In the learning technologies sector, accessibility is crucial not just for compliance but also to enhance usability for all users. It’s a fundamental aspect of delivering a seamless user experience. Accessibility ensures that products and services are designed to accommodate users with varying needs, including those with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments.
However, the benefits of accessible design go beyond simply meeting compliance standards. It also enhances usability for all users, creating a more intuitive and inclusive experience for everyone.
At Totara, we regularly assess our products against modern accessibility standards such as WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1, and Section 508. We produce an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for every major release, such as our recent Totara 18 ACR. However, accessibility isn’t a one-time effort, nor is it limited to core products. It’s an ongoing review and improvement process across all areas, including user-facing documentation like our Totara Help site.
As Totara’s Senior Technical Writer, I decided to conduct an accessibility audit of the Totara Help site, where we provide detailed product documentation primarily aimed at Site Administrators. The goal was simple: to identify and address any potential barriers preventing users from fully accessing the information they need. By conducting this audit, we ensured compliance and aimed to improve the site’s overall usability.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the key steps of conducting an accessibility audit, sharing practical tips and insights based on our recent experience. Whether you’re looking to make small tweaks or embark on a full-scale review, these steps will guide you toward creating a more inclusive and accessible user experience for all.
1. Get support from automated tools
Automated tools are a great starting point to uncover common accessibility issues quickly. They help to highlight many potential problems, but they shouldn’t be the sole method used. While testing the Totara Help site, I found that some grey text on white backgrounds had insufficient colour contrast, making it difficult for users with visual impairments. Additionally, our search bar lacked descriptive link text, which could confuse visually impaired users using screen readers.
What to do:
These tools can highlight problems like colour contrast failures, empty link text, and unhelpful or missing alternative text.
Utilise accessibility extensions in your browser to scan for issues. I found the Wave Evaluation Tool extension in Google Chrome particularly useful.
2. Perform manual checks
Automated tools only detect 30-40% of issues, so manual testing is critical to catch the rest. It’s important to experience your site the way users with impairments might. When manually navigating the Totara Help site, we discovered that some elements were skipped during keyboard navigation and didn’t visually indicate when they were selected, making it hard for users relying solely on a keyboard to know where they were on the page.
What to do:
- Try navigating your site using keyboard controls alone to simulate how a visually impaired or physically disabled user might interact with your platform.
- Use a screen reader to assess how your content is interpreted by assistive technologies.
3. Make improvements
We fixed colour contrast issues on the Totara Help home page by updating the CSS. However, other issues, like missing form labels and keyboard control limitations, were escalated to our documentation platform provider for future resolution. Some issues may be quick fixes, while others could require more time or coordination with external vendors.
What to do:
- Address the issues within your control, such as updating CSS for colour contrast or adding descriptive link text.
- For elements you cannot directly modify (e.g. platform-level controls), raise support tickets with your providers.
4. Acknowledge your wins
It’s easy to focus on the areas needing improvement, but acknowledging what you’ve done right is just as important. Our audit showed that the Totara Help site was already using proper HTML heading levels, ARIA attributes, and descriptive alternative text for images—making the site more accessible for users relying on screen readers.
What to do:
- Highlight the existing accessible features that are already in place and functioning well.
5. Set a process for ongoing review and improvement
Accessibility is not a one-time fix; it requires continuous effort to maintain and improve. As a result of this audit, we’re now incorporating accessibility checks into our documentation workflow to ensure that improvements continue and that we remain proactive in identifying and resolving potential issues.
What to do:
- Integrate regular accessibility reviews into your development and content processes to ensure ongoing compliance and improvement.
- Use audits as an opportunity to step back and evaluate the overall accessibility picture of your platform.
Final thoughts
The accessibility audit was an excellent chance to identify what we were doing right. I was pleased to see that the Help site was already effectively using HTML heading levels, ARIA attributes, and alternative text on images, all of which serve to make the site more accessible to those using screen readers or other assistive technologies.
Accessibility isn’t just a case of achieving a specific standard and calling the job done – instead, it’s an ongoing, iterative process in which you continually review your sites and tools to identify areas for improvement. As such, I’ll be integrating accessibility reviews into our documentation process and ensuring that we take the time to look at the broader accessibility picture. By following these steps, you can ensure that your site or platform remains accessible to as many users as possible, enhancing usability and inclusivity.
