Discover how a website accessibility audit can help UK businesses identify and remove digital access barriers through tailored accessibility audits and checks.

A website accessibility audit can do more than identify technical issues. It can help organisations understand the barriers that prevent people from finding information, using services, completing forms and carrying out everyday tasks online.

In the UK, this matters to literally millions of people. The latest Family Resources Survey estimated that 16.8 million people, or 25% of the UK population, were disabled in 2023/24.

For all public sector organisations, digital accessibility is also a legal requirement.

The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018 require public sector websites and mobile apps to meet accessibility standards and publish an accessibility statement.

Then there is accessibility law such as the Equality Act 2010, which protects disabled people from discrimination and promotes equal access across every aspect of life, including digital experiences.

Why is a website accessibility audit necessary?

Automated accessibility tools identify many technical issues, including poor colour contrast, missing labels and other common errors; however, automated testing alone is never enough because accessibility is about whether a website works effectively for real people in everyday situations.

Here at Passion4Social, we combine technical knowledge with the lived and learned experience of disabled and neurodivergent testers to identify issues that automated tools may miss.

Consider what this looks and feels like in practice:

In Allana’s lived-experience story about ordering a Valentine’s takeaway, she describes using screen-reader software to navigate the Just Eat website.

The site was difficult to follow, with links that seemed to lead nowhere, nameless buttons and a confusing structure.

She thought she had selected a chicken dish.

However, because the menu labels did not correspond logically with the available tick boxes, she had actually selected prawns.

Her partner has a severe shellfish allergy, and although he realised what had happened before biting into a prawn, contact with them still made him very unwell.

This was not simply a technical problem; it was an access barrier with dangerous, potentially even deadly consequences.

Another example comes from Passion4Social’s accessibility testers sharing their lived experience.

A website may technically work with a screen reader but still provide a frustrating experience if hyperlinks are unclear or navigation is difficult to understand.

A form may also appear accessible while taking significantly longer to complete because it has not been designed with keyboard navigation in mind.

This is where lived experience makes a difference.

What makes Passion4Social’s accessibility audit services different?

Passion4Social’s web audit services combine technology, human insight and lived experience.

Our audits use automated scanning alongside testing by real users with lived experience of disability.

Depending on the service, testing involves people with different disabilities and access needs, while journey testing is informed by analytics data.

The approach can be tailored exclusively to an organisation’s needs:

• Starter accessibility testing includes three real user testers with lived experience of disability, an automated scan of one website domain and a simple, actionable report with prioritised recommendations.
• Trailblazer supported accessibility auditing builds on this with mentoring, resources and ongoing support.
• For organisations requiring a more comprehensive evaluation, the Impact full accessibility audit includes six testers with diverse disabilities, in-depth manual journey testing aligned to analytics, cross-checking with three automated tools, detailed WCAG compliance mapping and recommendations prioritised by impact and effort.

You can also get additional support through consultancy, post-fix checks, tailored training, technical support and testing across additional websites.

The difference is not simply about finding more issues; it is also about turning technical findings and lived experience into practical, understandable actions.

Remember that a website is not truly accessible simply because an automated tool finds a few errors; it needs to work for the people who rely on it.

Read our article ‘What is an accessibility audit (and do you really need one)?’ to discover how an accessibility audit identifies digital barriers, why automated testing is never enough, and how we create more inclusive digital experiences.

Want to understand how accessible your website really is?

Explore Passion4Social’s accessibility audit services to find out how your organisation can identify barriers and take practical next steps with our guidance.