Utah State Historic Preservation Office Accessibility Audit
Web Accessibility Remediation for Utah SHPO website to make it conforms with the WCAG technical standards and comply with the ADA.
This Utah State Historic Preservation Office accessibility audit and WCAG 2.1 AA remediation covered the website of a United States state agency that protects historic places and helps the public navigate preservation programmes across Utah.
A preservation office site is rich in records, maps, guidance documents and forms — the tools people use to research properties, apply for listings and access grants. For a researcher or applicant using a screen reader or a keyboard, the accessibility of those records and forms is what decides whether they can use the service at all.
Table of Contents
Why accessibility is required for a government website
Public-sector websites in the United States must be accessible by law. Under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II, state and local government services are covered, Section 508 sets the federal benchmark, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the standard used to measure conformance. For the Utah State Historic Preservation Office the duty is also practical: residents who use assistive technology have the same right to read information, download documents and complete forms as anyone else.
Scope and standard
Our Utah State Historic Preservation Office accessibility audit assessed the site against WCAG 2.1 Level AA, mapped to ADA Title II, across the journeys that matter: records and database access, downloadable guidance and forms, any maps, programme and grant pages, and site search and navigation.
How we ran the Utah State Historic Preservation Office accessibility audit
- Screen-reader testing with JAWS and NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, and TalkBack on Android
- Automated audits with Deque axe, Google Lighthouse and WAVE
- Keyboard-only operation of every step, with attention to focus order and a clearly visible focus indicator
- Colour-contrast analysis, plus 400% zoom and reflow testing for low-vision users
What accessibility means on each part of the site
Because Utah State Historic Preservation Office is a public-sector site that informs and serves residents, our Utah State Historic Preservation Office accessibility audit focused on the parts people depend on:
- Information and programme pages need a clear heading structure and readable text, so a screen-reader user can find services without relying on visual layout.
- Forms and applications need programmatic labels, clear instructions and announced errors, so applying for a service or permit never depends on sight or a mouse.
- Documents and PDFs need to be tagged and readable, since so much public information is delivered as downloads.
- Search, navigation and any maps need operable controls and results in text, not by map alone.
- All content needs sufficient colour contrast, visible focus and clean reflow at 400% zoom for low-vision residents.
Outcome
This Utah State Historic Preservation Office accessibility audit, combining manual and automated testing with remediation, brought the site into line with WCAG 2.1 AA expectations, so people using a screen reader or a keyboard can use it without barriers. Every fix was verified with assistive technology rather than assumed from an automated pass, so the result holds up in real use.