The time for procrastination is over. Since July 2025, digital accessibility based on WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is no longer an intention but a legal obligation. It is now March 2026, which means that government organizations have been under scrutiny for almost a year.
For you as an IT manager, functional manager test coordinator, this has direct consequences. Because you are the one who will be audited, defects submit defects , and who will soon have to demonstrate that your applications, portals, and apps comply with WCAG 2.1 AA.
In short: WCAG is not a distant dream, it is your daily reality.
What WCAG will mean for you in 2026
WCAG revolves around one goal: making your digital services accessible, i.e. perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for everyone. This applies to citizens, but just as much to employees. However, the obligation means more than just "making sure the website is accessible."
The reality in 2026 shows something different: almost the entire application landscape will be subject to accessibility requirements. The question is, how will you manage this? Because you not only have a website to manage, but also dozens of legacy systems, chain links, apps, dashboards, portals, and streams of generated documents.
If you work for a municipality, province, water board, independent administrative body (ZBO), educational institution, or healthcare organization with a public task, you will quickly find yourself discussing:
- case management systems;
- portals for requests or statuses;
- internal applications that employees depend on;
- self-service environments;
- mobile apps;
- PDF templates and documents;
- reports and dashboards.
A large proportion of these systems were never designed with accessibility in mind. As a result, you are faced with:
- suppliers who have a backlog full of WCAG issues;
- applications that can only be accessed with enormous effort;
- releases that break accessibility without teams realizing it;
- audits that require an increasing burden of proof.
What will change in your testing process?
The WCAG will cause a number of changes to your testing process. We recommend that you take the following issues into account in your testing process:
- Make accessibility testing a regular part of your releases.
- Regression testing is becoming more extensive and broader.
- In 2026, it becomes apparent in practice that most WCAG issues arise not from new functionality, but from minor changes. A different color, a new label, a shifted element—things that unnoticed break accessibility.
- Ensure that you are audit-proof. The burden of proof is important here.
- Actively manage suppliers.
- Now that WCAG is active, organizations expect suppliers to deliver what they promise. A promise is nice, but verification is better.
- Content is as big a risk factor as technology.
- PDFs, notifications, texts, templates, error handling... everything must be accessible.
Testing WCAG with Testersuite
Testersuite ideal for testing applications based on the WCAG guidelines. We can help you with this by providing you with the import file containing the standard guidelines. You can easily import this file into your Testersuite. This provides the basis for setting up each test cycle WCAG (conformity levels, the four principles, etc.).
This one-time import means you are ready to test cycles for every application, release, change, etc., in accordance with the WCAG guidelines. test cycle the test cycle the master list and reuse the specific setup with the WCAG guidelines again and again in Testersuite.
The components of the WCAG guidelines match seamlessly with the test management aspects in Testersuite. Let's take a look at the structure in Testersuite relation to WCAG:
1. Test basis
The three levels of conformance (A, AA, and AAA) in combination with the four principles (perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust) of WCAG form your quality attribute-based test basis—the so-called WAT.
2. Test design
The total of 30 (A), 50 (AA), or 78 (AA) success criteria are the logical test design—the so-called HOW.
3. Test execution
In each test cycle release, sprint, or project), the test design is executed to assess the intended success criteria. The test results provide a uniform picture of the quality of accessibility.
4. Findings
Any negative test result, a defect, is traceably recorded, assessed, followed up, and ideally re-assessed positively.
5. Reports
The release advice is comparable to the Accessibility Statement and provides insight into the quality of accessibility of digital content for people with visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.
Need help? We'll be happy to set it up for you.
Conclusion
WCAG is no longer a project—it's your way of working. It's important to realize that we are no longer living in the run-up to the law: we are living in its enforcement.
And you play a crucial role in how your organization deals with this. How well your testing process is set up determines whether your organization is at risk or demonstrably in control. The sooner you Testersuite your testing maturity with Testersuite , the less behind you will fall.
Fancy a good conversation?
Would you like to discuss WCAG in relation to Testersuite? Or are you ready for some good advice? The Testersuite are happy to help you. Schedule a no-obligation consultation with us below.
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