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Website Accessibility, Website, Audit

Website Accessibility Review for Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust

A comprehensive website accessibility review aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA

Client
Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust
Who they are
A registered charity working to protect and enhance the natural environment for wildlife and people.
What they do
Manage nature reserves, support wildlife conservation, and engage local communities through events and volunteering.
Location
Sheffield & Rotherham, UK
Requirements
Conduct a website accessibility review in line with WCAG 2.2 AA standards.

problem

Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust wants to reach as many people as possible to support their cause. Their website is a key communication tool for informing people of their work, aims and mission, along with how people can access the reserves they manage and sign up to be supporters. Having an accessible website that supports all users, regardless of their access needs, was something that they wanted to focus on. To support this, Hive IT conducted an accessibility audit review against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

result

Our accessibility review provided clear recommendations for improving accessibility across the website. By identifying barriers affecting screen reader users, keyboard users and people with visual impairments, we helped the team understand where improvements were needed and how they could be fixed.

We were delighted with the comprehensive accessibility review that Hive IT carried out to help us improve the accessibility of our website, particularly for those who use screen readers and are visually impaired. A core goal of our strategy is to inspire more people to take action for nature, so we want to make it as easy as possible for anyone to take action through our website, whether that means participating in campaigns, accessing our nature-friendly gardening resources, or supporting the Trust's work through membership or donations. Hive IT's review has identified exactly what we need to prioritise to achieve that. Their report laid out clear recommendations for quick fixes that our marketing team could do, as well as more technical changes that our web developers could implement to make our content accessible to everyone.

Kirstine Verkerk, Marketing & Communications Manager, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust.

Our approach

At Hive, we know the sheer importance of website accessibility and the barriers people can face with certain disabilities when trying to use a digital product like a website. We have to remember that accessibility isn’t just about compliance; it is about ensuring people can access information, complete tasks, and use digital services without unnecessary barriers.

To get a complete picture of the user experience, we carried out a comprehensive accessibility review combining automated tools and manual testing to ensure both technical compliance and user experience were covered.

This approach allowed us to identify both obvious technical issues and more subtle usability barriers.

Our review included:

  • Accessibility Testing against WCAG 2.2 AA standards
  • Automated accessibility scans
  • Manual UI and UX reviews
  • Screen reader testing using NVDA
  • Review of key user journeys across important pages of the website
  • Analysis using Axe DevTools, WAVE and Silktide

What we found

The comprehensive review highlighted several areas where accessibility could be improved.

Issues included navigation and interactive elements not always being clear, making it harder for users to move around the site confidently. We noticed some buttons and form fields lacked descriptive labels, which would make it harder for people using assistive technology to navigate the site.

We also identified that some content on web pages was difficult to read due to colour contrast issues, highlighted in the review. Contrast issues reduce readability and most likely negatively impact those users who may have a visual impairment.

In addition, parts of the site's structure made it difficult for screen readers to interpret content correctly, affecting how information is communicated to users.

Overall, these issues mainly affected users with visual impairments and those relying on screen readers.

A screen reader will announce the first and last name as empty due to the lack of accessibility labels within the field.
Example where text is not accessible due to incorrect colour contrast.

Our solutions

To address these issues, we provided Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust with a detailed report. We provided clear and practical recommendations focused on addressing the specific issues to improve usability and accessibility.

This included:

  • Information on how to add clear labels to buttons and form fields
  • Steps to improve colour contrast across key areas of the site
  • Making links and interactive elements easier to identify by recommending underlines so they are not only distinguishable by colour alone
  • Suggestions around adding clear and accurate descriptions to images
  • Information on how to improve page structure and content hierarchy through improvements to their HTML structure
  • Enhancing compatibility with assistive technologies such as screen readers through several technical changes

Our results

The accessibility review gave Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust a clear understanding of the main accessibility issues and the steps needed to address them.

By implementing these improvements, the website can become easier to use, more inclusive, and better aligned with accessibility standards.

This project also provided a strong foundation for embedding accessibility into future website updates and digital decision-making.

Why this matters to us

We believe accessibility is an important part of creating good digital experiences.

Making websites accessible means more people can use them regardless of their abilities.

It also improves usability for all users, not just those who rely on assistive technologies.

Looking ahead

Accessibility is an ongoing process, rather than a one-off exercise or report. The next step is for the charity to work to implement the recommended improvements and continue reviewing the website over time.

As we know, websites evolve, with new content and functionality, which can introduce new barriers if accessibility is not considered from the start. Regular testing will help ensure the site remains accessible as new content and features are added.

Let's work together

Whether it's reviewing accessibility, improving digital services or planning new websites, we can help organisations create experiences that work for real people.

From accessibility audits and user research to service design, content design and many more, we work alongside organisations to identify barriers, improve usability and create more inclusive digital experiences.

Want to make your website more accessible or wish to discuss a new project? We would love to hear from you. Get in touch through our contact page here