Web accessibility compliance
A necessity for just about every business
Digital accessibility is a legal must-have across regions, but the requirements for compliance vary depending upon where you are in the world — and where you do business and who your customers are. The requirements can even differ based on the size of your business.
The path to full accessibility compliance can seem daunting, but getting up to speed on the global requirements and those of your region is a great way to start.
WCAG
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are international standards established by the World Wide Web Consortium (WC3). Think of WCAG as the global framework that ensures websites and apps are accessible to people with disabilities and impairments.
ADA
Instituted in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is notoriously foggy, but it’s best to err on the side of caution and meet the requirements already asked of state and local governments. That means meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines.
Section 508
The US Rehabilitation Act’s Section 508 requires that US federal agencies and any vendors, contractors, and partners of those agencies make their information and communications technology accessible to people with disabilities.
EAA
Adopted by the European Union in 2019, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) is designed to ensure that most businesses based in Europe or offering services to European consumers be compliant by June 28, 2025.
Laws specific to Australia and New Zealand
Both Australia and New Zealand have their own legislation and guidance with respect to accessibility: Australia’s is guided by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and applies to both government and private entities, while New Zealand’s web standards apply to government agencies.
Laws specific to Canada
Canada has legislation and frameworks at both the federal and provincial level that direct accessibility: The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) governs accessibility for government and private entities under federal jurisdiction, while provincial standards, such as the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), regulate organizations within their respective provinces.
How we help businesses tick every box
Siteimprove has an array of products and services that make light work of accessibility compliance. The important thing is to get ahead of the game.
Accessibility compliance
We recommend leveraging both automated and manual accessibility checking in a hybrid approach because the truth is, as of now, no platform is powerful enough to mimic every aspect of human interaction with a screen, keyboard, and mouse.
It can be helpful to think of accessibility as an expression of inclusivity: When you observe the details of accessibility and make quality assurance (e.g., finding and fixing broken links and typos) a top priority, you’re ensuring that your site works for every user — and that broadens your audience and therefore increases revenue.
Automated testing
With our powerful tools, you can scan your entire website to surface accessibility issues that run counter to the latest WCAG 2.2 standards and put you at risk of non-compliance. Automated testing operates at scale and surfaces a scope of issues that would take unreasonable amounts of time to find and fix manually.
Automated testing can also be scheduled to rescan periodically, so your site doesn’t fall out of compliance as you update your content.
Get started with our free accessibility checker
Manual testing
Full WCAG conformance can only be achieved if you add manual testing to automated testing, because automated testing can’t replicate keyboard-only interactions, web browser plugins, and assistive computer technologies like screen readers.
Our expert manual testers comb your site for things like unique and meaningful page titles (visible in browser tabs or bookmarks); adequate “skip navigation” options; and mouse-only elements, like rollover menus.
This level of testing requires a deep understanding of assistive technologies and of the user experience barriers presented by different disabilities. No machine can replicate that level of expertise.