If you're considering hiring a digital accessibility vendor to help test and remediate your website or app, you might not know how to decide which agency is best for you. Their services and approach may overlap in some areas but differ in others. Knowing what questions to ask can help you make a more informed decision.
Below are eight questions to help you get started:
- Do you have experience in my industry?
- What kind of testing will you perform?
- What is the scope and methodology of testing?
- Who does the testing?
- What reporting formats and types do you deliver?
- Will you help us understand and implement your recommendations?
- Do you provide maintenance and support?
- How do you help protect us from complaints and lawsuits?
1. Do you have experience in my industry?
While the general tenets of accessibility might not change from industry to industry, there are some industries whose websites tend to contain certain elements or require certain tasks. For example, e-commerce websites are likely to contain robust search capabilities and a shopping cart, while education websites might be heavier in resource documents, like PDFs.
Industry-specific experience may be beneficial.
2. What kind of testing will you perform?
Most accessibility consultancies will state that they follow standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure that content is POUR, but not all agencies will perform the same kinds of testing.
All accessibility testing should have the same goal of determining how usable the content is for people with disabilities. However, the specific types of testing performed may determine how well or how thoroughly the vendor identifies accessibility barriers.
Testing is often categorized as automated or manual. Automated testing uses tools or scans to identify potential issues in the code. This kind of testing is usually fast, but is not comprehensive or necessarily accurate. Manual testing with a keyboard, a screen reader, and other assistive technology is necessary for an accurate assessment of accessibility barriers.
Some vendors' testing strategy includes automated and manual testing.
3. What is the scope and methodology of testing?
Organizations that perform testing with the same technologies still might not perform testing in the same ways. When making a decision on which accessibility vendor to use, it may be beneficial to ask how the scope and methodology of testing are defined and followed.
It might be important to know how the agency will approach:
- Testing every page on your website or a selection of pages
- Testing according to a script or checklist
- Testing specific or important tasks or use cases
4. Who does the testing?
The goal of this question isn't to know the names of the specific people who will perform the testing, but you may be interested in understanding their background and experience.
Consider asking what training or certifications the testers have. You might also be interested in learning whether any of the testers have disabilities or are native assistive technology users themselves.
5. What reporting formats and types do you deliver?
After the accessibility vendor has completed the testing and generated findings, your organization will need a plan for what to do with that information.
Depending on who specifically will be making updates to the code and design, and on the systems and programs your organization uses or is authorized to use, you might find some reporting options more manageable than others. Therefore, you might want to ask how they categorize findings and recommendations; the software or formats those reports are available in; and what options you have for customizing, navigating, or importing those reports so they work best for you.
6. Will you help us understand and implement your recommendations?
You will have questions, likely many, about how to interpret and apply the audit report you receive. Depending on the expertise areas of those who will be in charge of doing that work for your organization, your questions and their nature may differ, and you probably don't know what most of those questions are yet.
That's why it may be a good idea to understand what kind of support the vendor will provide in that area. Whether your questions will be very technical or conceptual, specific or general, related to the priority or severity of issues, or anything else, it's worth asking the agencies you're considering what happens when you get stuck.
7. Do you provide maintenance and support?
Accessibility initiatives are typically best when they're maintained over time. As time passes, as content changes, and as technology changes, accessibility is likely to change, too.
It may be a good idea to ask vendors whether they provide one-time recommendations or long-term support, and what forms that support takes. Some organizations might provide customer service or account management, regular accessibility checks, and other valuable support services.
8. How do you help protect us from complaints and lawsuits?
The claims vendors make in this regard and the products and services they provide to this end vary broadly. Because accessibility is both a user experience and a compliance focus, odds are you want to know the answer to this question, and it's okay to ask it.
Learn more about digital accessibility or digital accessibility lawsuits.
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