Who must comply

Ontario businesses with 50+ employees: AODA legally binding. Smaller businesses: not legally bound but compliance is strongly recommended (and many federal contracts require it).

The 24 essential checks

• Color contrast ratio ≥ 4.5:1 for text against background.

• Alt text on every image, descriptive (not "image1.jpg").

• Keyboard navigation: every action reachable via Tab + Enter.

• Focus indicators visible on every interactive element.

• Form labels properly associated, error messages clear.

• Headings in proper order (H1 → H2 → H3, no skipping).

• Video: closed captions, transcripts available.

• Page title unique per page, describing content.

• Skip-to-content link at top of every page.

• Language attribute set in HTML.

• No content flashing > 3 times per second.

• Accessibility statement page with contact for issues.

Tools to run

• WAVE (free, browser extension).

• Lighthouse Accessibility audit (built into Chrome).

• axe DevTools.

• Manual keyboard testing — do the actual flow.

Talkerstein recommendation

Fix the contrast + alt text issues first — that's 70% of most audit findings. Then keyboard navigation. Then forms. AODA compliance + good SEO + good UX overlap massively. Do the work once, get all three.

Related

• Healthcare Website Compliance Canada

• Talkerstein Websites service

Run an AODA audit

30 minutes. We score all 24 checks + score the auto-tools + give you a fix list. Book →