• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

WeCo Digital Accessibility

  • Home
  • Our Story & Founder
    • Our Mission
    • For the Press and Media
      • Press Releases
  • Services
    • Free Accessibility Review
    • Accessibility Support Consulting
    • Disability-Focused Usability Testing
    • Manual Accessibility Audits and Remediation
    • Accessibility Policy Statement
    • Usability and Accessibility Training
    • SME Speaker Services
  • Who We Are
    • Our Work & Clients
    • Our Testers
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs and Internships
    • Working as a Tester
    • Application and Interview Tips
  • Resources
    • Access Blog
    • Events
    • Webinars
      • Accessibility Webinars 2022
    • Recorded Free Accessibility Webinars
    • Free Access Library
      • Make a Case for Access
    • Disability Employment Resources
      • Disability Employment in Action
  • Site Access
    • Site Map

January 16, 2013 by Lynn Wehrman - Founder/President Leave a Comment

Moving Beyond the Checklist: Balancing Web Standards Checklists and Accessibility

As WeCo’s Accessibility Team begins to work with clients who are new to accessible communications, we begin to realize that many organizations are seeking a “checklist fix” to accessibility instead of solutions that encompass overall website functionality.

“While checklists, such as the Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Standards (VPAT) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) serve as a great learning and a much-needed accountability tool for accessibility, developing in an exclusively ‘list-driven’ environment can create problems for the end users–especially those who live with disabilities,” shared Lynn Wehrman, WeCo Accessibility Team Director and company President. 

Online accessibility concerns can seem daunting when you begin the journey of addressing them.  “It’s very easy and extremely common for organizations to see VPAT’s and WCAG Guidelines as the definitive—and only—solution to their accessibility concerns and needs,” Wehrman added.

But at WeCo, we encourage organizations to consider aspects of accessibility which can make a website or venue easy to use—aspects which cannot always be measured by an HTML code assessment checklist. These may include things such as readability, or the way information is organized, written and visually presented, which does not overwhelm the user.  Information identification methods, which do not involve code analysis, can also make accessibility easier for screen reader users, greatly improving ease-of-use for individuals with sight-related disabilities.

“Checklists play an extremely important role in accountability and have been the primary influence behind accessibility awareness,” commented Wehrman, “However, for those of us who encounter almost daily the limitations of ‘checklist exclusive’ development outcomes for people who live with disabilities, there is a ‘people-driven’ factor to consider as well.”

Filed Under: Access Awareness, Legal Awareness

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Use WeCo’s Library. Quick search hundreds of articles, documents and resources.

Footer

Contact WeCo

WeCo Accessibility Services
Reach us at: 855-849-5050 accessinfo@theweco.com

Minneapolis Office:

2730 West Lake Street
Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN  55416

 

CONTACT US

The information provided by WeCo (The Wehrman Collaborative, LLC) is not intended or designed to be used as, or take the place of, legal advice. If you have questions regarding how this information may affect you or your organization legally, please seek the advice of professional legal counsel.

Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.

IAAP Organizational Member logo

QUICK LINKS

Site Map

Resources

Privacy Policy

Accessibility Policy

SOCIAL MEDIA

FACEBOOK

LINKEDIN

TWITTER

YOUTUBE

Disability Owned Business Enterprise logo from Disaebility:IN

National Organization on Disability

NOD Leading Disability Employer 2021 written in a variety of teal sections, making a square.

Subscribe to News & Updates




    Check each one you'd like to receive.

      
      
      

    Copyright © 2022 · Log in

    Skip to navigation