Why is My Site No Longer Meeting WCAG Standards?

The Ever-Shifting Landscape of Accessibility

Accessibility standards like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) may feel like a stable mountain, but they’re more like a slow-moving glacier—solid but constantly shifting. These guidelines don’t change often, but when they do, it’s the result of a thorough public rulemaking process. Staying compliant means staying aware of these updates so your site doesn’t fall behind. Think of it as keeping your site dressed for success, no matter how guidelines evolve.

Automated vs. Manual Testing: Why You Need Both

When it comes to testing your site for accessibility, there are two key approaches:

These tools can catch obvious issues across many pages, fast.

These are human-led reviews that catch what machines can’t.

Both are essential for maintaining compliance. Automated tools are great for speed, consistency, and tracking trends, but they have limitations. That’s where real people—accessibility-savvy QA testers and developers—come in. They understand nuance, context, and user experience in ways automation can’t.

Want to truly make your site inclusive? Use both. Machines flag patterns. People confirm impact.

Automated Accessibility Testing: Quick Wins & Wide Coverage

Automated scans cover lots of ground in little time, and are on our front lines of ensuring ongoing accessibility compliance. We use industry standard accessibility scanning tools, like PopeTech, to keep tabs on your site. PopeTech taps into the power of WebAIM WAVE’s scanning technology and cross-checks it with a robust dataset to pinpoint potential accessibility issues. What does this mean for you?

• We can scan multiple pages at once, saving time and effort.
• It tracks your site’s accessibility health over time, creating a handy history log.
• If something new breaks, PopeTech flags it immediately so we can jump in and fix it. No waiting. No guessing.
• We can automate scans on a schedule—weekly, monthly, you name it—to ensure your site is always in line with ADA compliance.

Manual Accessibility Testing: Humans Catch What Scans Miss

Automated tools are great, but they only get you so far. Some accessibility issues are just too subtle or too complex for a program to notice. That’s where manual testing comes in.

Manual testing brings a human lens to the process—one that reflects how differently-abled users actually experience the web. That means navigating your site using only a keyboard, just as someone with limited mobility might. It means using screen readers like JAWS or NVDA to hear how your content flows, making sure it’s logical, clear, and not overwhelming when read aloud. These tests help catch issues that automation simply can’t—things like confusing link text, broken tab sequences, or poor context. 

Manual usability testing can be an intensive and specialized skillset. Our team is capable of utilizing screen readers and conducting baseline manual pressure tests, but for a thorough sweep and guarantee of compatibility, we often partner with a preferred vendor that specializes in this testing.

It’s not just about ticking boxes. It’s about making sure your site actually feels usable for people with disabilities. That takes human eyes, human brains, and a whole lot of empathy.

Site Updates: The Usual Suspects

Your website is like a living, breathing thing. Whether you’re posting new blogs, adding fresh product photos, or tinkering with the layout, every update has the potential to introduce accessibility hiccups. The most common culprits?

1. Missing Alt Text for Recently Added Images

You're trying to get new content up in a flash, and may neglect to add alt text for every image as you go. Here’s a quick cheat sheet to keep your updates clean and compliant on a WordPress website:

• Log in to WordPress. Head to the Media Library.
• Click on any new images you’ve added.
• Fill in the “Alternative Text” field. This field lives on the right-hand side. Describe the image in a way that makes sense for someone who can’t see it. For example: “Golden retriever puppy playing in a field of flowers.”
• Done! No need to save or hit an update button; WordPress automatically updates the alt text and applies it to your site.

2. Non-Compliant Brand Colors

Often times, brand guides are not created with digital usage (AKA: accessibility-compliant contrast) in mind. Your site may look spot on brand-wise, but it may not have been created in a compliant fashion from the start. Take it from us– our P3 brand red is actually a slightly higher-contrast hex value on our site to maintain compliance.

To test for yourself,

• Head Here: the WebAIM Contrast Checker Tool (Bookmark this!)
• Check your Foreground: Enter your foreground hex color (usually your text color—your designer will know this).
• Check your Background: Enter your background hex color.
• See if your Combination is Compliant: See if you're meeting WCAG AA standards for “Normal Text,” which is generally the benchmark to aim for.

3. Keyboard Navigation Issues

Many sites don’t support full navigation via keyboard (Tab, Enter, Space, etc.) without additional testing or development that otherwise makes them inaccessible to users who can’t use a mouse. Here are some tests anyone can give a shot to get a sense of what this entails:

• Try Tab-Only Navigation: Unplug your mouse and use only the Tab key to move through your site. Can you reach all links, buttons, and form fields in a logical order?
• Look for a Visible Focus Indicator: As you tab, is there a visible outline or highlight showing where you are? If not, users can easily get lost.
• Test Modal Windows and Menus: Open a pop-up, dropdown, or mobile nav menu—can you navigate and close it with just the keyboard (Tab, Enter, Escape)? If not, it’s a red flag.

Why It All Matters

Accessibility isn’t just about following rules—it’s about making your site welcome to everyone. By keeping up with WCAG standards, leveraging powerful tools like PopeTech, and consistently incorporating small-but-mighty updates in your content management process, you can ensure your site is more inclusive and accessible for all.

And hey, if all this feels like a lot, don’t worry. That’s why you’ve got us. Let us know how we can help!