Towards more equitable support services to eradicate homelessness with an accessibility audit

The Blue Ribbon Foundation is an expert and advocate in homelessness and substance abuse work, developing low-threshold operational models and integrating them into the daily lives of its clients. The foundation works to eliminate homelessness and provides support to those in the most vulnerable positions in society. Their goal is to ensure that everyone has a place. The Blue Ribbon Foundation is part of the Blue Ribbon Foundation Group, employing over 250 professionals dedicated to helping others.

“Everything went exceptionally well, and the reporting and reports, for example, were really good. We are not accessibility experts ourselves, so having a third-party assessment of our new website was a crucial part of quality assurance for us. We gained a lot of knowledge about accessibility and its evaluation. The project was very smooth, and I would definitely recommend participating in something like this.”

Sanna Haanpää-Liukko, Sustainability and Communications Director, The Blue Ribbon Foundation

The Blue Ribbon Foundation needed a third party to conduct accessibility audits for its redesigned websites

The Blue Ribbon Foundation provides services where promoting accessibility and equality is of utmost importance. The Digital Services Act mandates that public authorities and certain organizations make their online services accessible. However, accessible online services benefit everyone, so they are worth considering even if not legally required.

The Blue Ribbon Foundation had carried out website redesigns for two different sites, sininauhasaatio.fi and sininauhakoti.fi, with the goal of achieving AA-level accessibility. To assess the state of accessibility on these sites, a third-party audit was necessary to ensure impartiality. After the audit, the company that developed the site was tasked with correcting the identified issues to fully meet the desired accessibility standards. This process ensures that the final product meets the high accessibility level in line with WCAG standards, improving usability and accessibility for all users.

Audit progression

The views to be audited were carefully pre-selected to ensure that all the most relevant pages and functions were checked. Since both The Blue Ribbon Foundation and Blue Ribbon Homes websites used the same theme and structure, it was unnecessary to audit the same elements twice for both sites. Typically, the same errors are repeated on both sites, but this was confirmed by auditing each website in parallel.

The audit comprehensively covered various page templates and functions, such as forms, videos, and audio files. Manual testing was conducted using the NVDA screen reader and keyboard, which helped identify issues that would be difficult to detect without these assistive tools. Detailed reports and correction suggestions were made for all detected issues.

Testing details

• The new WCAG 2.2 criteria were used at the AA level. This was done to anticipate the future so that the site remains accessible even when the latest criteria are legally required.
• Testing was carried out comprehensively with both automated and manual tests (e.g., screen reader, keyboard testing).
• All the most essential functions and views were tested, such as search functions and forms.
• Different devices were considered, including desktop versions, tablets, and phones.

Issues detected during testing

Some deficiencies were detected during the accessibility audit. Some elements had poor contrast, and images lacked alt text. There were minor issues in the heading hierarchy and responsiveness, such as elements being cut off. Screen readers revealed accessibility issues, such as unclear link purposes and incorrect language in aria-labels. Keyboard testing also showed that not all functions could be performed with just a keyboard, and focus was often missing. All deficiencies and correction suggestions were recorded in detail in the report with screenshots and code examples, making it easy for developers to start fixing the identified issues.

Benefits the Blue Ribbon Foundation gained from the accessibility audit

After the audit, a final meeting was held to review the results of the accessibility audit with The Blue Ribbon Foundation. A summary of the report was also made easy to understand so that even those unfamiliar with accessibility could clearly understand the website’s situation and the necessary corrections. We also proposed concrete actions to address accessibility issues according to AA-level requirements. In the final meeting, our accessibility expert also answered the client’s questions about accessibility and provided advice, especially on how to consider accessibility in content production.

After the final meeting, The Blue Ribbon Foundation received an accessibility report, a summary of the report, and an accessibility statement.

Content of the accessibility audit report:

• Information on when, how, and with what tools the testing was conducted.
• Details on which pages and functions were reviewed during the testing.
• A summary of the results (accepted, rejected).
• Criterion-specific evaluations of pass rates.
• Detailed listings of deficiencies with screenshots.
• Correction suggestions for each deficiency.
• Assessments of the impact of deficiencies on usability.
• A list of possible other deficiencies that do not violate any specific WCAG code but are worth considering for correction.

Summary of the report:

• An easily understandable summary of the accessibility audit results

Accessibility statement:

• A statement required by the Digital Services Act on the website’s accessibility

The efforts made to improve accessibility enhance the user experience, especially for users relying on screen readers, and make the services more approachable, thereby advancing The Blue Ribbon Foundation’s goal of providing everyone with a place in society and in life. After the corrective measures, the website meets AA-level accessibility criteria, which translates to more equitable services for all The Blue Ribbon Foundation’s clients.

Are your accessibility matters in order? Let’s start with an accessibility audit to determine the current state of your service’s accessibility and how it can be improved. Hurja’s professionals can also correct any deficiencies found in accessibility if you wish. Contact us!