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Siteimprove Information

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Introduction

Siteimprove is a cloud-based digital governance platform that helps organisations improve and maintain the quality, accessibility, and performance of their websites. The Web Support Team (WST) and the Digital Marketing Team in Queen’s Global use its Accessibility Module to help ensure that websites published through the Web CMS meet accessibility regulations.

Below is an overview of how Siteimprove supports this process:

  • Website Scan - The platform is configured to crawl our website every ten days. It scans all pages for a range of issues, including accessibility errors and broken links.
  • Dashboards and Reports - Once the scan is complete, Siteimprove presents its findings in dashboards. These dashboards are configured with reporting widgets that highlight areas such as broken links and current accessibility issues. Each widget provides details about the pages affected and the specific issues identified.
  • Remedial Action - For certain issues, such as accessibility errors, Siteimprove offers suggested actions to help resolve them. This enables content owners to take appropriate steps to address the problems.
  • Scan Updates - Any remedial work carried out by content owners will be reflected in the results of the next scheduled website scan, allowing teams to track improvements over time.

Register for Access

A process has been created to onboard staff to the platform which will provide access to accessibility dashboards and scheduled reports for their website(s). If you currently own or edit content for a website published via the Web CMS, you can complete the following form to register for access to Siteimprove. We typically aim to process access requests within one week of receipt.

Please note: We can only provide access to the Siteimprove platform for current members of University staff and for websites that are published via the Web CMS.

Dashboards

Siteimprove Dashboards can be configured for individual websites within the Web CMS. These are set up during the onboarding process when a staff member registers for access to Siteimprove.

Once logged into the platform, service users can view their Dashboard and choose to have a report scheduled and sent via email for regular updates.

A Dashboard template called ‘Accessibility / QA Editor Role’ has been created specifically to support users with content responsibilities. It includes widgets that highlight broken links, common accessibility errors, and potential accessibility issues on web pages related to content editing.

Page Reports

Page Reports in Siteimprove provide a detailed breakdown of all issues and insights related to a specific web page that has been scanned by the platform. These reports can be accessed directly from a Dashboard widget when a page is flagged with an issue. They are a key tool for content editors, developers, and accessibility teams to identify and resolve problems at the page level.

Specific Accessibility Issues

When reviewing a Siteimprove Dashboard via email or when logged into the platform, you will find that there are two issue types which are categorised as 'Specific Issues' and 'Potential Issues'. 

The Specific Issues section lists confirmed accessibility issues detected on your website(s). These are identified by Siteimprove using established accessibility rules and indicate content that does not comply.

For each issue, Siteimprove shows the affected pages and the number of occurrences. To address them, using “Inline Frame without a Text Alternative” as an example, follow these steps:

  1. Identify the issue name (e.g. Inline Frame without a Text Alternative).
  2. Click the page title from either the Siteimprove Platform or your Dashboard Report to open the Page Report and locate the issue.
  3. Use CMS Deeplinking to quickly access the relevant content in the Web CMS.
  4. Refer to the Accessible Content Guidance, if needed, for help on fixing the issue.
  5. Apply the fix, then Save and Approve the content.
  6. Wait for the next scan – Siteimprove will rescan the content every five days and update the report accordingly.

Potential Accessibility Issues

In Siteimprove, a Potential Accessibility Issue refers to something that might be an accessibility problem, but which requires human review to confirm. These are flagged because automated tools like Siteimprove can't always determine definitively whether the issue violates accessibility standards (such as WCAG), without context.

Siteimprove requires a user to complete a guided review process, answering yes or no questions, for potential issues flagged. Based on the answers provided in the review, the issue will either be confirmed and added to your dashboard as an issue, or dismissed as a non-issue.  The short video below provides a demonstration of how potential issues can be reviewed.

Please note: It is really important that the correct answers are provided as part of your review so that the platform can decide if an item is an accessibility issue or not.  If you have any queries regarding the guided questions, please get in contact with us via the IT Service Desk

To address any potential issues, users should do the following:

  1. Review the dashboard for your website and focus on those potential issues defined under the 'Potential Issues Section'.
  2. Click the title of the potential issue (e.g. "Do these links (in the same content) go to the same page?") to open a detailed report showing affected pages.
  3. In the 'Pages with this potential issue' table, click a page title to open its Page Report.
  4. Choose a potential issue and click ‘Start Review’.
  5. Use the guided information to answer the review questions. Click the ‘i’ icon for help where available.
  6. After review, Siteimprove will confirm whether it is a true accessibility issue. If confirmed, please take remedial action as soon as possible.

Reviewing Potential Issues

This video provides an overview of how to perform a review of a potential accessibility issue.

Siteimprove - Potential Issues Video Transcript

What is CMS Deeplinking?

Siteimprove CMS Deeplinking is a feature that allows users to jump directly from a Siteimprove report to the exact location of the content in the Web CMS where an issue exists. It creates a direct link between an issue found on a web page and the corresponding editable section in the Web CMS.

The benefits of CMS Deeplinking are as follows:

  • Saves time: No need to manually search for the content in your CMS.
  • Improves accuracy: Ensures you're editing the correct part of the page.
  • Encourages timely fixes: Makes it easier for editors to act on accessibility and quality issues.

The video below provides an overview of how CMS Deeplinking can be used in practice.

CMS Deeplinking

You can watch this short video to find out how to access the CMS Deeplinking feature from within Siteimprove Dashboards and Page Reports.

View the transcript of the CMS Deeplinking Video

Siteimprove Accessibility Checker - Chrome Extension 

The Siteimprove Accessibility Checker is a free tool available as a Google Chrome Extension.  It can be used to check any webpage for accessibility compliance at any given time.  It provides:

  • An immediate overview of your page's accessibility issues.
  • Exactly where the issue appears on the page.
  • A clear explanation of how they affect your users.

The extension can be used for the following:

  • To check pages directly in your browser during development e.g. When building content and previewing pages in the CMS. The page does not have to be published live, you can check your accessibility issues as you develop a web page. 
  • To perform single checks of current live webpages.  After adding the extension you can check webpages straightaway.  

How do I install the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker?

  1. Open the Chrome browser (or download the Chrome browser if you do not have it).
  2. Install the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker Chrome extension from the Chrome Webshop or search for Siteimprove Accessibility Checker.
  3. Click Add to Chrome.
  4. Approve the terms and conditions of the extension.
  5. You can now see the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker icon in your browser window (located to the right of the address bar).

How do I use the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker?

  1. Check any web page by typing its URL in the browser. e.g. https://www.qub.ac.uk. 
  2. Click on the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker icon in your browser window (located to the right of the address bar).  The results will appear in a window pane on the left-hand side of the page.
  3. Website Owners and Website Editors need to set the following filters from the Filters dropdown: 
    • Conformance: Level AA
    • Difficulty: Select All
    • Responsible: Content Writing
    • Element type: Select All
    • Click Apply Filters
  4. If any accessibility errors are identified, please take the necessary remedial action within the CMS.  When the content has been saved and approved within the CMS, and the next publish and transfer has taken place, you can then re-check the page using the steps 1-3. 

Siteimprove Accessibility Checker

Learn how to install the Siteimprove Accessibility Checker in your Chrome web browser and set the required filters for Content Editors.

Siteimprove Accessibility Checker Transcript
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