Website Accessibility Audit Ireland: Scope, Cost and Checklist

A website accessibility audit identifies barriers that prevent disabled people from understanding content, navigating, entering information or completing a service. It combines automated checks, manual expert review and testing of real user journeys. A one-click score is not an audit.

This Irish guide explains what to test, how to scope the work and how findings become an implementation plan. It is practical information, not legal advice.

What standard should an audit use?

WCAG 2.2 is the current W3C Recommendation. Its success criteria are organised under four principles: content must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Conformance levels are A, AA and AAA; Level AA includes all A and AA criteria.

W3C recommends WCAG 2.2 as the new conformance target, even where a formal obligation mentions an earlier version. Confirm the standards and legal duties applying to your organisation, sector and service with a qualified adviser.

Why automated scans are not enough

Tools can find missing labels, certain contrast failures, invalid attributes and structural clues. They cannot reliably judge whether alternative text communicates purpose, headings make sense, focus order is logical, an error message is useful or a whole task works with assistive technology.

Use automation for coverage and regression; use human judgement for meaning and journeys.

How to scope an accessibility audit

1. Inventory templates, components, documents and third-party tools.
2. Identify critical journeys: enquiry, checkout, booking, login, payment or application.
3. Select a representative sample of pages and states.
4. Include mobile and desktop behaviour.
5. Agree the WCAG version, level and reporting format.
6. Include retesting and ownership of fixes.

A sample should cover the homepage, navigation, service or product templates, forms, search, errors, media, PDFs and any high-risk custom component.

Manual tests that matter

Keyboard operation

Complete every critical journey without a mouse. Focus must be visible, logical and never trapped. Menus, dialogs, sliders, cookie controls and forms must remain operable.

Screen-reader structure

Inspect headings, landmarks, names, roles, states, form labels and announcements. Visual appearance alone does not expose whether controls make sense when read non-visually.

Zoom, reflow and text spacing

Check that content remains usable when enlarged and at narrow widths. Important information and controls should not disappear, overlap or require two-dimensional scrolling without a genuine reason.

Colour and non-text contrast

Measure relevant colour combinations and ensure meaning is not conveyed by colour alone. Include focus indicators, form boundaries, icons and states—not only paragraphs.

Forms and errors

Labels, instructions and required states must be clear. Errors should identify the problem and help the user correct it without losing work.

What the report should contain

Field	Purpose
Issue and evidence	What failed and how it was reproduced
User impact	Who is affected and what task is blocked
Criterion	Relevant WCAG reference
Location	URL, component and state
Recommendation	Specific design, content or code change
Priority	Severity, reach and commercial importance
Acceptance test	How to prove the fix works

Prioritising remediation

Fix complete blockers in critical journeys first, followed by high-impact component failures repeated across templates. Correct the design system and shared code before patching individual pages. Assign issues to content, design, development or third-party owners and schedule retesting.

Overlays and accessibility widgets

A widget cannot repair inaccessible source content and interactions automatically. Controls such as font size or contrast themes may help some users, but they do not replace semantic HTML, keyboard operation, accurate labels, captions, testing or organisational practice.

Accessibility audit pricing in Ireland

A focused small-site review may cost about €800–€2,000. A representative WCAG audit of a more complex SME site may cost €2,000–€7,500+, while large services, apps and extensive documents require custom scope. These are indicative planning ranges; sample size, components, user testing and retesting determine the fee.

Prepare before the auditor starts

• List priority journeys and known complaints.
• Provide staging access and component documentation.
• Name people who can change copy, design and code.
• Identify third-party systems and supplier contacts.
• Reserve implementation time and a retest budget.

FAQs

Does passing an automated tool mean the site conforms?

No. Automated tools detect only a subset of barriers and cannot establish full conformance.

Can a site be “100% accessible”?

A specific version can be assessed against defined criteria, but content and software change. Accessibility requires ongoing governance, testing and feedback.

Should disabled users be involved?

Yes, where possible. User research and usability testing reveal practical barriers beyond standards checks, although they do not replace a systematic audit.

For a broader introduction, read our website accessibility Ireland guide. If you need evidence your team can implement, request an accessibility audit from SEOWeb.ie.