Select journeys
Include entry, navigation, form, confirmation and error state. Check a page on mobile and at high zoom.
GUIDE / PROTOCOL
Audit accessibility across a web journey
Accessibility is assessed across a whole task: find, understand, act and recover from an error.
Direct answer
How do you run a useful accessibility audit?
Select representative journeys and critical states. Combine code inspection, keyboard navigation and assistive technology checks. Connect each defect to a blocked task, a WCAG requirement, evidence and a retest.
01 / Review method
Review method
Use the keyboard
Check focus order and visibility, every control, menus, dialogs and exit from components. Identify keyboard traps.
Check meaning and output
Review headings, accessible names, labels, image alternatives, structure, contrast and error announcements with a screen reader.
Prioritize and replay
Rank failures by task and severity, fix shared components, then replay the journey and pages using them.
02 / Evidence to keep
Evidence to keep
Scenario and environment
URL, device, browser, assistive technology, zoom and attempted action.
Reproduction
Exact steps, screenshot or DOM extract, observed and expected outcomes.
Requirement and impact
Relevant WCAG criterion, affected people or tasks, and reasoned severity.
Retest
Fix, version, date and results with keyboard and screen reader.
AFTER THE REVIEW
Decide from the evidence
The menu is visible but unavailable by keyboard
Hold journey approval, fix the shared component, then test opening, navigation and closing wherever it is used.
Automated checks pass but instructions remain unclear
Keep the tool result, record the failed task and rewrite instructions before testing with relevant access modes.
03 / FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is an automated tool enough?
No. It finds some code errors but cannot always judge logical order, comprehension or task completion.
What comes first?
Shared components and essential journeys such as navigation, search, request, payment or contact.
Must every language be tested?
Test key screens: declared language, labels, errors and reading order can differ.
When can an issue close?
When the original scenario succeeds with relevant access modes and the fix does not break other states.
04 / Official references