In practice
Roughly a third of the criteria can be checked automatically — missing alternative text, unlabelled fields, insufficient colour contrast, broken heading order. The rest need a person: whether the keyboard order makes sense, whether an error message explains how to fix the problem, whether the captions on a video are accurate. A supplier claiming full conformance from an automated scan alone has not done the work.
Where it fits in a build
Required in practice for public-sector and institutional buyers, increasingly expected in enterprise procurement, and a straightforward quality improvement everywhere else. Built in from the start it costs very little; retrofitted it is a project.
Common mistakes
- Installing an accessibility overlay widget and considering the matter closed. It is not conformance and it is widely opposed by disabled users.
- Testing the homepage only, when the forms and the checkout are where people are blocked.
- Removing focus outlines for visual reasons, which makes keyboard navigation impossible.
Related terms
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