accessServices is accessiBe’s human-expertise accessibility platform, and is the third layer in accessiBe’s three-layer accessibility platform, providing the manual audits, VPAT documentation, and user testing that accessWidget‘s runtime remediation and accessFlow‘s automated code checks can’t produce on their own. Automated tools are essential for managing accessibility at scale, but they are not sufficient on their own. The work that matters most in formal compliance contexts — audits, VPATs, user testing, legal documentation — requires human expertise. accessServices is where that expertise lives.
What accessServices includes
Manual accessibility audits
Conducted by qualified evaluators using real assistive technology on live websites or applications. Audits evaluate WCAG conformance at a depth that automated scanning cannot achieve and produce an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for use in procurement and compliance contexts. Audits are available with or without remediation guidance.
VPAT and ACR documentation
A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) declares how a digital product conforms to accessibility standards. VPATs are required for federal procurement under Section 508, are expected in state and local government procurement, and are a standard deliverable in enterprise vendor evaluation.
User testing with assistive technology users
Structured usability testing conducted with participants who use assistive technology in their daily lives. The only way to validate that accessibility remediations work as intended for real users.
PDF remediation
Converting existing PDF documents to accessible formats that work with screen readers and other assistive devices.
Accessibility program management
Ongoing advisory support for building and sustaining internal accessibility programs: policy development, team training, audit scheduling, and progress tracking.
When accessServices is necessary
A few situations reliably call for professional services rather than automated tools alone:
- Compliance and procurement. Government contracts, vendor evaluations, and higher-ed procurement processes often require a VPAT or ACR, and public-sector obligations under ADA Title II or Section 508 typically come with a hard compliance deadline.
- Legal exposure. A demand letter, a DOJ investigation, or active ADA litigation all call for the kind of documented, defensible evidence that only a manual audit can produce.
- Where automation reaches its limit. Some work — remediating PDFs and other documents, or confirming through real user testing that a fix actually works for the person using it — needs a layer of human judgment automated tools can’t provide on their own.
