Drupal accessibility audit: RGAA compliance and accessibility implementation

We identify the main user journeys, types of content, templates, features, and components to consider in the audit. We create a representative sample to cover the different types of pages and features of the site.

Automated tools allow for the quick identification of certain technical errors: contrast, missing attributes, HTML structure, form elements or automatically detectable issues.

They are a starting point, but are not sufficient on their own to evaluate a site's accessibility.

When necessary, we analyze the technical origin of non-conformities in order to identify the corrections to be made to templates, components, modules, configurations, or content.

Each anomaly is documented to facilitate its understanding and correction:

• relevant RGAA criterion;
• observation;
• related page or component;
• user impact;
• recommendation;
• priority level;
• correction suggestion.

We present the main findings and work with your teams to build an action plan that allows you to prioritize corrections and improve the website’s accessibility level.

An RGAA accessibility audit checks that a website can be used by as many people as possible, especially those with disabilities and users of assistive technologies. The evaluation covers the site’s content, navigation, features, and components.

Checks notably include:

• Keyboard navigation : tab order, focus visibility, access to menus and interactive components.
• Screen readers : semantic structure, headings, links, images, labels, messages, and information properly rendered.
• Content : text alternatives for images, videos, documents, and multimedia content.
• Contrast and presentation : text readability, color contrast, element visibility, and adaptation to different screens.
• Forms : association of fields and labels, instructions, errors, and help messages.
• Links and navigation : clear link names, menu consistency, and orientation within pages.
• Interactive components : modal windows, accordions, carousels, tabs, filters, and other JavaScript interactions.
• Technical structure : semantic HTML, ARIA attributes, scripts, and behaviors that may create accessibility barriers.

The audit combines automated tests and manual checks to identify nonconformities, assess their impact on users, and define priority fixes.

A Drupal accessibility audit allows you to analyze not only the visible pages, but also the elements that generate them: Twig templates, components, theme, modules, Paragraphs, Layout Builder, forms or JavaScript. The same non-conformity can be generated by a component or a Drupal configuration, so identifying its origin makes it possible to correct the problem at the source and to deploy a fix throughout the site. So, Drupal expertise is particularly useful in moving from the RGAA audit to compliance.

Le RGAA, ou General Accessibility Improvement Framework, is the French framework used to assess the accessibility of online public communication services subject to regulatory obligations. It provides a concrete way to check if a site complies with applicable accessibility requirements. The RGAA is based in particular on the international standards WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), while offering an evaluation method tailored to the French context.

Yes. Drupal is a CMS particularly committed todigital accessibility. Accessibility is one of the Drupal Core development principles, with a goal of WCAG 2.1 level AA compliance and accessibility controls integrated into the development process.

Specifically, Drupal notably includes a semantic HTML5 structure, WAI-ARIA roles and attributes, focus management and keyboard navigation, mechanisms for making announcements to screen readers and a system for managing the tab order. The CMS also provides management of image alternative texts and form fields properly associated with their labels.

Its official themes also incorporate these requirements: Olivero, the default front-end theme, was designed with the aim of meeting WCAG AA compliance, while Claro, the administration theme, follows WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines, especially for contrasts, focus states, and interface components.

But Drupal does not automatically make a site RGAA compliant. The level of accessibility also depends on the theme used, the modules installed, custom developments, components, and how content is published. A Drupal accessibility audit is therefore essential to verify the site's actual compliance and identify necessary changes.

It is generally not necessary to audit every page of a site. An RGAA audit is based on a representative sample allowing for coverage of the different types of pages, templates, content, and features of the site. For a Drupal site that we audit, we always select the home page, the contact page, the legal notice page, the site map. The rest usually depends on the nature of the site, its user journeys, and its complexity.

Yes. An existing Drupal site can usually be made more accessible without a complete overhaul. The audit helps identify corrections that can be made to content, Twig templates, components, forms, navigation, styles, or Drupal configuration. Some non-compliances can be fixed quickly, while others require more significant technical changes. The goal is to define a prioritized accessibility improvement plan tailored to your current site and your constraints. As such, several accessibility improvements are made as part of our TMA maintenance service. For example, this is the case for the INRIA institute. Our efforts to improve the accessibility of the existing site without redesigning it resulted in a score of 67% on the RGAA.