Many clients ask us how to certify their websites and other digital assets for conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). When it comes to EN 301 549, even though it incorporates WCAG 2.1 AA, this is its own technical standard, a European Standard that sets the technical accessibility requirements for ICT products and services.
Certification
Because there is no formal certification that is issued by a governing authority (e.g., European commission, etc.), our recommendation for EN 301 549 certification is a clean Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) that’s created using the EN 301 549 edition of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT).
VPAT Edition
The EN 301 549 edition of the VPAT aligns perfectly with its namesake standard and, if your product or service is fully conformant with the criteria or requirements in the standard, you’ll have internationally recognized documentation that speaks to your product or service’s accessibility as graded against the EN 301 549 standard.
ACR
For background, a VPAT is a standardized template that, once filled in and completed, creates an ACR. So we have a template that accounts for accessibility and once everything’s filled out, then we have a report of accessibility.
What’s nice is this a standardized document that is used across the globe by sellers and procurement agents. It effectively allows sellers to produce evidence of accessibility and buyers to easily evaluate a product or service’s accessibility and compare it against competitors.
Now, in terms of certification, what’s very important is that you make your product or service as conformant with the EN 301 549 standard as possible because, whatever accessibility issues exist, those issues will show in the ACR because an ACR really is an accounting of accessibility.
Think of an ACR as a mirror that reflects your product or service’s accessibility.
Audit
And so if you’re after certification, fixing the issues will be a priority.
To fix issues, you’ll need an audit where your digital asset will be meticulously and formally evaluated. The purpose of the audit is to find all of the issues. And once you find the issues, that’s when they can be fixed.
From there, the fixes have to be checked to ensure conformance and then any outstanding issues need.
Provider Certification
Additionally, if your digital asset is fully conformant with WCAG, we can issue Accessible.org certification which is our provider certification that speaks to your conformance and the extensive evaluation behind the documentation.
Summary
Although there is no formal EN 301 549 certification, there are options to demonstrate your product or service’s conformance with the EN 301 549 standard.
Do you need help with an audit and/or documentation?
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