Traversal Modes: Surface or Requirement

By surface

By-surface mode is the default. The walkthrough steps through every check for one surface (a page of your website or a screen of your app) before you move on to the next surface. Unanswered checks come first, then skipped checks, then completed ones, so resuming a partly finished surface always lands you on outstanding work.

This is the natural mode for most audits: you keep the page or screen open alongside the walkthrough and work through it top to bottom. Opening a surface for the first time takes you straight into its walkthrough.

By requirement

By-requirement mode groups checks by WCAG principle (perceivable, operable, understandable, robust) and walks the same category of check across all of your surfaces, in surface order. It suits auditors who prefer to stay in one frame of mind, for example testing keyboard interaction everywhere before moving on to content checks.

The walkthrough screen itself is identical in both modes; only the order of checks and the exit destination change. Exiting a by-surface walkthrough returns you to that surface's page, while exiting a by-requirement walkthrough returns you to the audit overview.

Finishing a run

Whichever mode you use, completing the final check shows an end screen with your next step:

1. Continue to the next surface that still has unanswered checks
2. Add another page or screen to the audit
3. Complete the audit by answering the app-level questions
4. View your statement, once everything else is done

Your verdicts feed the audit's results as you go; see results overview.