An accessibility platform is software that helps organizations track, manage, and resolve digital accessibility issues identified through audits or testing. These platforms transform static audit reports into dynamic project management systems where teams can prioritize fixes, assign work, track progress, and validate remediation efforts.
Platforms are usually web applications and are commonly classified as software.
| Key Component | What It Means for You |
|---|---|
| Issue Management System | Upload audit reports and track each accessibility issue through remediation to validation |
| Team Collaboration Tools | Assign issues to team members, add notes, and coordinate fixes across departments |
| Progress Analytics | Visual dashboards showing completion rates, issue distribution, and project status |
| Status Tracking | Mark issues as not started, in progress, completed, validated, or on hold |
| Reporting Features | Generate progress reports for stakeholders and compliance documentation |
The Critical Distinction: Audit-Based vs. Scan-Based Platforms
The most important distinction among accessibility platforms is their data source. Most platforms rely on automated scans, but they should be based on comprehensive manual audits instead.
Scan-based platforms use automated testing tools that crawl websites and flag potential accessibility issues. While convenient for continuous monitoring, scans only identify approximately 25% of WCAG 2.1 AA issues. They miss critical problems like keyboard traps, screen reader compatibility issues, and context-dependent barriers that require human evaluation.
Audit-based platforms work with comprehensive manual evaluations conducted by accessibility experts who test with keyboards, screen readers, and other assistive technologies. These audits identify all WCAG issues, not just the subset that automated tools can detect. When your analytics show 100% completion on an audit-based platform, you’ve actually addressed all accessibility issues. When a scan-based platform shows 100%, you’ve only fixed what the scanner could find.
This distinction becomes crucial for organizations facing legal compliance requirements or serving users with disabilities. Laws and standards require full WCAG conformance, not just passing automated scans. A platform tracking real audit data provides accurate progress toward actual conformance, while scan-based platforms offer an incomplete and potentially misleading picture of accessibility status.
Core Functions of Accessibility Platforms
At its foundation, an accessibility platform serves as a centralized hub for managing WCAG conformance projects. Organizations upload their audit results, typically in spreadsheet format, and the platform extracts this data to create an interactive project environment.
The primary function is issue tracking. Each accessibility issue from an audit becomes a trackable item with associated metadata including the WCAG success criterion, location, severity, recommended fix, and current status. Teams can filter and sort these issues by various attributes to organize their workflow.
Standard features include:
- Issue assignment to specific team members
- Status labels (not started, in progress, completed, validated, etc.)
- Comment logs for each issue
- Progress tracking visualizations
- Analytics dashboards showing project metrics
- Filtering and sorting capabilities
- Team member management
Advanced Platform Capabilities
Some accessibility platforms include prioritization formulas to help teams determine which issues to fix first. These might include risk-based prioritization that analyzes which issues most commonly appear in legal complaints, or impact-based prioritization that scores issues based on how severely they affect users with disabilities.
Certain platforms now integrate artificial intelligence tools to assist with remediation. These AI features might translate technical WCAG language into plain English, provide code examples for fixes, suggest alternative approaches, or answer specific questions about issues. The AI components work within the platform context, using the audit data to provide targeted assistance without requiring prompt engineering.
Integration capabilities vary across platforms. Some connect with development tools like Jira or Azure DevOps, while others operate as standalone systems. The choice depends on whether organizations want accessibility management integrated into existing workflows or prefer a dedicated environment for accessibility projects.
Project Management Features
Accessibility platforms function as specialized project management tools tailored for WCAG conformance work. They enable multiple stakeholders to collaborate effectively – developers fix code issues, designers address color contrast problems, content editors add missing captions, and auditors validate completed fixes.
The workflow typically follows this pattern:
- Upload audit report or connect scanning tool
- Review and prioritize identified issues
- Assign issues to appropriate team members
- Team members remediate their assigned issues
- Mark issues as completed
- Auditors validate fixes
- Generate progress reports
Throughout this process, the platform maintains a complete history of changes, comments, and status updates for each issue. This documentation becomes valuable for compliance reporting, settlement agreements, or demonstrating ongoing accessibility efforts.
Analytics and Reporting
Data visualization is a standard component of accessibility platforms. Dashboards typically display:
- Total issues across projects
- Completion percentages
- Issue distribution by WCAG criterion
- Status distribution charts
- Priority breakdowns
- Team member workload
- Timeline tracking
These analytics help project managers identify bottlenecks, allocate resources, and communicate progress to stakeholders. Monthly or quarterly reports can document remediation efforts for legal compliance or organizational records.
Platform Examples
Accessibility Tracker represents one implementation of an audit-based accessibility platform. It works specifically with manual audit reports rather than scans, includes both risk-based and impact-based prioritization formulas, and integrates five AI tools for remediation assistance. Teams upload Excel audit reports, and the platform automatically extracts issue data, enabling immediate prioritization and assignment.
Although sometimes unclear due to lack of public information, other potential platforms in the market could include Allyant’s HUB, TPGI’s ARC Platform, Level Access Platform, and Siteimprove. Each offers different combinations of scanning, monitoring, reporting, and integration capabilities. Some require enterprise contracts and sales demonstrations, while others like Accessibility Tracker offer direct online subscriptions starting at $19 monthly.
Key Insights
Accessibility platforms transform static audit reports into dynamic project management environments. They centralize communication, eliminate spreadsheet confusion, and provide clear visibility into remediation progress. The most effective platforms base their tracking on comprehensive audit data rather than limited scan results.
Organizations evaluating accessibility platforms should prioritize audit-based systems over scan-based alternatives to ensure they’re tracking progress toward actual WCAG conformance. Advanced features like AI assistance and prioritization formulas can significantly accelerate remediation timelines.
FAQ
Q: Why are audit-based platforms better than scan-based platforms?
A: Audit-based platforms track all accessibility issues identified through manual testing, while scan-based platforms only track the 25% of issues that automated tools can detect. For WCAG conformance and legal compliance, you need to fix all issues, not just the ones a scanner finds.
Q: What’s the difference between an accessibility platform and a general project management tool?
A: Accessibility platforms are purpose-built for WCAG conformance projects. They understand accessibility-specific data like WCAG success criteria, include specialized features like validation workflows, and often provide accessibility-focused tools like prioritization formulas or remediation guidance.
Q: Can accessibility platforms automate the fixing of issues?
A: No platform can fully automate accessibility remediation. However, some platforms include AI tools that help teams fix issues more efficiently by providing code examples, explanations, and implementation guidance.
Q: How do accessibility platforms handle multiple digital assets?
A: Platforms typically organize work into projects, with each digital asset (website, mobile app, web application) as a separate project. Users can view analytics across all projects or focus on individual assets.
Q: What’s the typical cost range for accessibility platforms?
A: Pricing varies significantly. Some platforms require enterprise contracts starting at $15,000 annually, while others offer subscription models from $19-$999 monthly. Cost often correlates with features like automated scanning, integrations, and support levels.