Web Accessibility

What Is WCAG & AODA

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of internationally accepted standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure that web accessibility to all users, including people with disabilities. 

WCAG provides a comprehensive framework for web accessibility, covering a wide range of recommendations for making an accessible website and web content. 

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a law enacted by the government of Ontario, Canada, aimed at improving web accessibility standards for people with disabilities (including visually impaired users) and providing equal access. A full set of AODA requirements is available on the official government website https://www.aoda.ca/.

AODA mandates that organizations in Ontario must follow specific standards, including those outlined in WCAG, to ensure that their digital content is accessible to everyone.

Why It Is Important to Be Compliant With WCAG & AODA Guidelines

WCAG and AODA compliance is crucial for several reasons:

1. Legal requirements

Non-compliance with WCAG and AODA can result in legal repercussions, including fines and lawsuits. Many regions, including Ontario, have strict regulations that require websites to be accessible to people with disabilities. 

2. Inclusivity

Ensuring that your website is accessible means that all users, including people with disabilities, can access and interact with your content. This inclusivity fosters a positive user experience and demonstrates your knowledge of assistive technologies and commitment to social responsibility. 

3. Improved user experience

Accessible websites are generally more user-friendly for everyone. Features such as clear navigation, readable text, and alternative text for images enhance the overall user experience. 

4. SEO benefits

Search engines to favor an accessible website. By adhering to WCAG guidelines, you can improve your website's search engine ranking in all web browsers, making it easier for users to find your content.

5. Broader audience reach

AODA compliant sites can reach a wider audience, including people with disabilities, elderly users, and those using different devices or assistive technologies.

WCAG & AODA Website Accessibility Audits & Testing

A web accessibility audit is a process that features our experts evaluating your website to make sure it complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) and meets all the mandatory website compliance requirements.

The ultimate goal is to identify potential barriers that may prevent people with disabilities from accessing your website content to the same extent that other groups of users do.

A website accessibility audit is done by an accessibility professional and features a meticulous evaluation of your website against the latest version of WCAG and the creation of a report that contains an assessment along with problems that need to be fixed to ensure full WCAG and AODA compliance.

To ensure your website complies with WCAG 2.1, Accessible Canada Act (ACA), and AODA standards, we offer professional audit services, that include: 

1. Comprehensive audit

Experts will conduct a thorough review of your website to identify any accessibility issues. This includes evaluating your site's structure, content, and functionality against WCAG 2.1, ACA, and AODA guidelines. 

2. Detailed reports

After the audit, you will receive a detailed report outlining the identified issues, their impact on accessibility, and recommendations for remediation. This will help you prioritize accessibility issues. 

3. Remediation support

We help you implement the necessary changes. This can include providing guidance on best practices, coding assistance, and ongoing monitoring to ensure continued compliance. 

4. Training & education

We may conduct training sessions for your team to help them understand best practices and fix accessibility issues, maintaining compliance in the future. 

5. Certification

Upon successful remediation, you may receive a certification, badge, or accessibility statement indicating that your website meets the required accessibility standards. This can be displayed on your site to demonstrate your commitment to accessibility requirements.

We act as an accessibility consultant, providing web accessibility solutions for organizations of all sizes, both government and private sector, providing services for ensuring website accessibility compliance requirements.

We improve accessibility and help to create accessible sites for organizations and companies in various sectors, including:

• Government
• Finance
• Education
• Health
• Transportation
• Social services
• Non profit organizations
• Justice

Cost of Website Accessibility Audit

How much does an AODA website accessibility audit cost?

The cost of an AODA compliance audit or WCAG audit can vary based on several factors, including the size and complexity of your website, the audit's scope, and the auditor's experience.

Typically, you can expect to pay between $2,400 and $6,000 for an AODA website audit.

Here are the key factors that influence the cost of an AODA website audit:

1. Size and complexity of your website

Larger and more complex websites require more time to audit, resulting in higher costs.

2. Scope of the audit

The audit's scope determines the number of pages reviewed and the audit's thoroughness. A more comprehensive audit will generally be more expensive.

3. Experience of the auditor

An auditor with more experience can complete the audit more quickly and efficiently, which can affect the overall cost.

ZWEBRA is a team of web accessibility consultants based in Toronto, Ontario. Our primary specialization is A Level and AA Level ACA & AODA audits.

If you would like to get a free quote on website accessibility audit, please fill out our brief or use the form below.

Web Accessibility Audit Report

After the audit is complete, you will receive a detailed web accessibility evaluation report and a website accessibility statement template.

The report contains a prioritized list of issues that need to be addressed before your website could become fully compliant with all accessibility standards.

Our assessment of a website's accessibility consists of two parts:

1. Automatic scan

As a part of this testing, you will get a report with a list of elements, problems and descriptive explanations of the text, audio and video content that is not compliant with accessibility standards.

2. Manual check with screen readers

The scope usually includes one of the popular screen readers and 2 browsers (online tools like VoiceOver + Safari, VoiceOver + Chrome, etc.), but it can be expanded on demand. 

As a result of this testing, you will get a list of accessibility issues found by our web developer with explanations and generic examples of how to resolve them.

Provided examples contain a piece of generic code or a link to the resource with examples of how to resolve the issue.

The audit report includes an analysis of the following items:

• website structure
• UI design
• audio files and audio content
• visual media
• HTML elements
• interactive elements
• technical aspects

The main goal of such analysis is to identify accessibility barriers or problems that may prevent people with disabilities from accessing and using the website effectively. This process may also contain recommendations on how to improve development process and make sure that the website's content is accessible for everyone.

This report is used by a web developer to implement all the web accessibility upgrades required to make the website or web application WCAG 2.1, ACA, and AODA compliant.

Commonly, all the upgrades are made by the client's internal development team. We provide additional explanations and assistance (if required) upon request at no additional charge.

If a client needs help with the implementation of accessibility upgrades to the website and mobile devices, Zwebra specialists may provide such services.

After the implementation of all accessibility upgrades, you may request the final review of the website to check and ensure its current compliance content accessibility guidelines WCAG 2.1, AODA or ACA.