The Role of Accessibility Consultants

    Accessibility consultants offer something no machine can: experience, context, and human perspective. They don’t just tell you what’s broken—they explain why it matters and how to fix it in a way that fits your real-world workflows.

    A good consultant will:

    • Conduct thorough audits that go far beyond automated scans
    • Identify root causes, not just symptoms
    • Guide your team through remediation with practical, achievable steps
    • Provide training so you can build accessibility into your process in the future

    Consultants also bring critical legal and standards knowledge to the table. They stay on top of evolving regulations and know how guidelines like WCAG apply to your specific industry or audience. That insight can help you minimize legal risk while also creating a more welcoming experience for users with disabilities.

    In other words, they look at the big picture—something an automated tool can’t do.

    Why Consultant-Led Remediation Should Come First

    One of the most common missteps organizations make is starting with an automated platform before any human-led remediation. On paper, it seems logical: run a scan, see what’s wrong, and start fixing. But in practice, this often backfires.

    Automated scans can return long lists of issues—some legitimate, some false positives, and many without clear instructions for resolution. Without expert guidance, it’s easy to spend hours chasing the wrong problems or applying “fixes” that don’t actually help real users.

    Consultant-led remediation flips this process around for better results. Instead of reacting to a flood of automated alerts, you get a clear, prioritized plan from someone who understands both the technical and human aspects of accessibility. They focus on foundational issues first, ensuring the fixes are meaningful and sustainable.

    Once that groundwork is in place, automated platforms become incredibly useful. They act like a safety net, helping you maintain the progress you’ve made.

    Think of it like building a house: you wouldn’t install a security system before the walls are up. The system is valuable—but only once the structure is solid.

    When Automated Platforms Make Sense

    After you’ve remediated your site with the help of a consultant, automated platforms can become a valuable part of your ongoing strategy. Websites are living, changing systems. Every content update, plugin installation, or design tweak carries the potential to introduce new accessibility barriers.

    An automated platform helps you stay ahead of those problems by catching them early. They’re instrumental when:

    • You publish new content frequently
    • You’re rolling out design changes or new features
    • You want to show good-faith efforts with regular monitoring reports
    • You need an affordable way to keep watch between consultant reviews

    Used this way, automated tools act as a maintenance system. They can’t replace human testing, but they can help keep your site healthier between more in-depth reviews.

    How to Decide What’s Right for You

    Choosing between consultants and automated platforms becomes much easier once you know where you are in the accessibility journey.

    Starting from scratch? Bring in a consultant first. Their guidance will help you build a solid foundation and avoid the guesswork that leads to costly mistakes.

    Working through remediation? Stay the course with consultant-led support. Automated scans can muddy the waters here, flagging noise instead of what really matters.

    Site already in good shape? That’s the moment to add an automated platform. Let it keep an eye on new changes while consultants check in periodically for deeper reviews.

    For many organizations, the most effective approach is a blend of both—just in the correct order. Human expertise lays the groundwork. automated platforms help you maintain it.

    The Long-Term Payoff

    Web accessibility isn’t a box you check off once—it’s a long-term commitment. But it’s one that pays off in measurable ways: stronger legal compliance, broader audience reach, improved usability, and greater trust from customers and clients.

    Consultants give you the strategy, expertise, and training to start on solid ground. automated platforms give you the ongoing monitoring to protect that investment.

    When used together, they create a sustainable system. You get the precision of expert audits and the efficiency of automated monitoring. This balance reduces risk, improves user experience, and keeps you aligned with evolving standards as they change over time.

    Human First, Automation Second

    Choosing between consultants and automated platforms isn’t really about picking one over the other—it’s about knowing how they fit together. Automated tools can keep watch over the details, but it takes human expertise to build the kind of foundation that lasts.

    Start by getting that solid groundwork in place with a consultant-led audit and remediation. Once your site is truly accessible, an automated platform can help you keep it that way—quietly catching issues before they become problems.

    If you’re ready to map out what that first step should look like, schedule an ADA briefing with 216digital. It’s a chance to talk through where your site stands, what’s needed to meet compliance, and how to build a long-term plan that keeps accessibility on track.

    Greg McNeil

    September 17, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility, Accessibility Remediation, Accessibility testing, automated scans, automated testing, consultants, Web Accessibility, Web Accessibility Remediation, Website Accessibility

  • How to Fit Accessibility Testing Into Your Sprint

    Agile development thrives on fast, iterative progress—and that can make accessibility feel like a hurdle rather than a habit. But accessibility testing doesn’t have to slow you down. In fact, when baked into your sprint process from the outset, accessibility becomes a natural part of your workflow—reducing rework, enhancing code quality, and safeguarding your organization from legal risk.

    This guide walks through how to integrate accessibility testing into your Agile sprints without sacrificing speed or innovation. With the right approach, inclusive design becomes a team-wide mindset—and a competitive advantage.

    Why Accessibility Testing Belongs in the Sprint

    Accessibility testing helps ensure your website or app can be used by people of all abilities, including those who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation, voice recognition, and other assistive technologies.

    Leaving accessibility checks until the end of a project—or worse, after launch—often leads to expensive remediation and a poor user experience. Worse, you could face lawsuits for failing to meet standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) or U.S. laws, including the ADA and Section 508.

    Agile teams are already built for continuous improvement. By incorporating accessibility testing into your sprints, you:

    • Catch issues earlier when they’re cheaper to fix
    • Avoid bottlenecks during QA
    • Improve design clarity and usability for everyone
    • Demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity and compliance

    Let’s break down exactly how to make this work in practice.

    Shift Accessibility Left: Early Planning Wins

    To integrate accessibility testing into a sprint, it needs to begin before the sprint starts.

    1. Include Accessibility in User Stories

    Start by writing user stories with accessibility in mind. Instead of:

    As a user, I want to submit a form so I can sign up for updates.

    Add accessibility context:

    As a screen reader user, I want to submit a clearly labeled, keyboard-navigable form so I can sign up for updates.

    This keeps accessibility visible to the entire team and sets the tone for inclusive features from day one.

    2. Define Acceptance Criteria

    Each user story should include accessibility-related acceptance criteria, such as:

    • All buttons must be focusable via keyboard.
    • Form fields must include visible and programmatically associated labels.
    • Error messages must be conveyed visually and via ARIA alerts.

    These criteria guide both developers and testers—and reduce ambiguity when it’s time to validate.

    Build Accessibility into Design

    Accessibility testing is often easier when designs are inclusive from the start.

    3. Collaborate with Designers

    Designers should use accessible color contrast, readable font sizes, logical tab order, and meaningful icon labels. Review early wireframes and prototypes against WCAG standards—ideally with tools like Stark or Figma plugins for accessibility.

    4. Run Design Reviews

    Hold accessibility-focused design reviews during planning or refinement. Spotting issues before development starts saves everyone time. Flag problems like insufficient contrast, unclear buttons, or missing focus indicators.

    Develop With Accessibility in Mind

    Your dev team is the frontline for accessibility. Setting clear expectations and tools helps them move fast without sacrificing inclusion.

    5. Use Accessible Components

    Encourage developers to use pre-tested accessible components or frameworks. For example, use accessible modal libraries that manage focus trapping and ARIA attributes out of the box.

    6. Lint for Accessibility

    Incorporate linters like eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y to catch common accessibility mistakes in code. This provides near-instant feedback—right inside the developer’s editor.

    7. Write Semantic HTML

    Encourage the use of native HTML elements like <button>, <label>, and <nav> over custom divs and spans. These elements carry built-in accessibility benefits and reduce the need for ARIA workarounds.

    Make Testing Part of the Flow

    Testing for accessibility isn’t a separate track—it’s part of sprint validation, just like functional testing.

    8. Automated Accessibility Tests

    Automate what you can using tools like WAVE or Lighthouse. These tools catch issues like missing alt text, ARIA misuse, or low contrast—before code merges.

    Run them as part of your CI pipeline, so broken accessibility fails the build just like broken code.

    Important Note: Automated tests only catch ~30% of WCAG issues. Manual testing is still essential.

    9. Manual Testing in Sprint

    Manual checks don’t need to wait for final QA. During development or code review:

    • Test keyboard-only navigation
    • Use a screen reader (like NVDA or VoiceOver) to verify flows
    • Check page headings and tab order for clarity

    Spread these tasks across the team so it’s not all on QA or accessibility specialists.

    Retrospectives: Keep Improving

    Agile is all about continuous learning. Use retrospectives to talk about what worked—and what didn’t—with accessibility during the sprint.

    Questions to consider:

    • Did we include accessibility in all relevant stories?
    • Were any accessibility bugs pushed to a future sprint?
    • Are our automated tools giving useful results?

    Use this feedback to tweak your workflow, tooling, or documentation.

    Tips for Getting Started (or Leveling Up)

    If you’re new to accessibility testing in sprints, keep it simple and scale up over time. Here’s a roadmap to get started:

    1. Pick one or two automated tools to run in dev and CI.
    2. Train your team on basic WCAG principles—especially designers and frontend devs.
    3. Set clear accessibility goals in your Definition of Done (e.g., no critical issues, passes keyboard navigation).
    4. Assign shared responsibility—accessibility isn’t just the QA team’s job.
    5. Start tracking accessibility debt just like tech debt. Tackle it bit by bit.

    For teams already doing accessibility work, the next step might be:

    • Formalizing a test plan
    • Adding assistive tech testing
    • Bringing in real users with disabilities for feedback

    Don’t Bolt It On—Build It In

    Too often, accessibility is treated as an afterthought—an item saved for the backlog or a separate “phase.” But that’s a recipe for stress, rework, and risk.

    When you incorporate accessibility testing into your sprint cycle, it becomes routine—not reactive. You don’t have to choose between speed and inclusion. You get both.

    And the benefits go beyond compliance. You build better products, open your brand to more users, and reduce friction for everyone.

    Need Help Fitting Accessibility Into Your Workflow?

    At 216digital, we specialize in helping Agile teams bake accessibility into every phase of the sprint cycle. From audits and remediation to training and ongoing support, our team ensures your products are not only compliant—but more usable and inclusive by design.

    Ready to build accessibility into your sprint?

    Let’s talk. Schedule a consultation today.

    Greg McNeil

    July 23, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility, Accessibility Audit, Accessibility Remediation, Accessibility testing, automated testing, Web Accessibility Remediation, Website Accessibility

  • Custom Accessibility Audits: Tailored for Your Website

    Most websites aren’t trying to be inaccessible—it just kind of happens. A few plugins here, a third-party widget there, and before you know it, people using screen readers or keyboard navigation are hitting roadblocks you didn’t even know were there.

    If you’ve ever felt unsure about where your site stands or thought, “We added a tool—so we’re probably fine,” you’re not alone. But the truth is, real accessibility takes more than a one-click solution. It takes intention, testing, and a plan. And with digital accessibility lawsuits on the rise, ignoring the gaps is more of a liability than ever.

    If staying ADA-compliant is your goal, you need more than a quick fix. You need custom accessibility audits, meaningful remediation, and a partner who can help you maintain compliance long-term.

    The Real Limitations of Automation Tools

    Automated accessibility tools are everywhere, and it’s easy to see the appeal. They promise a quick scan and some instant fixes—like adding alt text, adjusting colors, or offering a text-size toggle. It feels like progress. But these tools can only go so far.

    They often miss what really matters: how someone with a disability actually uses your site. Screen readers, keyboard navigation, and cognitive-friendly layouts aren’t things most automation can truly understand or evaluate.

    What They Miss (And Why It Matters)

    Here are a few areas where automation usually falls short:

    • Screen reader experiences: Automated tools won’t tell you if your navigation makes sense when read aloud.
    • Keyboard usability: They don’t catch when menus or popups trap users who don’t use a mouse.
    • Structural clarity: Bad heading structures or mislabeled buttons often go unnoticed.
    • Interactive elements: Modals, forms, and sliders might work visually but break down when tested for accessibility.

    Even more concerning? Courts are increasingly ruling that automation alone doesn’t meet ADA requirements. In some cases, relying on overlays without fixing underlying issues can actually increase your legal risk—especially for busy sites that handle transactions. This is why custom accessibility audits remain the gold standard for identifying real, user-impacting issues.

    Why Real Testing Still Matters

    You can’t fix what you don’t experience—and that’s the heart of manual testing. It’s not just about running a tool and checking boxes. It’s about walking through your site the way someone with a disability might.

    That means:

    • Navigating with a keyboard and nothing else.
    • Using a screen reader to browse your content.
    • Testing user flows like logging in, searching, or checking out—without assuming the user can see or use a mouse.

    The Kind of Issues Manual Testing Uncovers

    This type of testing uncovers issues that automation never will:

    • Dropdowns that don’t announce themselves
    • Buttons that lack clear, descriptive labels
    • Interactive sections that lose focus or confuse navigation
    • Forms that look fine visually but are hard to use with assistive tech

    At 216digital, we don’t just skim the surface. During custom accessibility audits, we follow real user journeys—from homepage to checkout—so we can see how the experience actually holds up. It’s not about passing a test. It’s about making sure everyone can use your site smoothly.

    What Custom Accessibility Audits Really Looks Like

    Once you know what’s broken, fixing it takes more than flipping a switch. True remediation means tailoring fixes to your site’s layout, content, and functionality—not applying a generic patch.

    That’s why we focus on changes that make a measurable difference for real users. Things like:

    • Making sure users can see where their keyboard focus is at all times
    • Adding ARIA roles and labels so screen readers can understand what’s on the page
    • Improving contrast without compromising your brand’s look

    Examples of Targeted Fixes

    We also fix the kinds of problems that create the most user friction:

    • Popups and modals that trap keyboard or screen reader users
    • Sliders or videos that move too quickly without user control

    There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Each website is different. Each problem needs a thoughtful, code-aware fix. That’s where custom remediation stands apart—it solves the right problem in the right way.

    Keeping Accessibility on Track with a11y.Radar

    Accessibility isn’t something you do once and forget about. Websites change—new content, new plugins, new designs—and with those changes come new risks.

    That’s where our ongoing monitoring tool, a11y.Radar, makes the difference.

    It acts like a digital safety net by:

    • Running regular scans to check for new or recurring issues
    • Prioritizing problems based on what’s most important to fix first
    • Providing clear reports that your team can actually understand and act on
    • Using the same scanning methods many law firms rely on before filing lawsuits

    Stay Ahead, Don’t Fall Behind

    Think of it like maintenance for your website’s health. You wouldn’t skip oil changes for your car—and keeping your site accessible works the same way. a11y.Radar helps you stay proactive so small issues don’t turn into bigger problems later. And when paired with custom accessibility audits, you gain a complete strategy for long-term digital compliance.

    Why Visibility Increases Your Risk

    The more visible your business becomes, the more pressure there is to get accessibility right.

    In just May alone, 445 new digital accessibility lawsuits were filed in the U.S.—many aimed at online retailers, especially those using Shopify or WooCommerce. These platforms offer convenience, but often rely on templates or plugins that haven’t been fully tested for accessibility.

    The Real-World Consequences

    It’s not personal—these lawsuits are often triggered by bots scanning the web for compliance issues. If your site trips a red flag, it could end up on a law firm’s radar.

    The risks are real:

    • Expensive legal battles or settlement costs
    • Strained customer trust
    • Hits to your brand reputation
    • Increased insurance premiums

    The upside? When you invest in custom accessibility audits and monitoring, you dramatically lower your risk—and build a better experience for every user.

    Beyond Legal Advice: Why You Need Technical Support

    A good legal team can help you understand where you’re exposed. But they won’t fix your navigation, rewrite your forms, or troubleshoot your ARIA labels.

    That’s where a hands-on partner makes the difference.

    What a Technical Accessibility Partner Does

    At 216digital, we’ve supported hundreds of websites—small shops and enterprise platforms alike. Our approach is practical, technical, and built around real-life use cases. We don’t just tell you what’s wrong—we fix it, explain it, and set you up to manage accessibility long-term.

    Here’s what we bring to the table:

    • Clear developer guidance tailored to your platform
    • Integrated testing and remediation that fits into your current workflow
    • Ongoing support and monitoring after the fixes are live

    It’s not about being perfect—it’s about building lasting accessibility habits. And having a partner who helps you stay on track.

    Accessibility Isn’t Obligation—It’s Opportunity

    It’s your chance to build a brand that’s genuinely inclusive, appealing to a wider audience and avoiding costly legal pitfalls. Automation tools alone won’t get you there, but custom accessibility audits, hands-on remediation, and proactive monitoring will.

    If you’re done guessing and ready to confidently say your site is accessible, reach out to us at 216digital. We’ll clearly show you where your site stands, guide you through practical improvements, and keep accessibility effortless and ongoing. Because ultimately, making your website accessible isn’t just smart—it’s the kind of thoughtful action your customers will notice and appreciate.

    Greg McNeil

    June 17, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility, Accessibility Remediation, Accessibility testing, automated testing, custom accessibility audits, Manual Testing, Web Accessibility, Web Accessibility Remediation, Website Accessibility

  • How Often Should You Audit Your Website for Accessibility?

    You’ve already put in the effort to make your website accessible—and that’s no small thing. But accessibility isn’t something you fix once and forget. As your site evolves, even small changes can introduce new issues. That’s where regular check-ins come in. A web accessibility audit helps you catch problems early, stay aligned with current standards, and keep your site working for everyone.

    So how often should you audit your site to maintain that progress? The answer depends on what’s changing—and when. In this article, we’ll break down the key moments when an audit makes sense, the risks of letting things slide, and how ongoing monitoring can help you stay ahead.

    Why Web Accessibility Audits Are Critical

    A web accessibility audit reviews your website’s design, code, and content to identify barriers that could make it hard—or even impossible—for people with disabilities to use your site. These audits typically test against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), and other regulations.

    The risks of not auditing regularly are real for small to midsize businesses. Over the past few years, digital accessibility lawsuits have skyrocketed. In 2024 alone, more than 4,000 web accessibility lawsuits were filed under the ADA—and many of those targeted businesses that were unaware they had an issue.

    The cost of defending even a small ADA lawsuit can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention the damage to your brand’s reputation. Proactive audits help you spot and fix issues early, keeping your business protected and your customers happy.

    When Should You Audit Your Website for Accessibility?

    While accessibility should be baked into your website maintenance plan, certain milestones require a full web accessibility audit.

    1. After a Website Redesign or Major Update

    If you’ve recently rebranded, relaunched, or significantly redesigned your site, it’s critical to schedule a full accessibility audit. Even small navigation, layout, or feature changes can unintentionally introduce new barriers. Testing right after major updates ensures you catch and fix issues before customers encounter them—and before a potential lawsuit arises.

    2. Before Launching New Features or Products

    Rolling out a new e-commerce section? Adding a chatbot? Introducing video content or online booking? Before new features go live, a web accessibility audit should be part of your quality assurance checklist.

    New code, third-party integrations, and interactive tools can create accessibility gaps. Testing pre-launch helps ensure all users can interact with the new elements, no matter what device or assistive technology they’re using.

    3. Annually (at Minimum)

    Even if your site hasn’t changed much, accessibility standards, best practices, and legal expectations evolve over time. Conducting a comprehensive web accessibility audit at least once a year ensures your site complies with current WCAG standards (currently WCAG 2.1 and moving toward 2.2) and applicable regulations.

    Think of it like an annual checkup for your digital presence: it’s much easier and cheaper to maintain accessibility than to fix major problems down the road.

    4. After User Feedback or Complaints

    If a customer or visitor flags an accessibility issue, that’s a signal to audit right away—not just the problem area but the entire site. User feedback is invaluable because it often reveals real-world issues automated scans might miss. Addressing concerns quickly shows that your business takes accessibility seriously and is committed to serving all users.

    5. When Laws or Guidelines Change

    New accessibility laws, updates to WCAG standards, or changes in court interpretations can raise the bar for compliance. For instance, the Department of Justice recently released new guidance for web accessibility under Title II of the ADA. When legal standards shift, a fresh audit can make sure you’re aligned with the latest requirements.

    Why Ongoing Monitoring Matters

    While annual or event-based audits are critical, they’re not enough. Websites are dynamic—they grow, change, and update constantly. New products, marketing campaigns, and blog posts can all introduce accessibility problems over time.

    That’s where ongoing accessibility monitoring comes in.

    At 216digital, we developed a11y.Radar, a proactive monitoring service that continuously scans your site for accessibility issues. a11y.Radar doesn’t replace manual audits (human expertise is still key!), but it acts as an early warning system—catching errors before they snowball into bigger problems.

    With a11y.Radar, you can:

    • Receive real-time alerts about accessibility regressions
    • Track ongoing improvements
    • Maintain continuous WCAG compliance
    • Reduce your risk of surprise lawsuits

    This approach helps you move from a reactive stance (“fix it after a lawsuit”) to a proactive one (“prevent lawsuits by staying accessible”).

    The Cost of Skipping Regular Web Accessibility Audits

    Many small to midsize businesses skip regular accessibility audits because of perceived costs or time commitments. But the truth is, not auditing can cost far more.

    Ignoring accessibility can lead to:

    • ADA lawsuits and expensive legal settlements
    • Court-ordered website remediation under tight (and expensive) deadlines
    • Loss of customers who can’t use your site
    • Negative publicity and damage to your brand’s reputation
    • Higher remediation costs later, compared to maintaining accessibility from the start

    Investing in regular audits and monitoring is like insurance for your website—and your business future.

    How 216digital Can Help You Stay Compliant

    At 216digital, we specialize in helping businesses of all sizes navigate the world of web accessibility with confidence. Our phased approach includes:

    • Risk Mitigation Audits: A focused first-pass audit to quickly catch and fix high-risk issues.
    • Real World Accessibility Audits: Deep manual testing with screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, and assistive technologies to find real-world barriers.
    • Ongoing Monitoring with a11y.Radar: Continuous scanning and reporting to help you maintain compliance and stay ahead of risks.

    We believe accessibility isn’t a one-time project—it’s an ongoing commitment. That’s why our services are designed to be flexible, scalable, and tailored to your business needs.

    Whether starting from scratch, redesigning your website, or needing help managing compliance over time, 216digital can help you build and maintain a site that works for everyone—and protects your business simultaneously.

    Keep Progress on Track with Confidence

     Accessibility is never truly finished—but that’s a good thing. It means you have an opportunity to keep improving, keep welcoming, and keep your business open to everyone. Staying compliant isn’t about chasing checklists—it’s about maintaining the trust you’ve already worked hard to earn.If you’re wondering whether now is the right time for your next audit, it probably is. A quick conversation can help clarify where you stand and what steps make sense next. Schedule a free ADA accessibility briefing with 216digital, and let’s keep your site moving forward—securely, inclusively, and confidently.

    Greg McNeil

    April 28, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility, Accessibility Audit, Accessibility testing, automated testing, manual audit, Manual Testing, Website Accessibility

  • What to Expect from an Accessibility Audit

    Running a business is no small feat. Between managing daily operations, keeping customers happy, and staying on top of your digital presence, it’s easy to overlook something like web accessibility. But in today’s world, where more users rely on assistive technology to browse online, accessibility is no longer optional—it’s essential.

    That’s where an accessibility audit comes in. It’s a smart, proactive step that helps you understand how well your website works for people with disabilities and where improvements are needed. It’s not just about avoiding legal trouble—it’s about creating a better experience for all your visitors.

    Let’s break it down so you know exactly what to expect.

    Why Accessibility Matters

    Reaching Every Visitor

    Web accessibility is about making sure everyone can use your website—no matter their ability. That includes people who rely on screen readers, keyboard navigation, or voice control, as well as those with visual, hearing, or cognitive challenges.

    A more accessible site leads to:

    • Better user experience
    • Improved search engine visibility
    • Increased customer trust

    It’s a win for your users and your business.

    Reducing Legal Risk

    ADA-related lawsuits over inaccessible websites are on the rise, and many target small to mid-sized businesses. In fact over 67% of lawsuits  in 2024 were targeting businesses with an annual revenue under $25 million or less. 

    These cases can be stressful and expensive—even if the issues weren’t intentional.

    A professional accessibility audit helps you spot and fix issues early, protecting your business while showing your commitment to inclusion.

    What Is an Accessibility Audit?

    An accessibility audit is a full review of your website to find any barriers that might stop people with disabilities from using it. These barriers could be anything from missing image descriptions to forms that don’t work with a screen reader.

    The audit is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which provide a clear set of standards for accessible web design. Following WCAG helps ensure your site meets legal requirements—and, more importantly, that it works for everyone.

    The Accessibility Audit Process: Step-by-Step

    Here’s what typically happens during a full accessibility audit:

    Initial Consultation & Scope Definition

    The process starts with a conversation. You and your audit team will review your website’s goals, user flows, and top-priority pages—like your homepage, checkout process, or contact form. This helps focus the audit on what matters most.

    Automated Testing

    Automated tools run quick scans to catch common issues like:

    • Missing alt text
    • Low color contrast
    • Improper heading order

    This is a great first step, but automated testing only catches part of the picture. That’s why manual checks are so important.

    Manual Evaluation

    Accessibility specialists then take a deeper look at your site. They’ll test things like:

    • Can users navigate with just a keyboard?
    • Are screen readers reading content in the correct order?
    • Do buttons and links have clear, accessible labels?

    Manual testing finds the issues that machines often miss—and ensures your site works for real people in real situations.

    User Testing with Assistive Technology

    In some cases, the team may bring in people who use assistive tools daily—like screen readers or alternative input devices—to test your site. Their feedback offers invaluable real-world insight that helps uncover problems no tool or developer could spot alone.

    Documentation of Findings

    Once testing is done, you’ll receive a report that includes:

    • A list of all issues
    • Where each problem exists
    • The specific WCAG criteria it violates
    • Visual examples and code references for clarity

    This report serves as your roadmap to fixing issues efficiently.

    Prioritization of Issues

    Not all issues are created equal. The audit team will help you prioritize based on the following:

    • How severe the issue is
    • How many users it might impact
    • Whether it poses a legal risk

    This lets you address the biggest barriers first and build a smart action plan moving forward.

    Remediation Recommendations

    Finally, you’ll receive clear, actionable guidance for fixing each issue. These recommendations will be tailored to your site’s platform, content, and team capacity. Some fixes might be quick, while others may take more planning—but you’ll know exactly what to do and where to start.

    What Happens After the Audit?

    Implementing Fixes

    After the accessibility audit, it’s time to put the findings to work. Your team—or a trusted partner like 216digital—can help implement those changes, making sure they align with best practices while preserving your brand’s design and functionality.

    Team Training

    To keep your site accessible over time, it helps to train the people who update it. That could mean a short session on how to use alt text or a checklist for adding new content. A little knowledge goes a long way in preventing future issues.

    Ongoing Monitoring

    Accessibility isn’t something you check off once and forget about. Websites are living things—they change, grow, and update over time. That means new accessibility issues can pop up without warning, especially as content is added or platforms evolve.

    That’s why regular monitoring is key. Running periodic scans, reviewing key pages, and staying alert to new barriers helps you maintain accessibility long after the initial audit. Tools like a11y.Radar, 216digital’s ongoing monitoring service, are designed to make this easier. It quietly keeps tabs on your site, flags issues early, and helps ensure your site stays in line with accessibility best practices—without the need for constant manual checks.

    Your Website’s Future Just Got Brighter

    A professional accessibility audit gives you more than just a report—it gives you peace of mind. It’s a smart, future-focused way to protect your business, improve your site, and welcome every visitor who comes your way.

    At 216digital, we specialize in helping small to mid-sized businesses make sense of accessibility. Our expert-led audits, clear documentation, and hands-on remediation support make the process easy to follow and effective to implement. We help you go beyond compliance—to a website that’s truly inclusive.

    If you’re ready to create a better experience for everyone and reduce your legal risk, let’s talk. A more accessible site isn’t just better for users—it’s better for business.

    Greg McNeil

    April 15, 2025
    Testing & Remediation
    Accessibility, Accessibility Audit, Accessibility testing, automated testing, manual audit, Web Accessibility, Website Accessibility
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