Fast, clear results
Manual audit reports delivered within 1–2 weeks alongside real-time automated scanning. Our proven process delivers speed without sacrificing quality.
Accessibility testing with
genuine lived experience
RNIB PathLight combines expert manual testing by blind and visually impaired people with continuous automated scanning — the most complete picture of your digital accessibility.
WCAG 2.2 AA
EN 301 549
EAA Ready
PSBAR Compliant
In partnership with 
PathLight
What's PathLight?
RNIB PathLight is a complete digital accessibility service — combining real blind and visually impaired testers from RNIB's community with continuous automated scanning technology. In four steps, here is what every engagement delivers.
RNIB Community Testers
Real blind and visually impaired people from RNIB's community test your digital service — surfacing barriers that no automated tool can ever replicate.
Continuous Automated Scanning
Test Evolve's scanning technology runs continuously across your pages, catching accessibility regressions before they reach your users.
Detailed Audit Report
Every audit delivers a clear, prioritised report with WCAG-mapped findings and developer-ready remediation guidance for every issue found.
Official RNIB Accreditation Badge
Each tier earns your organisation an official RNIB Service Badge — demonstrable proof of your commitment to ongoing digital inclusion.
PathLight
Why RNIB developed the PathLight Service
RNIB PathLight is founded on the belief that the right organisations recognise the importance of digital accessibility and commit to genuinely improving the accessibility of their applications. The first step is an in-depth audit against WCAG 2.2 AA standards, providing a clear assessment of compliance and usability barriers. Beyond the audit report and compliance statement, RNIB PathLight emphasises proactive remediation — a commitment to implementing quick fixes and tangible improvements that create meaningful accessibility enhancements for all users. Organisations that embrace external audit receive an official RNIB accreditation mark: a displayable recognition of audit depth and progress. However, this is only a snapshot in time, reinforcing the need for ongoing improvement and periodic re-assessment.
This is not a one-time everlasting certification but a continuous journey. Organisations demonstrate their integrity through annual re-assessments, tracking progress over time. RNIB PathLight's tiered approach — from Aware to Committed to Leader — allows businesses to advance their commitment and enhance user experience progressively. By choosing RNIB PathLight, organisations embrace a sustained commitment to best practice accessibility.
How PathLight works
A clear, collaborative process from scoping to ongoing monitoring — designed to fit your team's existing workflow.
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Scope & Discovery
We agree the pages, user journeys, assistive technologies, and standards to test against.
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RNIB Manual Testing
Blind and visually impaired testers evaluate your site with real assistive technology, every day.
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Automated Scanning
Our scanning engine runs in parallel, providing broad coverage across all your pages and templates.
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Report & Remediation
A prioritised report delivered with developer-ready guidance and code examples for every issue.
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Ongoing Monitoring
Continuous scanning ensures regressions are caught and flagged before they affect your users.
Fast, trusted, and actionable testing backed by real human insight
Genuine lived experience
Our testers include blind and visually impaired people from RNIB's community — surfacing real barriers that automated tools and sighted testers simply cannot detect.
Actionable guidance
Every issue is prioritised by severity and WCAG criterion. Your developers receive clear, code-level remediation guidance so they can act immediately.
What is accessibility auditing — and why it matters
Accessibility audits show you how people with disabilities experience your website, mobile app, or digital service — using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as a benchmark. They highlight barriers that might make it difficult for users to navigate, read, or interact with your content.
Our audits go beyond identifying issues. We provide a clear, practical roadmap for improvement, helping you create digital experiences that are inclusive, easy-to-use, and welcoming for everyone. From navigation and readability to interactive features, accessibility auditing ensures your digital services work for every user.
Talk to our teamChoose your partnership level
Every PathLight tier combines manual testing by RNIB community testers with automated scanning — scaled to your page count and audit frequency. Each tier earns your organisation an official RNIB Service Badge, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to digital accessibility.
RNIB
Bronze
Accessibility Aware
£95
/month
PathLight Aware
Entry-level — Quick Compliance Check
- High-level review of 5 key pages or screens
- Automated scanning with industry-standard tools
- Manual checks: navigation, forms, images, keyboard & colour contrast
- Summary report with key issues and recommendations
- Compliance Statement
- 30-minute consultation call to discuss findings
- RNIB Bronze Service Badge
Most Popular
RNIB
Silver
Accessibility Committed
£650
/month
PathLight Committed
Mid-tier — In-Depth Compliance Review
- Full accessibility review of up to 15 pages or screens
- Automated and manual WCAG 2.2 AA testing
- Mobile & assistive technology (screen reader) testing
- Prioritised issue list with severity ratings
- Detailed audit report with remediation guidance
- Compliance Statement
- 1-hour review call with accessibility consultants
- RNIB Silver Service Badge
RNIB
Gold
Accessibility Leader
£2,300
/month
PathLight Leader
Top-tier — Compliance & Ongoing Support
- Unlimited pages/screens within a single application
- Comprehensive WCAG 2.2 AA testing
- Testing across multiple devices, screen readers & assistive technologies
- Additional testing by users with representative impairments
- Prioritised issue list with severity ratings
- Detailed audit report with remediation guidance
- Compliance Statement
- Follow-up re-audit to validate fixes
- 3 months post-audit support — Q&A sessions & check-ins
- RNIB Gold Service Badge
Enterprise & Bespoke
Need a tailored solution?
Large-scale programmes, multi-application audits, or ongoing accessibility partnerships — we'll build a bespoke PathLight plan around your organisation's structure, timelines, and compliance goals.
Pricing on application
Talk to our team
The accessibility testing strategy we follow
We rigorously test your digital services against the four principles of WCAG — ensuring content is accessible to all users regardless of ability or assistive technology.
P Perceivable
We evaluate whether users can clearly discern and process information on your website or application using standard browsing or assistive technologies such as screen readers and magnifiers.
O Operable
We confirm that users can effectively navigate your site and engage with all interactive elements via multiple input methods — keyboard, switch, voice, and touch.
U Understandable
We ensure your user interface is intuitive and consistent, making it easy for everyone to understand and work with — reducing confusion and enhancing clarity for all users.
R Robust
We verify that your content is reliably interpreted by a wide variety of current and future assistive technologies, ensuring it remains accessible as technology evolves.
Our Partnership
Why RNIB makes the difference
Automated tools detect around 30–40% of accessibility issues. The rest require human judgement. RNIB — the Royal National Institute of Blind People — brings the daily perspective of those who navigate the web with visual impairments, combined with Test Evolve's automation technology to deliver the most complete accessibility service available.
2M+
People in the UK living with sight loss
100+
Years of RNIB expertise and advocacy
60%
Of WCAG issues require human testers to find
AA+
WCAG coverage guaranteed on every audit
Technology partner
Real user perspective
Tests are conducted by people who use assistive technology every day — revealing barriers that no automated scanner can replicate.
Trusted charity backing
RNIB is the UK's leading sight loss charity. Their involvement lends credibility, rigour, and meaningful social impact to every engagement.
Community impact
Every PathLight engagement supports RNIB's mission and helps fund vital services for blind and visually impaired people across the UK.
Technology meets humanity
RNIB's lived experience network and community of blind and visually impaired testers, combined with Test Evolve's automation technology — a partnership built for the full spectrum of accessibility.
What we check during accessibility testing
We follow accessibility guidelines suitable for each project, specify the required WCAG conformance level, and verify both manually and with automation across these key areas.
Manual testing
- Keyboard-only navigation and focus order
- Screen reader compatibility (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack)
- Error messages and error prevention
- Distinguishable and meaningful links
- Accuracy and quality of text alternatives
- Meaningful sequence and reading order of content
- Audio descriptions and captions for media
- Text resizing, zoom, and reflow behaviour
- Cognitive load and plain language assessment
Automated testing
- Page titles and document structure
- Hierarchical heading structure
- Presence and validity of text alternatives
- Empty or ambiguous links
- Colour contrast ratios
- Form labels and input associations
- HTML language attributes
- ARIA roles, states, and properties
- Regression monitoring across all pages
Measure compliance with the laws, guidelines, and standards that matter
PathLight audits and monitoring cover the full spectrum of accessibility regulation — from UK law to European directives and global standards.
WCAG 2.1 / 2.2
The internationally recognised standard for digital accessibility. We test against Level A, AA, and AAA — covering perception, operation, understanding, and robustness.
EN 301 549
The European standard for ICT accessibility requirements — essential for public sector bodies and organisations operating across EU member states.
European Accessibility Act (EAA)
The EAA directive requires many products and services in the EU to meet accessibility standards from June 2025. PathLight will help you prepare and demonstrate compliance.
PSBAR
The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations require UK public sector websites and apps to meet WCAG 2.1 AA and publish a valid accessibility statement.
Our Approach
Turning audits into actionable insights
Our accessibility audits go beyond simply identifying issues. We show how those issues affect real users, help you prioritise fixes by impact, and provide practical recommendations that your team can act on immediately.
See the full processAudit and review
We take a manual-first approach, reviewing templates, components, content, and critical user journeys against WCAG success criteria. Automated tools supplement coverage but never replace detailed manual assessment.
Assistive technology testing
End-to-end user journeys are tested with the assistive technologies your users rely on — including JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, ZoomText, Dragon, and TalkBack — by testers with genuine lived experience.
User impact and issue prioritisation
Every issue is explained in terms of its impact on real users. Findings are prioritised by regulatory risk, user severity, and effort to fix — so your team focuses on changes that matter most.
The business case for accessibility
Accessibility isn't just the right thing to do — it protects your organisation and opens new opportunities.
Legal compliance
Meet your obligations under the Equality Act, PSBAR, EAA, and EN 301 549. Protect your organisation from enforcement action, legal challenge, and reputational damage.
Superior user experiences
Accessible products work better for everyone. Removing barriers improves usability, reduces support costs, and increases satisfaction across your entire user base.
Brand reputation
Organisations that prioritise inclusion stand out. An RNIB-led accessibility programme signals a genuine commitment to social responsibility — not just box-ticking.
Greater market reach
1 in 5 people in the UK have a disability. Accessible digital services open your organisation to a wider, often underserved audience — and build lasting loyalty.
Trusted by teams who take accessibility seriously
Placeholder testimonials — real stories from organisations who have worked with RNIB PathLight.
PathLight identified critical issues our automated tools had completely missed. The feedback from the RNIB tester was invaluable — it fundamentally changed how we think about designing for our users.
Combining continuous automated scanning with the manual RNIB audit gives us real confidence that we're meeting our PSBAR obligations and genuinely serving all our citizens.
Integrating PathLight's scanning into our CI/CD pipeline transformed our quality process. Accessibility issues no longer slip through to production — the team is far more confident releasing.
PathLight in action
See how organisations are using RNIB PathLight to improve digital accessibility for their users.
NHS Trust
Public Sector · Healthcare
From compliance gap to WCAG AA: a full patient portal accessibility overhaul
Read case studyLocal Authority
Public Sector · Local Government
Continuous monitoring that caught 47 regressions before they reached citizens
Read case studyFintech Scale-up
Private Sector · Financial Services
Embedding accessibility into CI/CD — how one team eliminated production regressions
Read case studyFrequently asked questions
Common questions about RNIB PathLight and accessibility testing. Click any question to expand.
RNIB PathLight is unique in combining manual testing carried out by blind and visually impaired people from RNIB's community with continuous automated scanning powered by Test Evolve. This dual approach provides both the depth of genuine human insight and the breadth of automated coverage, giving the most comprehensive accessibility picture available anywhere.
A standard manual audit of a core user journey (5–10 key pages or templates) typically takes 1–2 weeks from scoping sign-off to report delivery. Larger or more complex audits are scoped individually. Automated scanning can be set up and running within days of onboarding.
If you're a UK public sector body, PSBAR requires your website and app to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Under the Equality Act 2010, all UK organisations must make reasonable adjustments for disabled users. From June 2025, many organisations operating in the EU must also comply with the European Accessibility Act. We can advise on your specific obligations during a free scoping call.
No. Automated tools reliably detect around 30–40% of WCAG criteria — things like missing alt text, colour contrast failures, or absent form labels. The remaining 60–70% require human judgement: is this description meaningful? Does the focus order make sense in context? Does this page actually work for a screen reader user? That's precisely why manual testing with people with lived experience is irreplaceable.
Pricing depends on the scope of the audit (number of pages, user journeys, and platforms) and the level of ongoing monitoring required. We offer flexible options from single one-off audits to annual retainers with continuous monitoring. Contact us for a scoping call and we'll provide a transparent, itemised quote within 48 hours.
We recommend a full manual audit at least annually, or whenever you undertake a significant redesign or major feature release. Continuous automated scanning should run as part of every deployment cycle. This combination catches both architectural issues (via manual audit) and day-to-day regressions (via monitoring) throughout the year.
Yes. Every audit report includes developer-ready remediation guidance with code examples where applicable. We offer optional developer consultancy sessions to work through findings with your team, and a formal retest once remediation is complete to verify all issues have been resolved.
Get Started
Make your digital services accessible to everyone
Start with a free scoping call. We'll assess your current position, explain your legal obligations, and recommend the right approach for your organisation.