Assessing Accessibility: The Royal Ballet and Opera
Ensuring digital access to the arts through WCAG guidline compliance
Objectives
The Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) website requested an evaluation of their website to ensure it was accessible to users with disabilities. As cultural institutions increase their digital services and expand their online presence, ensuring digital accessibility is crucial for providing equitable access to the arts.
-
Identify accessibility and document issues that impact users navigating the homepage and visitor information
-
Evaluate compliance with WCAG guidelines
-
Understand how accessibility issues affect different user journeys
-
Assess the severity of documented accessibility issues
-
Provide actionable recommendations for improving user experience
ROLE
UX Researcher, accessibility specialist
TOOLS
WAVE automated testing, VoiceOver, gov.uk WCAG checklist, keyboard navigation testing
KEY FOCUS
Web accessibility on the homepage and visitor information pages
Audit Methodology
I employed a comprehensive evaluation strategy combining automated testing, manual review, assistive technology testing, and persona-based evaluation.
Automated Testing
-
WAVE accessibility tool for initial barrier identification focusing on issues in code
Manual Review
-
Systematic review of homepage and visitor information pages for WCAG AA violations
-
gov.uk WCAG guidelines checklist application
-
Detailed examination of user interface components
Assistive Technology Testing
-
Mac VoiceOver screen reader walkthrough
-
Keyboard-only navigation testing
-
Browser zoom functionality assessment
User-Centered Evaluation
-
Applied gov.uk user profiles: Ron (older user with multiple conditions) and Ashleigh (partially sighted screen reader user)
-
Evaluated user journeys from different accessibility perspectives
Scope and Limitations
The audit focused specifically on the homepage and visitor information pages, concentrating on mobility and vision-related accessibility. The audit was conducted individually using a Macbook Air (mobile testing was out of scope for this brief) on Google Chrome and Safari web browsers.
Impact and
Next Steps
Prioritization Framework
Issues were prioritized based on:
-
Severity of user impact: Complete blocks vs. friction points
-
Frequency of encounter: Core navigation vs. specific content
-
Implementation complexity: Quick fixes vs. structural changes
Recommended Implementation
-
Phase 1: Address navigation barriers (search, keyboard access)
-
Phase 2: Improve content discoverability (headings, link text)
-
Phase 3: Enhance overall experience (redundancy, language tags)
Success Metrics
-
Screen reader users can successfully access search functionality
-
Keyboard navigation completion rates improve
-
User testing shows reduced task completion time
-
WAVE automated testing shows zero critical errors