How to test your website for accessibility

Highlights

• Testing a website for accessibility is crucial for the success of any business in today's digital age.
• Conducting a manual evaluation is the first step in testing website accessibility, which involves checking for potential barriers that may prevent users with disabilities from accessing the content.
• Using accessibility testing tools such as WAVE, AChecker, and Google Lighthouse can help identify any accessibility errors and provide suggestions for improvement.
• Conducting user testing with individuals with disabilities can help identify any issues that may have been missed during the manual evaluation or through the use of testing tools.
• Testing website accessibility can also have a positive impact on SEO, as search engines consider accessibility as a ranking factor.
• Making necessary changes based on the evaluation results is important to improve website accessibility, such as updating code, adding alternative text to images, or making design changes.
• Regularly testing website accessibility and making necessary changes is crucial to ensure that all users can access the content and improve overall website performance.

What is accessibility?

The term ‘accessibility’ means that everyone has equal access to your web content. This can include people with visual and auditory disabilities, motor disabilities, and everyone in between.

If your website is designed to be accessible, then everyone should be able to have equal access to your website’s content and information, no matter what physical or mental limitations they may have. 

In today's digital age, having a website that is accessible to all users is crucial for the success of any business. Not only does it ensure that all potential customers can access your website, but it also helps with search engine optimization (SEO) and can improve your overall website performance. In this article, we will discuss how to test a website for accessibility using various techniques and tools.

Accessibility concepts 

Assistive technologies are tools or devices that help individuals with disabilities navigate and interact with websites and digital content. These technologies include screen readers, magnifiers, voice recognition software, and alternative input devices.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure that websites are accessible to individuals with disabilities. WCAG provides specific criteria and techniques for making web content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

A web page is a single document or resource on the World Wide Web that can be accessed through a web browser. It can contain text, images, videos, links, and other elements.

Web browsers are software applications that allow users to access and view web pages on the internet. Examples of popular web browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

Accessibility requirements refer to the standards and guidelines that websites must meet to ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities. These requirements can include compliance with WCAG, adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other accessibility laws and regulations.

Automated tests are tools or software programs that automatically scan and evaluate websites for accessibility issues. These tests can help identify common accessibility issues and provide suggestions for improvement.

Accessibility issues are barriers or obstacles that prevent individuals with disabilities from accessing and using websites. These issues can include lack of alternative text for images, insufficient color contrast, inaccessible navigation, and more.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in various areas, including employment, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The ADA also applies to websites and requires them to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community that develops standards and guidelines for the World Wide Web. The W3C is responsible for developing and maintaining the WCAG, among other web standards.

I hope this information helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Step 1: Conduct a manual evaluation

The first step in testing your website for accessibility is to conduct a manual evaluation. This involves going through your website and checking for any potential barriers that may prevent users with disabilities from accessing your content. Some common areas to check include:

• Images: Make sure all images have alternative text (alt text) that describes the image for users who are visually impaired.
• Links: Ensure that all links are descriptive and make sense out of context. This is especially important for users who rely on screen readers.
• Color contrast: Check that the color contrast between text and background is sufficient for users with color blindness.
• Navigation: Test your website's navigation using only a keyboard. This will help identify any potential issues for users who cannot use a mouse.