What To Do After Running A Wave Accessibility Test
What To Do After Running A Wave Accessibility Test
If you have just run a Wave accessibility test, you are already on the right track. Tools like Wave and the W3 website validator are useful for spotting problems — but they are only the beginning. This blog explains what to do next, how to fix real issues, and how to test your website properly.
What Wave Accessibility Tells You
Wave highlights common technical issues that can affect accessibility. These include:
- Missing alt text
- Low contrast text
- Empty headings
- Unlabelled form fields
- Broken ARIA attributes
These are important to fix — but they are surface-level problems. They do not tell you whether your website actually works for someone using a screen reader or keyboard.
Read our full guide to using Wave Accessibility
Check What Wave Misses
Wave does not evaluate:
- How your content sounds when read aloud
- Whether navigation flows logically
- Whether headings are meaningful in context
- How dropdown menus behave with a keyboard
- Whether buttons and links make sense on their own
This is where human testing matters. Real users with assistive tech will find barriers that automated tools cannot.
Start Fixing What You Can
Here are simple fixes you can make after running a Wave test:
- Add meaningful alt text to all images
- Increase contrast between text and background
- Use clear, descriptive headings in order
- Ensure every form field has a visible label
- Check that all links make sense out of context
Once these changes are in place, retest the site. Improvements should show up both in Wave results and actual usability.
Use The W3 Website Validator As Well
The W3 website validator checks your HTML and CSS for errors. It does not measure accessibility directly, but clean code helps your site behave predictably. Fixing code errors improves screen reader behaviour and helps with SEO.
Run the W3 validator on your homepage
Go Beyond Automated Tools
After you test web page accessibility using tools like Wave, go deeper by:
- Using your site with only a keyboard
- Listening to it with a screen reader
- Asking a disabled tester to try key journeys
- Reviewing language for clarity and reading level
Accessibility is not just technical. It is about people — and how they experience your content.
Why Manual Testing Changes Everything
Manual testing finds issues that machines miss. It helps you:
- Understand the real-world impact of your design
- Prioritise what needs to be fixed first
- Build empathy for your users
- Meet WCAG compliance more effectively
We use disabled testers on every audit because they know what matters. No tool can replace their insight.
Need Help After Running A Wave Test?
We specialise in helping organisations go beyond automated checkers. Whether you have already run a Wave accessibility test or are just getting started, we can help you:
- Identify barriers
- Create a valid accessibility statement
- Fix real issues
- Achieve WCAG compliance
Get In Touch
Learn how we test websites manually
Contact us to improve your website
WCAG 2.2 Quick Reference
Why accessibility plugins are a bad idea
Why This Matters
Testing your website properly means better results for users and better outcomes for your business. Do not stop at the first Wave accessibility report. Take action. Fix what matters. And make sure your site really works for everyone.
