Accessibility audit: Stemettes Website evaluation.
Rationale
Stemettes is a UK based non-for-profit organisation on a mission to inspire and support girls, young women and non-binary people into STEM. It is interested in knowing how accessible their site website is for people with access needs and what steps they should take in fixing the most important accessibility issues for using their service.
Project Goals
- Identify accessibility issues on the Stemettes website
- Suggest actionable fixes based on established guidelines
- Ensure a more accessible and inclusive user experience
Tools Used
-W3C's "Easy Check" for preliminary evaluation
-W3C's "Easy Check" for preliminary evaluation
-WAVE (WebAIM) accessibility evaluation tool for automatic testing
-Keyboard and screen reader (VoiceOver) for manual testing
-WCAG 2.1 Level AA, British Dyslexia Association Style Guide, and Hassell Inclusion recommendations as guidelines
The website appears not to meet WCAG 2.1 at the conformance level of AA, as critical issues have rendered part of the website’s content and features impossible or difficult to perceive, understand or use, requiring a strenuous effort of different users with disabilities and posing challenges that can induce confusion, anxiety and frustration. This report advises that issues of higher severity ratings are addressed as soon as possible to improve accessibility for a wider range of users with diverse profiles, abilities and needs. Addressing these issues will not only benefit users with impairments but also expand the potential audience for the Stemettes' mission of inspiring more people to pursue STEM subjects.
Method
-Preliminary evaluation with W3C's "Easy Check"
-Preliminary evaluation with W3C's "Easy Check"
-Automatic testing using WAVE (WebAIM) accessibility evaluation tool
-Manual keyboard testing (tabbing through the website)
-Screen reader testing with VoiceOver
-Assessment against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, British Dyslexia Association Style Guide, and Hassell Inclusion recommendations for Autism
-Identification of affected user types
-Severity of impact rating for each issue
-Compilation of prioritised issues with suggested fixes from multiple guidelines
Severity levels: Critical (urgent), High (significant impact), Medium (moderate impact), Low (minor impact).
Key Findings and Recommendations
Reflection
Conducting my first accessibility audit was both enlightening and demanding, emphasizing the critical role of accessibility in design. This experience deepened my appreciation for creating inclusive environments that accommodate everyone, highlighting how accessibility is not just a feature but a fundamental aspect of user experience. Throughout the audit, I honed my skills in employing various tools and adhering to guidelines to detect and remedy accessibility barriers.
This project significantly broadened my understanding of accessibility and underscored the value of empathy in designing for a diverse audience, ensuring that accessibility remains a core consideration in all my future work.
