A government client just told your Wix site it fails WCAG 2.1 AA in Ottawa
A website that has to pass WCAG 2.1 AA and serve a bilingual audience in Ottawa typically runs $15k to $80k over 4 to 12 weeks built custom. Wix, Squarespace, and templates produce a good-looking site fast, but their generated markup routinely fails the accessibility audit a federal client or institutional buyer will run, and bilingual structure is an afterthought.
Your Ottawa firm wants to be taken seriously by federal departments and the institutions clustered around them. The Wix site looks sharp, then a prospective government client runs an accessibility check and flags screen-reader failures, contrast issues, and missing focus states in the template's generated code. You can't fix what the builder controls.
On top of that, your audience is bilingual, and Squarespace's bolt-on language handling makes a proper English-French structure awkward. For a firm whose credibility depends on looking like it understands government norms, a site that fails the first accessibility check sends exactly the wrong signal to exactly the wrong buyer.
The problems nobody warns you about
- Wix and Squarespace generate markup that fails WCAG 2.1 AA screen-reader and contrast checks
- Bilingual English-French structure is bolted on, not native, in site builders
- You can't fix accessibility issues that live in the builder's generated code
- A failed accessibility check signals to government buyers that you don't understand their norms
The case for owning your website
A custom site is built accessible from the markup up, with a proper bilingual structure and the performance and SEO a credible firm needs. You control the code, so when a federal client runs an audit, it passes. For an Ottawa firm courting government and institutional buyers, the website is the first credibility test, and it's a cheap one to win with a custom build.
Budgeting a website build in Ottawa
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Accessible marketing site, bilingual | $15k to $30k | 4 to 6 weeks |
| Custom site with CMS and lead capture | $30k to $55k | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Larger site with integrations and complex content | $50k to $80k | 9 to 12 weeks |
What your build should include
Ottawa website: the full scope
Digital Heroes builds the full website stack for Ottawa teams. Typical engagements cover responsive web design, landing page development, CMS development, Jamstack, SEO-optimized websites, website redesign and custom website development.
Exactly what you get
A website built to pass the first test a government buyer runs. WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility in the markup, verified with screen-reader testing, a proper bilingual English-French structure, fast SEO-clean code, and accessible forms with real label, error, and focus handling. Add a CMS for editing and an integration to your CRM or booking software if you capture leads.
How to choose a developer in Ottawa
Hire the firm that tests with a screen reader, not just a scanner. The right Ottawa partner can show you an accessible form, explain its bilingual URL strategy, and point to a site that passed a government client's audit. Ask how you'll edit content after launch, and confirm they build accessibility into the markup rather than patching it at the end.
- !They run only an automated accessibility scanner; ask whether they test with a screen reader
- !They treat French as a translated copy of the English site; ask about bilingual URL and structure strategy
- !No performance budget; ask what page-load and Lighthouse scores they target
- !They can't show an accessible form; ask how errors and focus are handled for assistive tech
- !No relevant references; ask for an Ottawa site that passed a government client's audit
If website is on the roadmap, hr, accounting, business intelligence dashboards usually follow within the year. Budget them as one conversation.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my Wix site fail accessibility audits?
Builders like Wix generate markup you don't control, and that markup often fails on screen-reader labeling, color contrast, and keyboard focus. Because you can't edit the underlying code, you can't fix the findings. A custom site gives you control over the exact markup an auditor evaluates.
Is a language widget enough for a bilingual site?
No. A widget that swaps visible text usually leaves URLs, metadata, and system messages in one language, which is both a poor experience and an SEO problem. A proper bilingual site has parallel structure and language-specific URLs, something builders handle awkwardly and custom sites handle cleanly.
How much does accessibility add to a website build?
It's the biggest single cost driver for an Ottawa government-facing site, but it's not a huge premium when built in from the start. The expensive version is retrofitting accessibility into a finished template site; designing for WCAG 2.1 AA from the first wireframe is far cheaper.
Can I edit a custom site myself?
Yes, if it's built on a CMS. You'll edit content freely but typically need a developer for structural changes. That's the trade versus Wix, where you can change anything but can't pass an accessibility audit. Most Ottawa firms accept it for the credibility a passing audit buys.