Who this is for
This guide is for municipal staff, community organization teams, and web contractors who manage public-facing websites. If your site provides service information, meeting agendas, bylaw documents, permit applications, event calendars, or emergency notices, this practical checklist can help you catch common accessibility issues before they affect residents.
What to check first
Start with the pages residents use most often: service directories, contact information, online forms, meeting calendars, document libraries, and emergency notice pages.
- Clear headings: Does every page have a descriptive heading that tells residents what the page is about? Do headings create a logical outline?
- Plain language: Is the content written in plain, straightforward language? Avoid jargon, acronyms, and complex sentences where possible.
- Forms and applications: Are permit applications, service requests, and feedback forms accessible? Every field needs a visible label and clear error messages.
- Documents: Are PDFs, meeting minutes, bylaws, and reports available in accessible formats? Consider providing HTML alternatives.
- Emergency and community notices: Are urgent updates, closures, and public meeting changes communicated in a way that works for all residents, including those using assistive technology?
Common accessibility issues on municipal and community sites
- Scanned PDFs without text: Meeting minutes, bylaws, and forms are often scanned images without text layers. Screen readers cannot read them.
- Complex tables without proper headers: Service directories, fee schedules, and meeting calendars often lack proper table markup, making them hard to navigate with assistive technology.
- Missing form labels: Online service request forms, permit applications, and feedback forms often have placeholder-only labels or no labels at all.
- Unclear link text: Links like "apply here," "download," or "click for more information" do not describe the destination.
- Low contrast and small text: Government and municipal sites sometimes use small font sizes or low-contrast colour schemes that are difficult to read.
What automated checks can help with
Use the SiteCheck Canada website accessibility checker to scan service pages, forms, and document listing pages. It can detect missing alt text, form label problems, heading structure issues, missing page language, empty buttons, duplicate IDs, iframe title issues, and some contrast failures. The accessibility issue library explains each finding with practical fix guidance.
For a broader understanding of federal and provincial accessibility context, read the digital accessibility in Canada guide and the Accessible Canada Act guide.
What still needs human review
Automated tools cannot check whether PDFs are properly tagged, whether online forms work with a screen reader, whether emergency notices are communicated in accessible ways, or whether your content is written in plain language. Plan manual review using the Canadian website accessibility checklist.
Suggested workflow for municipal and community teams
- Identify your most visited service pages, forms, and document libraries.
- Run the website accessibility checker on each page and fix critical and major issues.
- Review PDFs and documents. Prioritize high-use documents for accessible remediation.
- Test online forms with keyboard navigation and a screen reader.
- Review emergency and community notice templates for accessibility.
- Read what automated checkers miss for manual review guidance.
- Depending on your organization type and context, get qualified review for formal accessibility obligations.
Useful SiteCheck Canada tools
- Website accessibility checker — scan service pages and forms
- Digital accessibility in Canada — understand federal and provincial context
- Accessible Canada Act guide — federal obligations context
- Canadian website accessibility checklist — manual review path
- Accessibility issue library — understand common findings
- What automated checkers miss — plan manual review