Accessibility Testing

Accessibility Testing is the systematic testing of whether a website, app or digital platform is usable by people with disabilities. Think visually impaired people who use a screen reader, people with motor limitations who cannot operate a mouse, or color blind people who cannot see contrast differences well. The goal is to prevent digital exclusion and ensure that everyone can access your content, regardless of physical or cognitive limitations. In the United States, this falls under the Temporary Digital Accessibility Act, which will become mandatory for many organizations starting in 2025.

How Accessibility Testing Works in Practice

In an accessibility test, you walk through a Web site using a combination of automated tools and manual checks. Automated scanners such as Axe, WAVE or Lighthouse check technical aspects: alt text for images, correct use of heading structure, color contrast and keyboard navigation. Manual tests go further: you test whether a screen reader such as NVDA or VoiceOver reads the page logically, whether forms can be operated without a mouse, and whether videos have subtitles. A full test follows the WCAG 2.1 guidelines of the W3C, the global standard for digital accessibility. Those guidelines have three levels: A (basic), AA (intermediate, often required by law) and AAA (highest level).

Why Accessibility Testing is getting more attention now

In recent years, digital accessibility has shifted from a niche topic to a legal and societal priority. In the United States, the Temporary Digital Accessibility Act has been in effect for government organizations since 2018, and starting in 2025, its scope will be expanded to include many commercial sectors. In addition, companies are realizing that an accessible website yields a broader reach: approximately 15% of the Dutch population has some form of disability, and a poorly accessible site excludes that group. Furthermore, a solid foundation in accessibility also helps other users, such as older adults with reduced fine motor skills or people who temporarily have an arm in a cast.

What Accessibility Testing delivers for SMBs

An accessible website prevents legal risks, expands your target audience, and often improves your SEO performance as well. Google values well-structured HTML, clear alt text, and a logical heading hierarchy—all components of accessibility. For ecommerce stores, this means that customers with disabilities can also place orders, which prevents lost revenue. When having an ecommerce store design or redesigned, you can incorporate accessibility into the design and development from the start, which is more cost-effective and efficient than making fixes later on. In practice, we’ve seen with small and medium-sized business (SMB) clients that a one-time accessibility audit lasting 4 to 8 hours can already uncover 70% of the most common issues, such as missing alt text, insufficient color contrast, and illogical tab order.

Accessibility Testing can be used at various stages of a digital project: during the development of a new website, during a redesign, when adding new functionality such as an ecommerce store checkout, or as a periodic check of an existing site. Below you can read where it makes the most impact in SME practice.

Accessibility test for redesign or new website

When you have a website developed or revamped, the time to include accessibility from the start is in the design and code. At that stage, for example, you can set color contrasts correctly right away, build forms logically and apply a heading structure that works for both screen readers and SEO. A common mistake is to test accessibility only afterwards, which means you have to rewrite code and adjust designs. For an ecommerce store design, this specifically means testing the checkout flow with keyboard only, so that users without a mouse can also checkout. A real-life example: a B2B wholesaler with an ecommerce store discovered after an accessibility test that the product filters could not be operated with Tab key, which prevented part of the target audience from selecting products.

Periodic monitoring of existing websites

Even if your website has been running for a few years, it pays to do an accessibility test annually. Websites grow: you add pages, install new plugins, adjust templates. All those changes can unintentionally introduce accessibility issues, such as a new slider without keyboard controls or a contact form without labels. A periodic scan with tools like Axe or Lighthouse takes an hour and provides a list of concrete areas for improvement. With SME clients, we often see problems concentrated in new sections, such as a recently added blog or an event calendar. An annual check prevents small problems from accumulating into a large technical debt.

Compliance check for legal obligations

As of 2025, the European European Accessibility Act (EAA) applies to many commercial service providers, including ecommerce stores, banks and telecom providers. Municipalities, healthcare organizations and educational institutions must also comply with WCAG 2.1 level AA. A compliance-oriented accessibility test provides a report that shows where your site stands and what changes are needed to comply with the law. You can use this report as proof of effort should there ever be a complaint. As an example, a regional healthcare facility had a full audit performed prior to the legal deadline, including manual screen reader testing, and received an improvement plan with 23 concrete action items divided into three priority levels.

When Accessibility Testing is the right choice and when it is not

Accessibility Testing makes sense as soon as your Web site is publicly accessible and you want to reach a broad audience. It is less urgent if your site is an internal dashboard for a small group of known users, or a temporary landing page for a specific campaign. Note: Even if you think your target audience has no restrictions, you are at risk. Many disabilities are not visible (such as color blindness or dyslexia), and temporary disabilities occur to everyone. If your budget is limited, start with a free automated scan and address the top 10 problems. That will yield 60-70% improvement for an investment of just a few hours.