Direct Ordering's Approach to Accessibility
Direct Ordering tests accessibility compliance with the Axe DevTools by Deque, which tests for all required WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 Level A and AA rules, as detailed in the tables below.
Out of the box, the Direct Ordering web ordering product passes automated accessibility testing at these levels. However, whenever a change is made for a specific brand, the site can fall out of compliance with these standards, so each Direct Ordering website must be tested individually using Axe.
Accessibility Standards History
In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to require federal agencies to make Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) accessible to people with disabilities. In 1999, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as the basis of accessibility regulations across the globe, and they have been updated to versions 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 in the years since.
Why It Is Important to Test for Accessibility Regularly
Regular accessibility testing matters for several reasons (source):
- It supports legal and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance.
- Improved accessibility benefits everyone, not only people with physical or cognitive disabilities.
- It naturally increases the potential customer base, since an estimated 1 in 6 people worldwide lives with a disability (source).
What Axe Does and Does Not Test For
Axe Does Test
| WCAG Standard | Conformance Level |
|---|---|
| WCAG 2.0 — Level A and AA rules | A = basic conformance; AA = intermediate conformance |
| WCAG 2.1 — Level A and AA rules | A = basic conformance; AA = intermediate conformance |
A comprehensive list of the components Axe tests is available here. WCAG Level AA is the standard referenced by most accessibility rules and regulations worldwide, including the ADA (source).
Axe Does Not Test
| Item Not Tested | Details |
|---|---|
| WCAG 2.0 — Level AAA rules | AAA = advanced conformance, mainly required for government agencies or sites catering to elderly users. |
| WCAG 2.1 — Level AAA rules | AAA = advanced conformance, mainly required for government agencies or sites catering to elderly users. |
| WCAG 2.2 — Level A and AA rules | Released October 5, 2023. At the time this guidance was written, 2.2 rules were not yet widely adopted, required, or tested by Axe. |
| Quality of alternative text (as a description of the image) | Alternative text is invisible text read aloud by a screen reader to describe an image on a page. Axe confirms that alt text exists, but verifying its accuracy is a subjective assessment that requires manual review by a person. Guidance on writing effective alt text is available here. |
| Dynamic site content | Content that appears after a specific action or set of actions is taken by the user. Axe cannot scan this variable content, so it must be tested manually by a trained accessibility expert as part of a professional accessibility audit to ensure full WCAG compliance. Examples of dynamic content are available here. |
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