When you need an answer sooner
A comprehensive accessibility audit is the right way to understand everything standing between your product and the people who use it. It is also a significant undertaking, and not every situation gives you that runway.
A focused audit narrows the scope, not the rigor. Our IAAP-certified experts manually test an agreed set of user journeys against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2, and you get the same prioritized, screenshot-backed findings we would deliver from a full engagement. The difference is how much ground we cover, decided together before we start.
Most clients use a focused audit to get moving, then expand into a full audit once they know what they are dealing with.
How it compares to a full audit
| Focused audit | Full audit | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Up to five user journeys, agreed before we begin | Your full product, across every content type |
| Testing method | Manual testing with assistive technology | Manual testing with assistive technology |
| Findings | Prioritized issue list with screenshots | Prioritized issue list with screenshots |
| Consultation | Walkthrough of findings with your team | Walkthrough plus ongoing remediation support |
| VPAT and ACR | Not included | Included |
| Conformance claim | Not a conformance evaluation | Supports a conformance claim |
When a focused audit is the right call
-
You received a demand letter
You need to know what is actually wrong, and you need to know quickly. A focused audit on the flows named in the complaint gives you and your counsel something concrete to work from. Our team also offers accessibility legal expertise if the matter progresses.
-
You are scoping remediation budget
It is difficult to ask for funding without evidence. A focused audit on representative journeys shows the shape and severity of the problem, which is usually enough to size the work and make the case internally.
-
You want to test the partnership first
Committing to a full audit before you have worked with a vendor is a real risk. A focused engagement lets you see how we test, how we write up findings, and how we work with your developers.
-
You shipped something new
A checkout redesign or a new onboarding flow does not need a whole-product audit. It needs careful attention to the thing that changed, before it reaches everyone.
What a focused audit does not do
We would rather be clear about this up front than have it surface later.
- It is not a conformance evaluation. Because we test an agreed subset, a focused audit cannot tell you that your product conforms to WCAG. It tells you what we found in the journeys we tested.
- It does not produce a VPAT or ACR. If a customer or government client has asked you for an Accessibility Conformance Report, you need the full audit. We will say so rather than sell you the smaller engagement.
- Untested areas may still have issues. Accessibility problems are rarely confined to one flow. Findings in the journeys we test are usually a signal about patterns used elsewhere in your product.
Start with a conversation
Tell us what you are working with and what is driving the timeline. If a focused audit fits, we will scope it with you. If you would be better served by a full audit or by training your team, we will tell you that instead.