Bring Your Website Into Compliance
Over the past two years, there has been a significant surge in Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits filed and won against companies and nonprofit organizations for having inaccessible web sites that cannot be used by people of all abilities.
Equalize Digital offers rapid accessibility audits that help you determine, as quickly as possible, what accessibility problems exist on your website. We offer multiple remediation plans to improve the accessibility of your website in a way that most makes sense for your organizational goals, timeline, and budget.
Our team of accessibility experts can help you to eliminate barriers on your existing website and ensure all people have equal access to your content on the web.
Quick Benefits
- Reach everyone in your audience.
- Ensure you’re in compliance with all legal requirements and international best practices.
- Boost your search engine ranking and enhance search engine optimization efforts.
- Help make the internet a better place and improve your brand reputation.
Why Equalize Digital
Our goal is to help you have a fully accessible website, one that conforms with ADA, Section 508, and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 guidelines, in the shortest amount of time. Below is an overview of how we’re different from other accessibility companies.
We Do Audits Differently
At Equalize Digital we recognize that most organizations request an accessibility audit not because they want to receive a massive PDF report with hundreds of pages, but because they want to make sure their website is fully compliant. Rather than spending weeks auditing your website and making no fixes, we have a fast-turnaround audit process that allows us to quickly determine the scope and set priorities for remediation, then get started making fixes right away. Learn more about our approach to audits.
Real Fixes – Not Overlays
There are tools on the market that promise “instant accessibility” and only require inserting a line of JavaScript code on your website. These overlays use AI to attempt to fix accessibility problems on the page as it loads, however they come with a number of downsides and have even been cited in accessibility lawsuits. Our approach is to make corrections in the source code and includes a human review of every item to ensure 100% accessibility.
Real-World User Testing
We employ blind and visually impaired testers using JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver with keyboard navigation on desktop and voice control on mobile. For websites that serve audiences with lower reading levels or lower cognitive function, we also recommend testing with users in that demographic. User testing is included in all remediation packages as part of our Audit to CertificationTM process. Learn more about website user testing.
Accessibility Training for Your Team
Our goal is not just to improve the accessibility of your website, but also to provide training and education to your in-house team – designers, developers, and content managers – to ensure that you have the skills necessary to maintain accessibility compliance on an ongoing basis. We offer personalized remote learning opportunities and in-person training sessions at your location. Learn more about accessibility training.
Our Audit to CertificationTM Process
Our website accessibility audits are more than an automated scan – because when it comes to accessibility, AI can only get you so far. Our process includes both automated testing and manual review by trained accessibility professionals and visually impaired testers – real-world users of assistive technology – with the goal of rapidly remediating errors and certifying your website as accessible.
- Deep scan with Accessibility Checker Pro and manual review of header and footer.
- Discuss fast audit findings and establish remediation priorities.
- Accessibility statement on the website to share efforts with your audience.
- Continued review of representative interior pages in tandem with developer fixes.
- Live user testers verify the accessibility of specific user journeys.
- If needed, a certificate of conformance is issued for your website.
- Leave Accessibility Checker Pro active to help with detection and prevention.
Remediation Options
Once an accessibility audit is complete, there are a variety of options for resolving identified problems. Let our team plan and facilitate your remediation.
Option 1: Your In-House Team
For organizations with large teams that include dedicated developers and content specialists, it often makes the most sense to have your in-house team make all of the fixes. Our software and manual audits provide sufficient guidance to enable your staff to make fixes without a lot of guesswork. And your team can use our scanning and project management software as part of a Priority Support Package to help the process run smoothly.
- Your in-house team learns accessibility best practices by immersing themselves in the work.
- Little to no ramp-up time to understand your unique software stack because it’s your team.
- Typically requires lower investment than paying a third party.
Option 2: An External Agency
For smaller organizations that rely on an external agency or developer, it might make sense to ask them to help make all of the fixes. Our software and manual audits are sufficiently detailed to enable most professionals to make fixes without a lot of guesswork. And if you do not have an existing relationship with an agency or developer, we can connect you directly with one who understands accessibility and proven capability to deliver results.
- More hands-off, which makes this type of engagement ideal for smaller teams with limited bandwidth.
- Partnering with an agency gives you access to a wider talent pool, from developers to strategists.
- Likely more efficient in making fixes, at least at an early stage.
Are you ready to start making fixes? Contact us.
Accessibility Remediation FAQs
An automated accessibility scan with Accessibility Checker, along with at least some manual analysis, is required before remediation can begin. This allows us and you to gain a clear understanding of the number of pages and problems that need to be addressed. Following the initial scan and analysis, we’ll work with you to come up with a remediation plan that works best for your organization.
During remediation, our team can provide professional consulting and guidance to your development team or agency as they make fixes. And we can continue with additional manual analysis until the full list of approved representative pages have been thoroughly tested.
In order for remediation to occur, your development team or agency will require full access to your hosting environment, any active and relevant code repositories, and an administrator account on your website.
The timeframe for remediation will depend upon the number and type of errors detected in our audit, the theme or framework that your WordPress site uses, and what pace has been set with your development team or agency. Remediation can take anywhere from one week to several months depending upon the above factors. The fastest way to learn how long it will take to remediate your website is to request an audit.
Not necessarily. If your website is still effective at driving results for your organization and it only needs a few small fixes, then you should probably keep it. On the other hand, if the results of our rapid audit process show that it would cost more to repair your existing website than to build a new one, then building a new website might be a good idea.
It also comes down to your website’s lifespan, which is typically 3-5 years. So, if your website is already 4 years old, maybe it would be better to explore having Equalize Digital build you a new, fully accessible website.
Yes. Our team has developed accessible websites and web applications and has provided accessibility consulting for large universities, government agencies, and enterprise-level clients.
Yes. We’re happy to provide accessibility audits and consulting to other marketing agencies and WordPress theme or plugin developers. We strongly believe in making the internet a more accessible place and love having the opportunity to review and provide recommendations to free and commercial themes and plugins.
