WCAG audit for public sector websites

Why choose our WCAG 2.2 audits for councils and NHS trusts

Public sector websites face strict legal requirements - all online content published since September 2018 must be WCAG AA compliant or you could be breaking the Equality Act.

Common failures include low contrast, missing alt text, and keyboard navigation issues – leading to over 50% non-compliance in Government Digital Service (GDS) reports.

Regulators say that public sector bodies should audit their websites every 12 months to identify and address emerging issues.

Our website audits combine automated tools with manual evaluation to check 55 WCAG checkpoints and additional standards. We test a representative sample of web pages, including the main landing pages, page templates and PDFs.

Benefits:

• Detailed report with prioritised fixes

• Evidence for your accessibility statement

• Tailored advice to fix issues fast

When we've completed your audit, we'll draft a new accessibility statement for your organisation, based on the gov.uk model statement.

Your website's accessibility statement is a legal requirement. To avoid action from GDS your accessibility statement must:

• have been updated within the last 12 months

• state your website's level of compliance

• clearly describe any non-compliances

• summarise your plans to fix any non-compliance

Visit NHS South West London for an example compliant statement

Our WCAG audit process

Step 1: Scope and sampling

We select key pages based on WCAG-EM principles – best practice is usually 10 pages – covering:

• homepage

• services

• different page templates

• forms and more

Step 2: Automated and manual testing

• 55 WCAG checkpoints

• 30 PDF checkpoints

• Automated tests using Google Lighthouse, NVDA, Axe, Wave, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Coolers contrast checker

• Manual review using pages without a mouse, different zoom settings and browsers, tables, formulation of links, headings and navigational menus

• Compliance test of 2 randomly selected PDFs

Step 3: Detailed report and recommendations

• Interim report with recommendations for improving compliance

• Pass/Fail per checkpoint

• Screenshots (where necessary) and explanations

• PSBAR compliance summary

• Remediation advice

• Follow-up test following any remedial action

• Final report and recommendations

• New accessibility statement provided

Step 4 (optional): Remediation support to implement fixes

We can help you to fix some of the issues found during our audit:

• PDF editing

• Accessible content creation

• Web editing (with access to your CMS)

Who we help

Councils

Public service information pages, consultation documents.

NHS trusts

Patient information and reports, policies and board papers.

Universities

Course portals and research documents.

Voluntary organisations

Community information, local engagement content.

Government departments

Public information, policies and procedures, annual reports.

Ready for WCAG compliance?

Enhance user experience, improve your legal compliance and help avoid action from GDS auditors. WCAG 2.2 AA focus, PSBAR-ready evidence, friendly and professional support from public sector experts.

Fixed price audits | Quick turnaround

Need more help?

Fix your PDFs

Diagnose and fix non-compliant PDFs - PSBAR and WCAG 2.2 AA. Fast and affordable.

PDF testing and editing

Advice and project management

Project management and a range of support/expertise to help you produce accessible content more consistently.

Strategic support

Develop your team

Develop more accessible content in-house with practical support and guidance for your team.

Training and development

Create content

We can design your content in structured HTML web pages from scratch, or adapt content that you've already created.

Content creation