WCAG accessibility audits for teams that need clarity, not guesswork
If you are responsible for a site or application that brings in customers, processes payments, or handles critical workflows, you cannot afford to treat accessibility as an afterthought. You need to understand exactly where you stand against WCAG, what is risky, and what to fix first without stalling your roadmap.
BYBOWU is a web and app development agency based in Phoenix, AZ, working with US and international clients. Our WCAG accessibility audits give founders, product owners, and marketing leaders a senior, no-nonsense assessment of their digital products, plus a concrete plan to reach compliance and improve user experience for everyone.
Common accessibility problems we uncover
Most teams come to us because they suspect they have accessibility gaps but do not know where to start. Typical issues we find include:
- Interactive elements (menus, modals, accordions) that cannot be used with a keyboard alone.
- Poor color contrast and typography that make content hard to read for many users.
- Missing or incorrect alt text, labels, and ARIA attributes that break screen reader flows.
- Form errors that are not announced or are visually unclear, causing drop-offs at critical steps.
- Focus states that disappear, jump unpredictably, or get trapped inside components.
- Content and structure issues, such as heading misuse and inconsistent landmarks, that confuse assistive technologies.
- Third-party widgets and plugins that introduce accessibility issues you do not control.
The result is the same: frustrated users, higher abandonment on key flows, and increased exposure to complaints or legal action. Our job is to make the problems visible, understandable, and fixable.
How our WCAG accessibility audit works
We approach accessibility with the same discipline we bring to performance and security: a mix of expert review, real usage scenarios, and clear priorities. No hand-wavy scores, just concrete findings mapped to WCAG success criteria.
- Scope and risk assessment. We align on the digital properties in scope (marketing site, web app, portal, ecommerce, mobile web), your audience, and any immediate legal or contractual requirements. Together, we decide which user flows and templates matter most.
- Automated scanning, then real inspection. We use reputable automated tools to catch obvious issues, then our team manually reviews pages and flows with keyboard-only navigation and screen readers. We check against WCAG 2.1 and, when relevant, 2.2 AA criteria.
- Task-based testing of key journeys. We walk through realistic tasks like "complete checkout", "request a demo", or "update account details" as a user with visual or motor impairments would, and we document friction points and blockers.
- Issue classification and prioritization. Every finding is tagged by severity (blocker, major, minor), mapped to specific WCAG criteria, and connected to concrete UX or business impact so you know what to fix first.
- Actionable remediation guidance. For each issue, we write recommended fixes in plain language, with enough technical detail for your developers to implement without guesswork. If you want, our Accessibility Remediation team can handle implementation directly.
- Review and Q&A. We walk your team through the findings, answer questions, and agree on a realistic remediation plan that fits your roadmap and resources.
What you get as concrete deliverables
By the end of the audit, you are not left with a theoretical checklist. You get a set of practical assets you can execute on:
- A structured WCAG audit report covering scope, methodology, and summarized risk profile.
- A prioritized issue log with severity, affected pages/components, WCAG references, and remediation notes.
- Annotated examples and screenshots that show what is broken and why it matters.
- Recommended patterns and design guidelines for accessible navigation, forms, and components.
- Optionally, a remediation roadmap with phases, estimates, and suggested owners, which can tie into our Support & Maintenance or Web Development services.
All of this is written for both product and engineering. Non-technical stakeholders can see risk and priorities, while developers get clear next steps.
What you can order
- Essential WCAG audit for marketing sites — A focused review of your primary marketing website or blog, covering key templates, navigation, forms, and media. Ideal if you want to reduce risk and improve inclusivity for your public-facing presence.
- Web app & portal accessibility audit — A deeper audit for SaaS products, customer portals, or internal tools, centered on critical flows like onboarding, dashboards, and account management. Includes component-level findings for your design system.
- Ecommerce accessibility audit — A specialized review of category, product, cart, and checkout flows to reduce drop-offs for users with disabilities. Fits well alongside our E-commerce Development and SEO & Digital Marketing work.
- WCAG regression audit before redesign or relaunch — A time-boxed audit before a major release to ensure new designs, templates, or refactors do not introduce fresh accessibility issues. Recommended for teams shipping large updates on tight timelines.
- Ongoing accessibility check-ups — Quarterly or bi-annual mini-audits on a defined set of pages and flows, to keep you from drifting away from WCAG compliance as you ship new features.
How engagement works with BYBOWU
We design the collaboration so you get clarity quickly without adding a lot of overhead to your team.
- 1. Intro call. We discuss your product, audience, legal or policy requirements, and what keeps you up at night. If there is a fit, we define a scope that makes sense for your budget and timelines.
- 2. Scope and proposal. You get a short, structured proposal with audit scope, approach, deliverables, and a clear price range. This usually lands within one business day. You can also review typical ranges on our Prices page.
- 3. Access and audit. We agree on the environments to use (live, staging, password-protected) and any test accounts we need. Then we run the audit in a focused window, sharing interim flags if we see critical issues early.
- 4. Findings review. We present the report in a live session, walking through the highest-risk issues first. Your team can ask implementation questions on the spot so nothing sits in a vacuum.
- 5. Remediation support. You can either have your developers fix issues using our guidance, or involve our Accessibility Remediation and QA & Testing services for hands-on help.
If you are local and want to run workshops or working sessions, we can meet in Phoenix. If your team is distributed across the US or globally, we handle everything smoothly via video and async channels.
Why choose BYBOWU for WCAG accessibility audits
- Accessibility plus product thinking. We connect WCAG criteria to real user journeys and business metrics. That means the most important flows get fixed first, not just the easiest violations.
- Developers who speak WCAG. We build and maintain complex sites and apps, so our recommendations are technically realistic. Your dev team gets clear, implementable guidance instead of vague advice.
- Design, UX, and engineering under one roof. We look at your UI, content, and code together, which helps avoid the typical gap between accessibility theory and actual design or implementation.
- Risk reduction without drama. We prioritize by legal exposure, user impact, and effort. You get a phased plan that respects your roadmap instead of a demand to "fix everything now".
- Long-term partnership if you need it. Many clients start with a one-time audit, then keep us involved for remediation, new feature reviews, or related work like UX audits and performance optimization.
Proof it works in the real world
Marketplace UX and accessibility uplift
For a modern clothing marketplace, we reviewed critical catalog, search, and checkout flows, uncovering issues like poor focus states and unclear error messaging. The resulting fixes helped make the experience more usable for keyboard and screen reader users and reduced friction for all shoppers. See project details.
Roommate finder platform improvements
On a roommate matching platform, we combined UX and accessibility review to simplify profile creation and search filters. Addressing form labels, contrast, and navigation consistency made it easier for a broader range of users to complete sign-up and matching flows. See project details.
B2B dropshipping portal clarity
In a B2B portal for wholesalers and dropshippers, we audited complex dashboards and product management screens. Clarifying hierarchy, improving keyboard navigation, and tightening focus management helped teams work more confidently with dense data views. See project details.
Tactical ecommerce flows
For a tactical apparel marketplace, our review of filters, product details, and checkout highlighted accessibility issues tied to conversion drop-offs. After fixes, the store was better aligned with WCAG basics and more comfortable for users on assistive tech. See project details.
Questions founders usually ask
Which WCAG level do you audit against?
Most clients aim for WCAG 2.1 AA, which is the typical reference point for legal and policy requirements. We can also note where you meet or fall short of AAA criteria, and we incorporate relevant 2.2 updates where they impact modern interactions and components.
How long does a WCAG audit take?
For a focused marketing site, expect about 1–2 weeks from kickoff to final report. Larger web apps, portals, and ecommerce platforms typically take 2–4 weeks depending on scope and complexity. We confirm a clear timeline before we start so you can plan around releases.
Do you help with fixing the issues you find?
Yes. You can handle remediation internally using our recommendations, or we can step in with our Accessibility Remediation, Web Development, and QA & Testing teams. We can also review your fixes before release to confirm you are moving in the right direction.
Can you work with our existing design system or component library?
Absolutely. In many audits, we focus heavily on shared components and templates, because improving those has the biggest impact. We can document accessibility patterns for buttons, forms, modals, and other core components so that future features ship in a more compliant state by default.
Will the audit help with legal compliance and risk?
An audit itself does not guarantee legal protection, but it gives you a clear record of good-faith effort, current risk, and a prioritized remediation plan. Many organizations use our reports as part of their documentation when responding to internal policies, RFPs, or external complaints.
How much does a WCAG audit cost?
Pricing depends on scope, complexity, and how many properties or flows we review. Smaller marketing sites are at the lower end, complex apps and portals are higher. If you share your constraints, we can usually shape an initial phase that fits. You can also review typical budget ranges on our Prices page.
Talk through your WCAG accessibility audit
If you already know which site or app needs attention, we can usually outline scope, timeline, and a budget range within one business day.
If you are still deciding where to start, we can review your current setup, highlight obvious risks, and suggest a realistic first audit phase.
Contact us for a WCAG accessibility audit estimate or request a Phoenix website accessibility review.
