Accessibility Audits, Testing, and VPAT
Explore how accessibility audits, assistive-technology testing, and VPATs work together to evaluate digital experiences, document conformance, and align with WCAG, ADA, Section 508, and global standards.
Why accessibility audits, testing, and VPATs are critical
Automated testing can surface code-level issues, but it can’t show whether people with disabilities can actually complete tasks or navigate your digital experiences independently. Meaningful accessibility requires structured audits, assistive-technology testing, and clear documentation through VPATs and ACRs, ensuring teams understand real barriers, verify conformance, and build confidence with internal and external stakeholders.
- Reveal real usability barriers, not just automated errors
- Deliver credible, defensible accessibility documentation
- Maintain consistent compliance across every release and platform
Key disciplines for evaluating and documenting digital accessibility
Explore the essential components of accessibility auditing, from structured evaluations to assistive-technology testing and conformance documentation, and understand how organizations verify and communicate digital accessibility with confidence.
Accessibility audits and methodologies
Learn how audits identify accessibility barriers by evaluating websites, applications, and digital content against standards like WCAG, ADA, Section 508, and EN 301 549. This includes approaches for scoping, sampling, issue categorization, and building repeatable workflows.
Assistive technology and user-flow testing
Explore how testing with screen readers, magnifiers, and other assistive technologies reveals real-world usability issues that automated tools miss—ensuring results reflect how people actually navigate digital interfaces.
Shift-left accessibility and continuous integration
Understand how accessibility fits into SDLC and DevOps pipelines, including practices that integrate early testing, reduce remediation effort, and support predictable, accessible releases over time.
Mobile, document, and PDF accessibility testing
Review methods for evaluating accessibility across mobile apps, documents, forms, and PDFs to ensure consistency and compliance across every digital format users encounter.
VPATs, ACRs, and conformance documentation
Learn what VPATs and Accessibility Conformance Reports document, how they support procurement and regulatory needs, and why accuracy, clarity, and ongoing updates are essential for demonstrating compliance.
Compliance and standards you can count on
Accessibility audits, testing methodologies, and conformance documents typically reference WCAG 2.2, ADA, Section 508, EN 301 549, and the European Accessibility Act. Understanding how these standards interact helps organizations plan and evaluate their accessibility programs
Continuous Integration & Shift-Left
>Guidance on embedding accessibility early in design and development. Covers CI/CD workflows, automated checks in pipelines, and agile practices that catch issues before they reach production.
Document & PDF Accessibility
Testing approaches, tagging practices, and remediation standards for PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoints, forms, and other digital documents to ensure they meet WCAG and Section 508 requirements.
Mobile Accessibility Testing & Design
Resources for evaluating mobile apps and responsive experiences. Includes platform-specific expectations, mobile UX patterns, assistive technology behaviors, and testing workflows for iOS and Android.
Tools & Methodology
Foundational techniques for conducting accessibility testing, including manual inspection, automated scanning, AT-informed testing, user-flow evaluation, and repeatable audit frameworks.
VPAT Guides & Templates
Resources on creating accurate, defensible VPATs and Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs), understanding Section 508 expectations, mapping WCAG success criteria, and preparing documentation for procurement and compliance reviews.
Explore essential resources on accessibility audits, testing and VPAT
A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting a Web Accessibility Audit
Learn how to plan, scope, and execute a full accessibility audit aligned with WCAG, ADA, Section 508, and EN 301 549. This guide walks through each stage of the audit process, helping teams build reliable, repeatable testing workflows.
Accessibility Testing: How It Works and Why It’s Important
Understand the fundamentals of accessibility testing, including automated checks, manual review, and assistive-technology validation. This resource explains how each method contributes to accurate results and more usable digital experiences.
VPAT 101: A Guide for Federal Contractors and Vendors
Get a clear introduction to VPATs and Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs). This guide explains what VPATs are, why they matter for procurement, and how organizations can document accessibility in a credible, defensible way.
Accessibility Audits, Testing, & VPAT frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between an accessibility audit and accessibility testing?
An accessibility audit is a structured, criteria-based evaluation of digital content against standards such as WCAG or Section 508. Accessibility testing focuses on how people actually interact with the experience—often including assistive-technology testing, usability checks, and user-flow validation. Most organizations use both to understand conformance and real-world usability.
What is AT-informed testing, and why is it important?
AT-informed testing means evaluating digital experiences with real assistive technologies such as screen readers, magnifiers, and voice input tools. It reveals barriers that automated tools and visual reviews cannot catch. For example, unexpected reading order, missing states, or focus issues that affect navigation.
How do automated accessibility tools fit into the audit process?
Automated tests are useful for quickly flagging common issues like missing alt text or incorrect HTML structure. However, they typically detect only 20–30% of WCAG criteria. They serve as a starting point—not a replacement—for manual review, AT testing, and user-journey evaluation.
What makes a VPAT or ACR “credible” for procurement reviewers?
What types of digital assets are included in a comprehensive accessibility audit?
Most organizations update VPATs annually or whenever significant new features, components, or redesigns are released. Procurement teams expect VPATs to reflect current functionality, not legacy versions, so regular updates support transparency and compliance.
How often should we audit for accessibility?
Depending on the organization, audits may include websites, mobile apps, PDFs and documents, forms, e-commerce flows, dashboards, maps, media, and interactive components. Many teams also audit third-party integrations or embedded systems to ensure they meet internal accessibility requirements.
How does shift-left accessibility change the audit process?
Shift-left means moving accessibility checks earlier in design and development. Instead of discovering issues at the end of a project, teams evaluate wireframes, prototypes, components, and early builds—reducing remediation costs and preventing issues from recurring across releases.
Continue learning about audits, testing, and accessibility documentation
Explore how accessibility evaluation, assistive technology testing, and VPATs fit into your organization’s digital accessibility evolution.