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  • Des sites réalisés avec MediaSPIP

    2 mai 2011, par

    Cette page présente quelques-uns des sites fonctionnant sous MediaSPIP.
    Vous pouvez bien entendu ajouter le votre grâce au formulaire en bas de page.

  • Les autorisations surchargées par les plugins

    27 avril 2010, par

    Mediaspip core
    autoriser_auteur_modifier() afin que les visiteurs soient capables de modifier leurs informations sur la page d’auteurs

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    22 février 2011, par

    Le thème graphique ne touche pas à la disposition à proprement dite des éléments dans la page. Il ne fait que modifier l’apparence des éléments.
    Le placement peut être modifié effectivement, mais cette modification n’est que visuelle et non pas au niveau de la représentation sémantique de la page.
    Modifier le thème graphique utilisé
    Pour modifier le thème graphique utilisé, il est nécessaire que le plugin zen-garden soit activé sur le site.
    Il suffit ensuite de se rendre dans l’espace de configuration du (...)

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  • How to Increase Conversions With Form Analysis

    30 janvier 2024, par Erin

    Forms are one of the most important elements of your website. They are also one of the most difficult elements to analyse and improve. 

    Unlike a webpage, forms aren’t all that easy to analyse with standard web analytics tools. You need to learn how to conduct form analysis if you want to improve your forms’ conversion rates and increase revenue. 

    In this article, we’ll explain what form analysis is and why conducting a thorough form analysis is so important. 

    What is form analysis ?

    Form analysis is a process that measures the effectiveness of your forms. Form analysis uses several tools and techniques like a form analytics platform, heatmaps, and session recordings to collect user data and understand how visitors behave when filling in forms. 

    The goal is to improve the design and effectiveness of your forms, reducing abandonment rate and encouraging more users to submit them. 

    There are plenty of reasons visitors could be having trouble with your forms, from confusing form fields to poor design and lengthy verification processes. Form analytics can help you pinpoint why your form’s conversion rate is so low or why so many users abandon your form halfway through filling it in. 

    Why is form analysis important ?

    Website forms have some of the highest bounce rates and abandonments of any website element. By analysing your forms, you can achieve the following outcomes :

    Why is form analytics important?

    Reduce form abandonment

    When it’s tough enough to get users to start filling in your form, the last thing you want them to do is abandon it halfway through. But that’s probably what your users are doing more than you’d like to think. 

    Why are they abandoning it ? Even if you’re humble enough to admit you didn’t create the greatest form the world’s ever seen, it can still be incredibly difficult to pin down why users give up on your form.

    That’s unless you conduct a form analysis. By analysing metrics and user behaviour, you can pinpoint and rectify the issues that cause users to abandon your form. 

    Improve the user experience

    Best practices will only take you so far. How users behave when filling in a form on your website may be completely different to how they behave on another site. That’s why you need to use form analysis to understand how users behave specifically on your website — and then use that information to optimise the design, layout, and content of the form to better suit them. 

    If one field is regularly left empty, for example, you can delete it. If users spend several minutes filling out a form with a high abandonment rate, you could shorten it. 

    The goal isn’t to make the best form ever but to make the best form for your audience. 

    Increase conversions

    Ultimately, form analysis helps you improve your form’s most important metric : conversions. Reducing your abandonment rate will naturally lead to more completions, but so will taking advantage of other optimisation opportunities that only become clear with form analysis. This can include optimisations like :

    • Moving the form higher up on the page
    • Shortening the form
    • Changing the heading and CTAs
    • Renaming field labels 

    A thorough form analysis process can ensure your forms generate as many conversions as possible. 

    Why do users abandon forms ?

    Are you already suffering from high form abandonment rates ? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Marketers regularly make the same mistakes when creating forms that cause users to give up halfway through completion.

    Here are some of the most common reasons for form abandonment :

    • There are too many steps. If you’re telling users they’ve just completed step 2 of 12, you can bet they won’t bother finishing your form. 
    • They ask for too much information. No one wants to fill out a long form, and often, users won’t have the information on hand if you ask for too much. Just look at the rate left blank from the Unneeded Fields report in the screenshot below :
    A screenshot showing fields left blank by users
    • The form is confusing. Unclear form fields or directions can put users off. 
    • All the fields are free text and time-consuming. Filling out forms with long text fields takes too much time. To speed things up, use dropdown options in the fields, but keep the options to a minimum. This not only helps users finish the form faster but also makes it easier to analyse the data later because it keeps the data format consistent so you can organise the information more efficiently. 
    • Users don’t trust the form. This is a particular problem on checkout pages where users are entering sensitive information.

    How to conduct form analysis

    You need to collect user behaviour data to effectively analyse your forms. But a lot of traditional website analytics tools won’t have the required functionality. 

    Matomo is different. Our web analytics solution offers comprehensive web analytics as well as additional features like Heatmaps, Session Recordings, A/B Testing, and Form Analytics to provide all the functionality you need. 

    Now if you don’t use Matomo, you can try it free for 21 days (no credit card required) to see if it’s the right tool for you.

    Whether you use Matomo or not is up to you. But, once you have a suitable tool in place, just follow the steps below to conduct a form analysis. 

    Check your analytics

    Tracking and analysing specific form metrics should be the first place you start. We recommend collecting data on the following metrics :

    • Form starter rate : the percentage of visitors who actually start to fill in your form
    • Completion rate : the percentage of visitors who complete the form
    • Form abandonment rate : the percentage of users who gave up filling in your form
    • Time spent completing your form : the average length of time users spend on your form

    Let’s look at these metrics are in Matomo’s Form Analytics :

    A screenshot of Matomo's form analytics dashboard

    The dashboard shows an overview of these metrics over a given period, allowing you to see at a glance whether there are issues you need to rectify. 

    Next, deep dive into the performance of each form to see things like :

    • Drop off fields
    • Unused fields
    • Entry field
    • Most corrected fields 

    You can even use Matomo’s visitor log to see who’s behind every submission.

    Try Matomo for Free

    Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

    No credit card required

    Use a heatmap

    A heatmap is a colour-based graphical representation of data. A heatmap will show what users to do on your website, including : 

    • How far they scroll
    • Which buttons they click on
    • Where they focus their attention

    When used on a webpage with a form, you’ll be able to see how often users interact with your form based on the heatmap colour, with warmer colours representing greater engagement levels.

    Let’s look at a heatmap in Matomo :

    A screenshot of Matomo's heatmap feature

    This heatmap is showing us how far down users have scrolled. It’s clear that only 63% of visitors are reaching the point above our call to action to see all features. We might want to consider moving that call to action up in order to get more engagement. 

    A heatmap is a great way to see whether your form’s placement gets the level of attention you want from visitors and to what extent visitors interact with your field.

    Record user sessions

    Session replays go even further than heatmaps, recording a real-life user interacting with your site. It’s like looking over a visitor’s shoulder while they use your site.

    A screenshot of Matomo's heatmap feature

    With Matomo, you can record any sessions where the user takes a certain action (like starting to fill in a form), allowing you to build a rich library of qualitative data. 

    You can then replay a recorded session at your leisure to understand exactly how users interact with your forms.

    Segment users

    If you really want to understand how visitors use your forms, then it’s essential to segment your data. 

    You can segment all Form Analytics reports by over 100 pre-built segments in Matomo.

    A screenshot of Matomo's user segmentation feature

    One way to segment your data is by comparing the average time on form of those who completed the form with those who abandoned it. 

    If users abandon a form quickly, that could indicate your form is irrelevant to this audience or too long. If users spend a lot of time on the form, however, it’s probably safe to assume that it is relevant but there is something wrong with the form itself. 

    Looking at the Field Timings report will help you pinpoint which field visitors are spending the most time on and causing frustration. 

    Field Timings Report example in Matomo dashboard

    The Field Timings example report in Matomo above, it’s evident that the “Overview of your needs” field takes up the most time (avg. time spent is 1 min 40s). To improve this, we might want to change it to a dropdown field. This way, users can quickly select options, and if necessary, provide additional details.

    Try Matomo for Free

    Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

    No credit card required

    Another way is to segment data by traffic source and compare each source’s conversion rate. This will show whether one traffic source converts better than another or if one source isn’t interested in your form at all.

    How to optimise web forms

    Want to implement what you’ve learnt from your form analysis ? Follow these steps to optimise your existing web forms. 

    Define your form’s purpose

    The first step in optimising your existing web forms is to give a clear and definitive purpose to every single one. 

    When you have a defined goal, creating a form users will complete is much easier. After all, if you don’t know why people should fill in one of your forms, how would a visitor possibly know ?

    Take a look at one of our forms below :

    A form on Matomo's website

    The purpose of this form is to get users to sign up for a free trial of our web analytics platform, and every element works towards that goal :

    • The headline directs the user to take action
    • The copy explains that it’s a free trial that doesn’t require credit card details
    • The green call-to-action button reinforces the action and benefit 
    • There is validation to support this under the form – “Trusted on over 1 million websites in over 190+ countries”

    Our clear instructions leave users no doubt about why they should fill in the form or what will happen. 

    Choose the right type of form

    You can use several forms on your website, each with different designs, form fields, and goals.

    For example :

    • Registration forms are fairly minimalist and designed to collect the least amount of data possible. 
    • Contact forms are concise so that it’s easy for potential customers to reach your team. 
    • Checkout forms balance a need to collect important data with a streamlined design that doesn’t put users off.
    • Lead generation forms are compelling and usually include qualifying questions so sales teams can score leads.

    Make sure you are using the right type of form to avoid abandonments and other issues. For example, requiring users to fill in a lengthy lead generation-style form when you want them to sign up for a free trial will probably kill your conversion rate. 

    Test form elements

    If your form analysis has shed light on one or two issues, you can use A/B or multivariate testing to trial new elements or designs and see how they compare.

    There’s no shortage of elements you can test, including the form’s :

    • Headline
    • Placement
    • Design
    • CTA button
    • Colour-scheme
    • Length
    • Form fields
    Matomo A/B Test feature

    Matomo makes it easy to create and run A/B tests on your website’s forms. 

    Move your form above the fold

    One of the simplest ways to optimise your web form is to move it above the fold — that’s the section of the screen users see when they load your page. 

    Why ? Well, the more people who see your form, the more people will fill it in. And when it’s above the fold, users can’t help but see it.

    Conclusion

    Forms are one of the most important elements on your website, so why not treat them as such and regularly run a thorough form analysis ? By doing so, you’ll identify ways to optimise your form, improve the user experience, and improve conversions. 

    Matomo is the best platform for conducting form analysis. Our combination of web analytics, Form Analytics, Session Recordings, and Heatmaps means you have all the tools you need to learn exactly how visitors interact with your forms. 

    See just how powerful Matomo’s tools are by starting a free 21-day trial, no credit card required. 

  • 11 of the Most Effective Conversion Rate Optimisation Best Practices

    14 février 2024, par Erin

    Driving more traffic to your website is hard work, but it’s still only half the battle. 

    You don’t just need to acquire new users ; you need to make sure as many convert as possible to make your digital marketing efforts worthwhile.

    That’s why improving your site’s conversion rate is so important. It will also help you get more value from your existing traffic source and keep you in line with your competitors. It’s also probably a lot easier than you think — especially if you adopt optimisation strategies that have been proven to be profitable time and time again. 

    In this article, we’ll show some of the most powerful, innovative and tried-and-tested conversion rate optimisation strategies you can implement immediately. 

    What is conversion rate optimisation ?

    First, let’s look at what conversion rate optimisation means. Conversion rate optimisation is the practice of improving elements of your website to increase the number of users who take a desired action and turn visitors into customers. 

    Common conversion goals include :

    • Making a purchase
    • Adding an item to a shopping cart
    • Signing up for a newsletter
    • Registering for a free trial
    • Downloading an ebook
    • Watching a video

    It doesn’t matter what your goal is. Using one of the following conversion rate optimisation best practices can send your conversions soaring. 

    11 conversion rate optimisation best practices 

    Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work ? Then use one or more of the following best practices to improve your return on investment. 

    Set a clear goals and hypothesis

    When running an A/B or multivariate test, you need a clear idea of what you are testing and why. 

    A goal (a statement about what you want to achieve) and a hypothesis (a statement about what you expect to happen) clarify the problem you are trying to solve and give you a definitive way to judge the experiment’s results. 

    Confused ? Just use this template :

    We aim to [insert goal] by testing [insert test] on [insert page]. We expect that [insert test] will increase [insert metric] because [insert reason].

    Make sure your goals are directly related to the experiment. If you are testing your CTA button, the goal should be getting more users to click the button. It shouldn’t be a goal further down the conversion funnel, like making a purchase. 

    Start with A/B tests

    A/B testing is one of the easiest and most effective ways to run experiments to improve your current conversion rate. So, it’s no wonder that the A/B testing software market was expected to be worth $1.2 billion in 2023 and hit $3.6 billion by 2033. 

    Also known as split testing, A/B testing allows you to directly compare the conversion performance of two elements on your page, like the colour of your CTA button or your headline copy.

    A screenshot of an A/B test using Matomo

    You can go even further with multivariate testing, which lets you test two or more changes against a single control. 

    For example, the screenshot above shows the results of a multivariate test between a standard header, a wide header and a small header using Matomo’s A/B testing tool. As you can see, the wider header has a much higher conversion, and the increase was statistically significant. 

    Try Matomo for Free

    Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

    No credit card required

    Tweak your CTAs

    Calls to action (CTAs) are page elements that prompt users to respond immediately. They are usually buttons but can also be images or plain text links. 

    What your CTAs say, how they look, and where they are placed can greatly impact your site’s conversion rates. As such, this is one of the elements you’ll want to optimise first. 

    There are several tweaks you can test, including your CTA’s :

    • Colour 
    • Length 
    • Copy
    • Placement 

    You can even test the impact of removing CTA banners and using text-based CTAs on your conversion rates.

    You should test out personalising CTAs, too. Research shows that personalised CTAs perform 202% better than standard calls to action. 

    Revise your web copy

    You can use several strategies to improve your website’s copy and generate more conversions. 

    Optimising copy for search engines can increase traffic and generate more conversions, for example. But that shouldn’t make your copy any less impactful. Bear search engines in mind, by all means, but make sure you are speaking to the needs and desires of your potential customers. Your copy needs to convince users that your product can solve their problems. 

    Nowhere is this more important than your headlines. These will be the first thing users read, so make sure they sell your USP and highlight pain points.

    Don’t just guess at the kind of messaging that will move the needle, however. Constantly test new headlines and continue doing so even after you’ve started seeing success. The results may surprise you. TruckersReport, a site that helps people become truck drivers, boosted opt-ins by 21.7% by revising its landing page headline, among other changes. 

    Make sure there are no spelling mistakes in your copy, either. Misspelt words, poor grammar and bad formatting make your website look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Even if the rest of your copy is incredibly enticing, these rookie errors can be enough to turn customers off. 

    Simplify your site’s navigation

    A website’s navigation is an often overlooked factor in conversion rate optimisation, but simplifying it can make it much easier for users to take action. 

    If you’ve ever used a poorly designed e-commerce store, you know how confusing and overwhelming bad navigation can be. Research shows that a whopping 82% of stores don’t divide their navigation into manageable chunks. 

    The trick is to simplify your navigation as much as possible. As you can see in the screenshot below, our navigation only has five headers and a call to action. It’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for, and you can’t miss the big green CTA button. 

    A screenshot of the navigation menu on Matomo

    Alternatively, you can test what happens when you completely remove your navigation. Brands usually do this on landing pages where the only action they want the user to take is to make a purchase. 

    It’s exactly the strategy we’ve used on our free trial landing page. 

    Leverage heatmaps

    Analytics tools — and heatmaps in particular — can help you understand user behaviour and optimise accordingly. 

    Heatmaps are a visual representation of user interaction on your page. Red and yellow represent high levels of user interaction, and blue and green represent low levels of interaction.

    Screenshot of Matomo heatmap feature

    As you can see in the screenshot above, our CTA button has some of the highest levels of engagement on the page, telling us that it’s well-positioned. Given the focus on the site’s navigation, we can also assume we are correct to have a CTA button in there — something we can confirm using our web analytics to see how many users click on it.

    Reduce load time

    Speed matters when it comes to conversions. Fact. 

    Research shows a huge difference in conversion rates between quick and slow sites. For example, a site that loads in one second converts three times better than a site that loads in five seconds. 

    That’s why using a web analytics tool is vital to understand page load times and act accordingly if you think slow speeds are hampering your conversions.

    A screenshot of page load times in Matomo

    Identifying your slowest pages is easy with Matomo. Just sort your pages by the Avg. Use the page load time metric on the page performance report to identify the pages you want to drive conversions. 

    Next, take steps to improve your page’s load time by :

    • Compressing images
    • Compressing code files or using a more lightweight theme
    • Removing unnecessary plugins
    • Using a content delivery network
    • Improving your hosting

    Try Matomo for Free

    Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

    No credit card required

    Add more trust signals

    Trust is essential when you’re trying to convince customers to make a purchase. In fact, consumers rate trust as one of the top three buying factors, far above a brand’s reputation and whether they love the brand. 

    Adding trust signals to your landing pages, such as customer testimonials, customer reviews, case studies, and other forms of social proof, can transform your conversion rates. If consumers see real people and businesses buy from you, they’ll feel reassured to do the same.

    Trust signals on the Matomo website

    It’s a strategy we use ourselves. Just look at the screenshot from our homepage above. Immediately after our free trial CTA, we display the logos of well-known brands that use our product. 

    Security-focused trust signals are also powerful if you are an online store. Installing an SSL certificate, showing logos of trusted payment providers (like PayPal and Mastercard) can convince people they are spending money at a legitimate store.

    Improve your site’s mobile experience

    More and more people are accessing the internet via their smartphones. In 2022, for instance, there were five billion unique mobile Internet users, meaning more than 60% of the internet population used a smartphone to browse online. 

    Moreover, 76% of U.S. adults make purchases using their smartphones. 

    That means you need to ensure your site’s mobile experience is on-point to increase conversions. 

    Your site should use a mobile-first design, meaning it works perfectly on smartphones and then scales up for desktop users. 

    Trust the data

    Opinions are a fantastic form of inspiration for new A/B tests. But they should never be trusted over cold, hard data. If your test shows the opposite of what you and your team thought would happen, then trust the data and not yourself.

    With that in mind, ensure you collect qualitative and quantitative data during your experiments. Web analytics should always form the backbone of conversion tests, but don’t forget to also use heatmaps, screen recordings, and customer surveys. 

    Keep testing

    There’s no such word as “finished” in the world of A/B testing. Continual testing is key if you want to convert more website visitors. 

    Make sure you aren’t stopping tests prematurely, either. Make sure every A/B and multivariate test reaches a sample size that makes the test statistically significant. 

    Understand your users better with Matomo 

    Whether you run an e-commerce store, a SaaS company, or a service-based business, implementing these conversion rate optimisation best practices could be an easy way to lower your bounce rate and boost your conversion rates.

    But remember, best practices aren’t clear-cut rules. What works for one website may not work for yours. That’s why running your own tests and understanding your visitors’ behaviour is important. 

    Matomo’s web analytics platform is the perfect tool for doing just that. Not only does it come with the tools you need to optimise your conversion rate (like an A/B testing tool, heatmaps and session recordings), but you can also trust the data. Unlike Google Analytics 4 and other tools, Matomo doesn’t use data sampling meaning you have 100% accurate data from which to make better decisions. It’s GDPR compliant and can run cookieless, so no need for cookie consent banners (excluding in the UK and Germany).

    Discover how you can improve your website’s conversions with Matomo by starting a free 21-day trial, no credit card required.

  • How (and Why) to Run a Web Accessibility Audit in 2024

    7 mai 2024, par Erin

    When most businesses design their websites, they primarily think about aesthetics, not accessibility. However, not everyone who visits your website has the same abilities or access needs. Eight percent of the US population has visual impairments.

    The last thing you want is to alienate website visitors with a bad experience because your site isn’t up to accessibility standards. (And with growing international regulation, risk fines or lawsuits as a result.)

    A web accessibility audit can help you identify and fix any issues for users with impaired vision, hearing or other physical disabilities. In this article, we’ll cover how to conduct such an audit efficiently for your website in 2024.

    What is a web accessibility audit ?

    A web accessibility audit is a way to evaluate the usability of your website for users with visual, auditory or physical impairments, as well as cognitive disabilities or neurological issues. The goal is to figure out how accessible your website is to each of these affected groups and solve any issues that come up.

    To complete an audit, you use digital tools and various manual accessibility testing processes to ensure your site meets modern web accessibility standards.

    Why is a web accessibility audit a must in 2024 ?

    For far too long, many businesses have not considered the experiences of those with disabilities. The growing frustrations of affected internet users have led to a new focus on web accessibility laws and enforcement.

    Lawsuits related to the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) reached all-time highs in 2023 — over 4,500 digital-related lawsuits were filed. The EU has also drawn up the European Accessibility Act (EAC), which goes into effect in June 2025.

    But at the end of the day, it’s not about accessibility legislation. It’s about doing right by people.

    Illustration of a sight-impaired person using text-to-speech to browse a website on a smartphone

    This video by voice actor, YouTuber, and surfer Pete Gustin demonstrates why accessibility measures are so important. If buttons, navigation and content sections aren’t properly labelled, sight-impaired people who rely on speech-to-text to browse the web can’t comfortably interact with your site.

    And you’re worse off for it. You can lose some of your best customers and advocates this way. 

    With stronger enforcement of accessibility regulations in the US and new regulations coming into effect in the EU in 2025, the time to act is now. It’s not enough to “keep accessibility in mind” — you must take concrete steps to improve it.

    Who should lead a web accessibility audit ?

    Ideally, you want to hire a third-party web accessibility expert to lead the audit. They can guide you through multiple stages of manual accessibility testing to ensure your site meets regulations and user needs. 

    Experienced accessibility auditors are familiar with common pitfalls and can help you avoid them. They ensure you meet the legal requirements with proper solutions, not quick fixes.

    If this isn’t an option, find someone with relevant experience within your company. And involve someone with “skin in the game” in the process. Hire someone with visual impairments to usability test your site. Don’t just do automated tests or “put yourself in their shoes.” Make sure the affected users can use your site without issues.

    Automated vs. manual audits and the danger of shortcuts

    While there are automated audits, they only check for the bare minimum :

    • Do your images have alt tags ? (They don’t check if the alt tag is descriptive or just SEO junk text.)
    • Are clickable buttons identified with text for visually impaired users ?
    • Is your text size adjustable ?
    • Are your background and foreground colours accessible for colour-blind users ? Is there a sufficient contrast ratio ?
    Illustration of the results of an automated accessibility test

    They don’t dive into the user journey (and typically can’t access login-locked parts of your site). They can be a good starting point, but it’s a bad idea to rely completely on automated audits.

    They’ll miss more complex issues like :

    • Dynamic content and animated elements or videos that could put people with epilepsy at risk of seizures
    • A navigational flow that is unnecessarily challenging for users with impairments
    • Video elements without proper captions

    So, don’t rely too much on automated tests and audits. Many lawsuits for ADA infractions are against companies that think they’ve already solved the problem. For example, 30% of 2023 lawsuits were against sites that used accessibility overlays.

    Key elements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

    The international standard for web accessibility is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). In the most recent version, WCAG 2.2, there are new requirements for visual elements and focus and other updates.

    Here’s a quick overview of the key priorities of WCAG :

    Diagram of core WCAG considerations like text scalability, colour choices, accessible navigation, and more

    Perceivable : Any user can read or listen to your site’s content

    The first priority is for any user to be able to perceive the actual content on your site. To be compliant, you need to make these adjustments and more :

    • Use text that scales with browser settings.
    • Avoid relying on colour contrasts to communicate something.
    • Ensure visual elements are explained in text.
    • Offer audio alternatives for things like CAPTCHA.
    • Form fields and interactive elements are properly named.

    Operable : Any user can navigate the site and complete tasks without issue

    The second priority is for users to navigate your website and complete tasks. Here are some of the main considerations for this section :

    • Navigation is possible through keyboard and text-to-speech interfaces.
    • You offer navigation tools to bypass repeated blocks of content.
    • Buttons are properly titled and named.
    • You give impaired users enough time to finish processes without timing out.
    • You allow users to turn off unnecessary animations (and ensure none include three flashes or more within one second).
    • Links have a clear purpose from their alt text (and context).

    Understandable : Any user can read and understand the content

    The third priority is making the content understandable. You need to communicate as simply and as clearly as possible. Here are a few key points :

    • Software can determine the default language of each page.
    • You use a consistent method to explain jargon or difficult terms.
    • You introduce the meaning of unfamiliar abbreviations and acronyms.
    • You offer tools to help users double-check and correct input.
    • The reading grade is not higher than grade 9. If it is, you must offer an alternative text with a lower grade.
    • Use consistent and predictable formatting and navigation.

    This intro to accessibility guidelines should help you see the wide range of potential accessibility issues. Accessibility is not just about screen readers — it’s about ensuring a good user experience for users with a wide range of disabilities.

    Note : If you’re not hiring a third-party expert for the manual accessibility audit, this introduction isn’t enough. You need to familiarise yourself with all 50 success criteria in WCAG 2.2.

    How to do your first web accessibility audit

    Ready to find and fix the accessibility issues across your website ? Follow the steps outlined below to do a successful accessibility audit.

    Start with an automated accessibility test

    To point you in the right direction, start with a digital accessibility checker. There are many free alternatives, including :

    • Accessibility Checker
    • Silktide accessibility checker
    • AAArdvark

    When choosing a tool, check it’s up-to-date with the newest accessibility guidelines. Many accessibility evaluation tools are still based on the WCAG 2.1 version rather than WCAG 2.2.

    The tool will give you a basic evaluation of the accessibility level of your site. A free report can quickly identify common issues with navigation, labelling, colour choices and more. 

    But this is only good as a starting point. Remember that even paid versions of these testing tools are limited and cannot replace a manual audit.

    Look for common issues

    The next step is to manually look for common issues that impact your site’s level of accessibility :

    • Undescriptive alt text
    • Colour combinations (and lack of ability to change background and foreground colours)
    • Unscalable text
    • Different site content sections that are not properly labelled

    The software you use to create your site can lead to many of these issues. Is your content management system (CMS) compliant with ADA or WCAG ? If not, you may want to move to a CMS before continuing the audit.

    Pinpoint customer journeys and test them for accessibility 

    After you’ve fixed common issues, it’s essential to put the actual customer journey to the test. Explore your most important journeys with behavioural analytics tools like session recordings and funnel analysis.

    Analysing funnel reports lets you quickly identify each page that usually contributes to a sale. You will also have an overview of the most popular funnels to evaluate for accessibility.

    If your current web analytics platform doesn’t offer behavioural reports like these, Matomo can help. Our privacy-friendly web analytics solution includes funnel reports, session recordings, A/B testing, form analytics, heatmaps and more.

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    If you don’t have the budget to test every page individually, this is the perfect place to start. You want to ensure that users with disabilities have no issues completing the main tasks on your site. 

    Don’t focus solely on your web pages 

    Accessibility barriers can also exist outside of your standard web pages. So ensure that other file formats like PDFs and videos are also accessible. 

    Remember that downloadable materials are also part of your digital experience. Always consider the needs of individuals with disabilities when accessing things like case studies or video tutorials. 

    Highlight high-priority issues in a detailed report

    To complete the audit, you need to summarise and highlight high-priority issues. In a larger company, this will be in the form of a report. W3’s Web Accessibility Initiative offers a free accessibility report template and an online tool to generate a report.

    For smaller teams, it may make sense to input issues directly into the product backlog or a task list. Then, you can tackle the issues, starting with high-priority pages identified earlier in this process.

    Avoid quick fixes and focus on sustainable improvement

    As mentioned, AI-powered overlay solutions aren’t compliant and put you at risk for lawsuits. It’s not enough to install a quick accessibility tool and pat yourself on the back.

    And it’s not just about accessibility compliance. These solutions provide a disjointed experience that alienates potential users. 

    The point of a digital accessibility audit is to identify issues and provide a better experience to all your users. So don’t try to cut corners. Do the work required to implement solutions that work seamlessly for everyone. Invest in a long-term accessibility remediation process.

    Deliver a frictionless experience while gaining insight into your users

    An accessibility audit is crucial to ensure an inclusive experience — that a wide variety of users can read and interact with your site.

    But what about the basic usability of your website ? Are you sure the experience is without friction ? Matomo’s behavioural analytics tools can show how users interact with your website.

    For example, heatmaps can show you where users are clicking — which can help you identify a pattern, like many users mistaking a visual element for a button.

    Plus, our privacy-friendly web analytics are compliant with GDPR, CCPA and other data privacy regulations. That helps protect you against privacy-related lawsuits, just as an accessibility audit protects you against ADA lawsuits.

    And it never hurts that your users know you respect their privacy. Try Matomo free for 21-days. No credit card required.