WCAG-EM Accessibility Audit

The WCAG-EM Audit is an extensive investigation into the digital accessibility of your website according to the WCAG 2.1 guidelines.

A representative sample is selected for the audit based on a number of criteria. This has to do with different types of pages and the quantity. It is also important that all the different types of elements such as tables and digital documents (PDF / ePub) are included. Forms and other online processes will also be examined.

This sample is then audited on the WCAG criteria and the findings are submitted in a report. This report may accompany your accessibility statement and serve as a basis for making improvements as needed.

The WCAG-EM research methodology as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is used when performing the digital accessibility audit. This ensures that audits are carried out in an unambiguous manner.

• WCAG 2.1 guidelines on w3.org
• WCAG-EM Methodology on w3.org

Our supplier already has WCAG reports

When your supplier already has an independent audit report for (tech part of) the website they provide, you can use this as part of your accessibility statement. 

However, the content you enter into the website also has a major influence on its accessibility. To be able to complete a full accessibility statement, it is therefor important that this content is also audited.

This second sub-audit focuses purely on the content of your website. Among other things, the images, texts, videos and documents such as PDFs are looked at.

Can't we do automated testing?

Various automatic tools are indeed available for testing websites against some WCAG guidelines. However, this method of testing only covers about 20% of the total criteria.

The vast majority of the success criteria have to be manually tested and assessed. The WCAG-EM audit is a manual investigation in which all elements are examined in detail in different situations.

Is an audit mandatory?

As of September 23, 2020, websites of (semi-) government institutions within the European Union have to publish an accessibility statement in which they can indicate whether their website meets the A and AA levels of the WCAG 2.1 guidelines.

To be able to say that your website actually complies, you will have to add a substantiation. A manual investigation is necessary for this substantiation. An automatic test can be added to support it, but they alone are not a sufficient substantiation.

But we're not part of the goverment

UN convention for the rights of people with disabilities

The UN drafted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006. It must ensure that people with disabilities can live and participate in society in the same way as other people. That is why digital information and services must also be accessible.

At the beginning of 2016, the House of Representatives decided to implement this UN convention. Shortly afterwards, the Senate also agreed. The convention entered into force on 14 July 2016. Read more about the UN Convention on Rijksoverheid.nl.

EU Accessibility Act

From 2025, the European Accessibility Act will also apply, which will require more services such as web shops to comply with WCAG guidelines.

An accessibility audit gives you tools to make your website a better experience for every visitor. Curious how you could start making accessible changes easily? Have a look at our Accessibility Check-up