Digital Experience, Accessibility and Content Clarity

Web Accessibility Audit

Identify the barriers that make your website harder to use - and turn them into a practical remediation plan.

Accessibility issues are often distributed across templates, content, navigation, forms, media and third-party tools. People may be unable to complete important tasks, while the organisation carries avoidable usability, reputational and compliance risk.

Why this matters

Accessibility issues are often distributed across templates, content, navigation, forms, media and third-party tools. Without a structured audit, teams can see isolated symptoms without understanding their severity, recurrence or ownership.

People may be unable to complete important tasks, while the organisation carries avoidable usability, reputational and compliance risk.

What Web Accessibility Audit involves

A Web Accessibility Audit evaluates representative pages, templates and journeys against the agreed accessibility standard and the realities of the implemented site. It combines automated checks with expert review and documents issues in a form that designers, developers and content owners can act on.

What the work can cover

The precise scope depends on the starting point and the decision to be made. The following areas are commonly considered in Web Accessibility Audit.

Scope and conformance target

Plan scope and conformance target around the defined audience, proposition, landing journey, budget guardrails and measurement rules.
Automated and manual review

Examine the available evidence for automated and manual, then identify the issues, opportunities and decisions that should shape the next step.
Keyboard and assistive-technology checks

Address keyboard and assistive-technology checks in the context of the wider engagement, connecting the work to the available evidence and the intended decision.
Content and form assessment

Examine the available evidence for content and form, then identify the issues, opportunities and decisions that should shape the next step.
Prioritised issue register

Define prioritised issue register with clear choices, owners, dependencies, review points and an explicit link to the intended outcome.
Remediation and retest plan

Plan remediation and retest plan around the defined audience, proposition, landing journey, budget guardrails and measurement rules.

When this is the right starting point

Organisations preparing a redesign or launch; public-facing and regulated organisations; teams responding to known accessibility concerns; and website owners that need a prioritised baseline rather than a generic compliance score.

It is less useful when there is no clear owner, insufficient access to the relevant systems or evidence, or no capacity to act on the findings. Discovery should confirm suitability before a wider programme is agreed.

How we approach the work

DSC adapts the detail to the organisation, but Web Accessibility Audit follows a controlled, evidence-led sequence.

Clarify users, outcomes and constraints
Define priority audiences, tasks, content, technology, accessibility needs, ownership and success measures.
Design the structure and experience
Translate evidence into architecture, journeys, content patterns, functional requirements and measurable acceptance criteria.
Build or improve the solution
Implement the agreed front-end, back-end, content and integration work using controlled components and standards.
Test the real experience
Review responsive behaviour, accessibility, content, performance, forms, analytics, security and edge cases.
Launch, document and improve
Release through a controlled process, hand over ownership and monitor the experience against agreed measures.

What you receive

The final scope is agreed around the decision rather than a fixed menu. A typical Web Accessibility Audit engagement may provide:

agreed audit scope and representative sample
issue log with severity, evidence and affected component
prioritised remediation roadmap
review session with design, development and content owners
retest or validation plan where included

The proposal should state which items are included, the evidence and access required, who owns each review and what sits outside the agreed scope.

What success should look like

A clearer view of current barriers, affected user journeys, recurring component issues and the order in which remediation should be addressed.

Success should be tested against agreed user tasks, accessibility, content, responsive behaviour, technical acceptance, measurement and maintainability after release.

Relevant client work

Relevant client work showing how this service area has been applied in practice.

Building a scalable digital platform for a construction business

A website strategy, UX and WordPress build designed to strengthen credibility, showcase project capability and support future content growth.

Building an integrated digital growth model for a private second-level school

A joined-up programme spanning research and strategy, search visibility, paid acquisition, analytics and digital experience to strengthen the school's recruitment journey.

Frequently asked questions

What does Web Accessibility Audit involve?

A Web Accessibility Audit evaluates representative pages, templates and journeys against the agreed accessibility standard and the realities of the implemented site. It combines automated checks with expert review and documents issues in a form that designers, developers and content owners can act on.

When should an organisation consider Web Accessibility Audit?

Organisations preparing a redesign or launch; public-facing and regulated organisations; teams responding to known accessibility concerns; and website owners that need a prioritised baseline rather than a generic compliance score.

What will DSC need from our team?

Audience and service requirements, current content and architecture, design and brand authorities, technical environment, accessibility target, integrations, analytics and content owners.

What will the engagement produce?

The exact outputs are agreed in the proposal. Typical deliverables include agreed audit scope and representative sample, issue log with severity, evidence and affected component, prioritised remediation roadmap, review session with design, development and content owners, and retest or validation plan where included.

How should success be assessed?

Success should be tested against agreed user tasks, accessibility, content, responsive behaviour, technical acceptance, measurement and maintainability after release.

Can DSC guarantee a specific commercial result?

No. DSC can improve the quality of diagnosis, planning, implementation and learning, but outcomes also depend on the organisation, market, budget, offer, platform behaviour and the way recommendations are implemented.

Discuss an Accessibility Audit

Share the current situation, the decision you need to make and any constraints that matter. We will help determine whether Web Accessibility Audit is the right next step and what evidence would be required.

Discuss an Accessibility Audit