The level dashboards are laid out in the same way as the overview dashboard, so you’ll see the overall score for the level and the top errors for that level at the very top, and then scores for specific level categories underneath. This allows you to see exactly which issues are bringing your score down, and again allows you to prioritize your work accordingly.
Underneath the health scores, you’ll then see charts and trends for categories and issues specific to that level. As mentioned, you can drill down into the data by clicking through from the dashboards to lower levels. You can also use the left hand navigation to move to different areas as required.
On the overview dashboard, you’ll see an ‘Accessibility Score’ at the top of the page. This is a score based on all the automated tests in the Example platform. It is important to note that for a site to be compliant, there are a number of manual tests that also need to be completed. While Example covers 100% of the automated tests, we recommend working with an accessibility consultant, like QualityLogic, to address the manual tests required for compliance.
To the right of the Accessibility Score, you’ll then see the top errors that are related to the overall score. You can click into each of these to get directly to the relevant report if required.
Underneath the Accessibility Score and Errors, you’ll see issues broken down into specific categories for WCAG 2.2 A, AA, AAA and some additional best practice recommendations.
You can use these scores to see where you need to focus attention, based on the WCAG standard you are working to comply with. Level A is considered the bare minimum that websites should strive to achieve, while Level AA is the largely the level most legal requirements are based on around the world. Level AAA is considered the gold standard and something organizations are already aspiring to. The Best Practices are not related to any legal compliance, but provide additional tests and guidelines for further improvements. Clicking into a category will take you to the dashboard for that specific category.
Underneath the health scores section, you’ll see a number of charts that help you visualize the data in different ways. The first chart shows you the top changes from the previous crawl. This helps you quickly spot any spikes in issues that may have been introduced by recent code changes. Next to the top changes you’ll see a chart detailing the number of accessibility issues and the number of issue instances across your site.
In the charts, clickable elements are available to take you to a relevant dashboard or report, or to highlight, remove or include certain elements. For example, in the ‘Instances & Issues’ report above, hovering over the legend at the bottom of the chart will highlight the particular area, and clicking on it will remove it and then reintroduce it to the chart.
The next two charts will show you a trend line of the number of pages with and without accessibility issues, by level (A, AA or AAA). These can be used to see your overall progression, and also to show progress to key stakeholders.
We then have a chart and trend to show WCAG issues by level, and the trend over time. Again, you can click through to the relevant dashboard from the chart.
The next two charts will show you the issues by severity, so you can see the number of minor, moderate, serious and critical issues on your site.
Underneath, you’ll then see charts and trends for specific categories, and categories that cover multiple levels (e.g. Color Issues across Level A, AA and AAA). In the dashboards for each level, you’ll see the categories specific to that level, but this gives you the ability to see the category across levels in one place.