Alberta Orthotic & Prosthetic Centre (AOPC) is a clinic based in Calgary, AB. They are currently in the process of updating their website and wanted an accessibility audit report that could be used as a guideline for the new website.

The goal of this audit was to determine if AOPC’s website meets the requirements of the Canadian Standard on Web Accessibility. To do that, I followed a checklist found on the A11y project's website and used online evaluation tools like Wave and Lighthouse, and other tools like a contrast checker and Voiceover. 

1. Content

2. Global code

3. Keyboard

4. Images

5. Headings

6. Lists

7. Appearance

8. Colour contrast

For this part, I used A11y Color Contrast Accessibility Validator to help me determine if AOPC’s website meets the required AA level of compliance. The website needs some improvements but overall did all right in the test.

9. Recommendations

I evaluated the accessibility of AOPC's website using different tools, and the scores ranged from 30% to 60%. However, I couldn't conduct a usability study with users who have disabilities, which would have given me a more comprehensive understanding of the website's issues. Based on my evaluation using the tools and assistive devices on my computer, I created a list of areas that need improvement. To organize my findings, I used the four primary principles of accessibility, which state that a website should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Perceivable 

1. Heading structure and hierarchy need to be cleaned up and organized in a logical order.

2. Common regions of the website need to be clearly labelled, such as banners, main content etc.

3. All the pictures need to have alternative text.

4. Tab order and reading order need to be organized more logically and intuitively.

5. Fix the colour contrast issues.

Operable

1. The website is almost impossible to navigate with a keyboard.

2. Links and buttons should be named and labelled to inform the user of their purpose and function.

Understandable

1. The language of the website needs to be defined. 

2. Where possible, simplify the language and words used on the website. 

Robust

1. All the links, media, buttons, maps etc. need to be labelled and named properly, so they are clear to the users using screen readers.

2. Debug HTML.

3. Make sure that the user is made aware of any status changes on the website, like a page with search results being loaded or a request for an appointment sent. 

Update

The AOPC's website has been redesigned, and some of the suggestions I made in my audit were taken into account. To evaluate the accessibility of the new site, I used the same online tools for a quick check. It received a score of 96/100 in the Lighthouse report and the Wave evaluation tools showed zero critical errors. Although the website was put together quickly and still needs some improvements, the changes made have significantly enhanced its accessibility.

Moving forward, we aim to ensure that all images have alt text and that upcoming video content includes closed captions and transcripts. We will monitor how these changes improve the site's accessibility, as well as whether they increase traffic. Additionally, we plan to improve the site's heading structure and colour contrast soon. 

I would also like to conduct usability testing with seniors, people with disabilities and newcomers. This will help me identify and address any issues to improve the website.