AODA Website Compliance Checklist: A Guide for Ontarians
If you are a public sector organization or website owner in Ontario, Canada, AODA website compliance applies to you.
So, where do you begin?
To make it that much easier for you to provide your customers with a more inclusive experience, we’ve created a basic AODA website compliance checklist.
Mark Your Calendar: December 31, 2026
If your organization is a private business or non-profit with 20 or more employees in Ontario, you’re required to file an accessibility compliance report by December 31, 2026. This applies regardless of whether your website is fully compliant yet. The filing deadline doesn’t move, so it’s worth starting your review now rather than waiting.
AODA Is Moving to WCAG 2.2
AODA currently requires public-facing websites to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is where things are headed: Ontario has confirmed a shift toward WCAG 2.2, with businesses expected to align with the new standard by 2027.
In practice, this means WCAG 2.0 AA is the legal floor, but WCAG 2.2 AA is quickly becoming the working standard that accessibility auditors and web teams build toward. If you’re updating your site anyway, it makes sense to target 2.2 AA now rather than having to redo the work again in a year or two.
We’ve flagged the checklist items below that are new or updated under WCAG 2.2, so you know exactly where the standard is evolving.
What’s In the AODA Website Compliance Checklist?
The aim of this compliance checklist is to keep things simple, which is why it’s not extensive or exhaustive. It does, however, cover the most important aspects of AODA compliance.
We have also focused solely on website compliance, which will ensure your customers have full and equal access to your content, products, services, and general online facilities.
Many people will require assistive technology to access and engage with your site, including screen readers and keyboard navigation. Legal requirements for web accessibility state that your website needs to be compatible with technology such as this to cater to disabled users.
Many disabled users need clear labels and instructions to engage with certain elements on your site. Be sure to clearly label form fields, tables, and charts to provide visitors with an accessible experience.
AODA color compliance requires websites to have a color contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for larger text. The same ratio of 3:1 applies to graphics and user interface components.
To make your content easier to read and scan using assistive technology, it helps to incorporate numbered and bulleted lists where it makes sense to do so.
CAPTCHA tests are often difficult for visually impaired users, and puzzle-style CAPTCHAs can also be a barrier for people with cognitive disabilities. Where possible, avoid CAPTCHA entirely in favor of alternative bot-detection methods. If you do need one, offer more than one way to complete it. For example, an audio option alongside the visual one, rather than relying on a single format.
Website visitors need to be able to engage with every element of your website, including images, audio files, and videos. AODA compliance requires you to add alternative text to images and captions to video and audio files. Users should also have the option to stop audio output at any point.
When someone navigates your site using a keyboard, they need to be able to see exactly which element is currently selected. WCAG 2.2 raises the bar here, requiring focus indicators that are more visible and harder to miss. For example, a clear outline or highlight around buttons, links, and form fields as a visitor tabs through them.
This is a new requirement under WCAG 2.2: interactive elements like buttons, links, and icons need to be large enough (and have enough spacing around them) that users with limited fine motor control, or anyone using a touchscreen, can tap them accurately without hitting the wrong element by mistake.
Since flashing content can cause seizures in some users, it’s important to either remove that type of content completely or limit it to 3 seconds or less. It doesn’t help to provide visitors with the ability to turn the content off either as they might not be able to do it in time.
Not only should you aim to keep your menus simple, but they should be standard across all pages. This makes it easy for your visitors to understand and they know exactly what to expect.
Lastly, make sure that if a user has to zoom in on text or any of the elements on your site that it doesn’t become distorted to the point of being unusable. Ideally, visitors should be able to zoom in on specific elements.
Wrapping Up
This AODA compliance checklist will provide you with the basics, allowing you to meet legal requirements and provide all users with an equally accessible experience.
By taking these small steps you can do your part to create a more inclusive society and project yourself as a socially responsible brand.
Find out where your website stands in terms of AODA compliance by assessing it through an online accessibility checker. You can do this using ACE™ Scanner.