Choose a clear review scope

Identify the pages and tasks that matter most: understanding a service, learning about a lawyer, finding contact information, and completing an enquiry. Agree which accessibility standard and conformance level will guide the work. WCAG provides technical criteria, while legal obligations depend on the applicable context. A checklist or automated score should not be presented as a guarantee of legal compliance.

Make keyboard use an ordinary test

Try the main route without a mouse and note whether focus is visible, moves logically, and can leave every control. W3C’s Easy Checks highlights keyboard access and visual focus as useful first checks. Test the open mobile menu as well as ordinary links. A control that looks finished in a screenshot may still be difficult to discover or operate through another input method.

Preserve meaning when presentation changes

Use descriptive headings, informative link wording, and text alternatives appropriate to each image’s purpose. Review the page with enlarged text and at narrow widths. Essential information should not disappear because a card has a fixed height or an overlay occupies the screen. Ask what the reader needs to understand at each point, then ensure that meaning is not dependent only on colour or position.

Treat errors as part of the experience

Where the site includes a form, explain what is required before submission and show errors close enough to the relevant fields to be useful. Preserve information that does not need correction. Review what a person hears or sees after success, failure, or a delayed response. Warnings and confirmation messages deserve the same attention as the initial form because they determine whether the visitor can finish.

Combine early checks with deeper evaluation

W3C explains that preliminary checks cover only part of accessibility and cannot establish a complete assessment. Record issues, prioritise barriers to essential tasks, and assign fixes to named owners. Include appropriate manual evaluation and user feedback in a broader review. Recheck affected pages when menus, forms, templates, or content change; accessibility is easier to maintain when it is part of normal publishing practice.

From reading to doing

Put it into practice

  • Define the pages, tasks, and review standard.
  • Follow key routes using a keyboard.
  • Check text enlargement and error messages.
  • Record barriers and verify their resolution.

Reference points: W3C WAI, “Easy Checks – A First Review of Web Accessibility” and “What’s New in WCAG 2.2.” Technical guidance is distinct from jurisdiction-specific legal advice. Reviewed September 30, 2026.

General editorial guidance. Assess technical and professional requirements for the actual website, audience, and jurisdiction.