Understanding discrepancies between AudioEye Platform Reporting and the AudioEye Accessibility Scanner
How to reconcile Platform reporting with real-time results found by the Accessibility Scanner
Intended Audience: Developers, Software Engineers, Content Creators
AudioEye’s Platform Reporting and Accessibility Scanner tools operate using the same rule suite. This ensures consistency—any issue detected in Reporting is also flagged by the Accessibility Scanner, as both tools scan the underlying code of a webpage.
Despite this, it is possible to encounter situations in which an issue is found in Platform Reporting that does not appear in the Accessibility Scanner during a real-time scan. This can happen due to timing, visibility, and content variation factors.
Why the Accessibility Scanner may not match Platform Reporting
- The issue has been resolved
- AudioEye Reporting updates nightly and aggregates data over a 7-day period.
- If an issue no longer exists on the page and hasn’t been recaptured within that 7-day time frame, it will eventually drop from the Reporting view.
- The issue appears in a different view
- Some content is responsive, meaning it may only appear in mobile views and not be visible in desktop mode.
- AudioEye Reporting includes data captured from real users across all devices. If the issue only occurs in a mobile layout, it may not be seen during a desktop Accessibility Scanner scan.
- The issue involves interactive or dynamic content
- The Accessibility Scanner waits for the content on the page to load, then completes a scan.
- If a component is only present or is updated by user interaction (e.g., expanding menus, accordions, tabs), accessibility issues with that content may not be detected by the Accessibility Scanner if you have not yet interacted with the component.
- The issue is found in content only presented on the first visit to a site
- Content like cookie banners or advertisement modals may only appear on the first visit to a site.
- These modals are often flagged in Reporting, but may not display again unless the site is accessed in an incognito window or cookies are cleared.
Other potential factors
- Geolocation: If content varies by user location, the accessibility issue may only be found in specific variations.
- A/B testing: Depending on the test group assignment, users may be shown different versions of a page. If you employ A/B testing, ensure that you have checked each variation with the Accessibility Scanner.
Summary
Discrepancies between AudioEye’s Reporting and the Accessibility Scanner tool can occur due to how and when content appears on the page. Factors like mobile-only content, user-triggered interactions, modals on first visit, or recently resolved issues can all contribute to differences between what is reported and what is visible during live scanning.
To ensure the most accurate results when investigating issues:
- Interact with dynamic page elements.
- Use mobile and desktop views.
- Test in an incognito window.
- Consider timing, content variations, and recent updates to the page.