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What an accessibility assessment can—and cannot—tell you

A plain-language guide to evidence, scope and the limits of automated checks.

Begin with the question being asked

An assessment is evidence about a defined scope at a defined time. It defines the pages, tasks, technologies, states and WCAG conformance level being evaluated before testing begins.

Automated tools can reveal some patterns quickly. Manual review, keyboard use and human judgment are still needed for context, meaning and complete user journeys.

Read conclusions with their limits

A useful result explains what was tested, how it was tested, what was not tested and what evidence supports each finding. It does not turn a sample into a conclusion about every page or turn a technical result into a legal guarantee.

Sources and boundaries