WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit

Our team was tasked with auditing the web properties we manage on behalf of our clients and remediating anything that failed WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards to ensure compliance before the DOJ deadline.

core responsiblities

As the sole UX Designer, I was responsible for the research and auditing process outlined below.

My process

• Researched WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements, common native screen reader options for Mac & PC/Windows, and various automation tools to determine what our “accessibility stack” should be for adequate testing to ensure compliance.

• Created a step-by-step testing workflow for PC and Mac across our stack to ensure the requirements are met. This included automated testing, manual visual testing, screen reader testing, keyboard testing, mobile & cross-browser spot checks, and PDF testing.

• Audited all Unbounce landing pages and most microsites, presented findings to the appropriate teams, discussed tactics for remediation, and created JIRA tickets for devs when needed.

• For microsites where we own the code, I reviewed the AI-generated audits and identified which “violations” that needed manual review should be fixed or ignored.

• Participated in on-going QA and was a go-to resource for other people working on this project.

• All remediation was complete by the original April 2026 deadline for public higher education institutions (population 50K+).

• Won a company-wide award for this work. Recognition was given for the following contributions:

  • Being the first to get involved in this project.

  • Setting up a thoughtful framework & early foundation that allowed other people to easily get involved and work effectively.

  • Helped make a daunting project easier to get done quickly.