web-accessibility-testing-tools-750x358

Web applications have become an integral part of our day to day life. From e-banking to e-shopping, information technology tools are being widely used by many, including people with disabilities.

In order to ensure accessibility of applications by all users, it is important to perform web accessibility testing. This will ensure that the product is accessible to users with disabilities as well. However, there are various guidelines that need to be followed. Section 508 compliance is popular for accessibility standards. It is defined by the US government, to ensure all websites can be accessed by disabled people. WCAG is yet another accessibility guideline, which defines the accessibility standards for people and organizations worldwide. It includes both WCAG 1.0 and WCAG 2.0 specifications.

Manual Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing can be performed on different browsers, including IE, Firefox, Chrome, and more. Some of the manual tests can be performed using the W3C HTML Validator.

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JAWS (Job Access with Speech)Accessibility Testing using Screen Reader

This screen reader allows people with visual disabilities to read the screen, with the prime focus on navigations, forms, and dynamic contents. However, there are certain prerequisites to run JAWS.

There are a lot of free tools available for accessibility testing.

  1. A Checker or Accessibility Checker: It is an evaluation tool for web accessibility. You can check the web accessibility by uploading HTML file or entering the web URL.
  2. Accessibility Valet: This web accessibility tool is designed based on the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) or 508 accessibility compliance.
  3. WAVE: It provides various options for web accessibility including, upload a file, run reports, and more.
  4. Web Accessibility Toolbar for Internet Explorer: This is used to manually validate the web pages for various accessibility aspects.
  5. Color Contrast Analyzer: It checks the color contrast and visibility.
  6. EvalAccess 2.0: This can be used to evaluate web pages for WCAG1.0 and Section 508 compliance.

Similarly, some of the other tools that can be used include, FAE, AccessColor, Hera, Firefox Accessibility Extension, TAW Online, and PDF Accessibility checker.