Your website is only one part of the digital experience
Why digital accessibility needs to cover the whole user journey
When organisations think about a digital accessibility audit, attention often goes straight to the website. That is important, but people do not experience a website as a collection of isolated pages. They move through a digital journey, often across several platforms, to find information or complete a task.
A person might begin with a search, visit a webpage, open a document, complete a form, move into a booking or recruitment platform and wait for a confirmation email. If one part of that journey is inaccessible, the entire experience can become difficult or impossible to complete independently.
Looking beyond the homepage helps organisations understand where barriers actually occur and what needs to change.
Accessibility is determined by whether people can complete the task
A website can look clear and polished while still preventing someone from doing what they came to do. The real test is whether people can complete important tasks in the way that works for them.
This might include being able to:
- Apply for a job
- Register for an event
- Book a service or appointment
- Make a payment
- Complete online learning
- Find accessibility information before visiting a venue
These actions often depend on more than the main website. Forms, documents, emails and external platforms all influence whether the task can be completed.
The journey often moves beyond your website
Many digital experiences rely on systems supplied or managed by another provider. Recruitment platforms, ticketing systems, customer portals, learning platforms and payment services may sit outside an organisation’s main website, but they are still part of the user’s experience with that organisation.
From the user’s perspective, it does not matter which team owns a platform or whether it is operated by a third party. If a job application cannot be completed using a keyboard, a booking form has unlabelled fields or a portal does not communicate errors clearly, the journey has broken down.
This is why reviewing only a homepage or a small number of highly visible pages can leave important barriers undiscovered.
Accessible information also needs to be easy to find
Organisations can invest significant effort in accessibility guides, venue information, policies and support resources. That work has less impact when people cannot find it easily.
If essential information is buried several clicks into a website, available only through an inaccessible PDF or described differently across the website, email and social media, users are left to work out what information they can rely on. For someone deciding whether they can attend an event, use a service or apply for a role, that uncertainty can become a barrier in itself.
Discoverability, consistency and clarity are therefore part of an accessible digital experience.
Small barriers can stop the entire journey
Digital exclusion does not always result from one major technical failure. It can come from the accumulation of smaller issues that interrupt the experience at critical moments.
For example:
- A button does not explain what will happen when it is selected
- A form field is not labelled for someone using a screen reader
- A PDF contains important information but cannot be navigated accessibly
- A video communicates essential details without captions
- A page contains movement or visual clutter that makes important information difficult to locate
- An error message does not explain what went wrong or how to correct it
Each issue may appear small when viewed in isolation. At the wrong point in the journey, however, it can prevent someone from progressing at all.
WCAG provides the benchmark and the user journey provides context
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide an internationally recognised framework for assessing digital accessibility. Testing against WCAG is an essential part of identifying technical barriers across websites, applications and digital content.
Technical conformance is most useful when it is considered alongside the tasks people need to complete. A digital accessibility audit should help an organisation understand not only which requirements are not being met, but where those issues occur, how they affect users and what should be prioritised.
That combination of technical testing and real-world context turns an audit into a practical plan for improvement.
Five questions to ask about your digital experience
- Can people complete your most important tasks using only a keyboard?
- Can screen-reader users identify links, form fields, instructions and error messages?
- Are videos captioned and are downloadable documents accessible?
- Can people find consistent accessibility information without unnecessary effort?
- Have third-party platforms and systems been included in your accessibility review?
These questions will not replace a structured assessment, but they can help organisations recognise where a broader review may be needed.
How Get Skilled Access (GSA) can help
Get Skilled Access supports organisations to identify and understand barriers across websites, mobile apps, forms and other digital platforms. Our approach brings together technical accessibility expertise and lived experience of disability.
Depending on the platform and objective, this may include a high-level accessibility review, a targeted WCAG audit or a comprehensive assessment against applicable WCAG 2.2 Level A and Level AA success criteria. We also deliver digital accessibility training to help teams understand the decisions that shape accessible digital experiences.
Your homepage may be where the experience begins, but accessibility is determined by what happens at every step that follows.
Sofie
Digital Accessibility Lead
Meet Sofie
Sofie specialises in digital accessibility from a user experience perspective. With a background in events and festivals, her recent research examined the accessibility and usability of digital platforms in these sectors. Her culturally and linguistically diverse background informs her inclusive approach to digital accessibility.
She holds the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) credential from the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP).
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