Accessibility Testing Made Easy: 7 Tools to Build Truly Inclusive Websites

Different operating systems you might be using, to an extent, have accessibility tools built into them, regardless of their make. If you’ve noticed, on your device, whether you’re an apple or Microsoft user, you can magnify a particular area on your screen or configure your computer to work with dictation.

In the case of modern web applications, more strides have been made to ensure that websites and tools are developed and designed to be usable by specially abled users. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative has done its best to create the best standard to help developers web accessibility features for their users.

In this guide, we’ll look at some web accessibility testing tools you need to know as a software tester to ensure the websites you test are truly inclusive. Whether you’re testing for visual impairment, hearing impairment, or motor and motion impairments.

Let’s begin!

WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool)

Wave can be added as a browser extension. You can simply input your web address to see what accessibility measures are taken to your website. For instance, let us have a look at my portfolio site. You can add the URL and hit the enter key. You will be presented with an overview of your website. Areas that need an accessibility fix are highlighted.

On the left side, you will receive an error summary, contrast issues, features, alerts, and more. You can click on more specific issues to receive detailed information and recommendations for improvement. This tool is great for getting an overview as well as detailed insights into your web product's overall accessibility.

Strengths

• User-friendly interface
• Browser extension for quick checks
• Detailed insights

Weaknesses

• Limited scope
• Best as a preliminary tool

Axe tools

Axe testing tools is an accessibility testing toolset that is created by Deque which enables you to run full automation in the build process from automated scans to ensure that your website is compliant and stays compliant.

Automated testing, intelligent guided testing, linting, CI/CD integrations, and command-line interface. It catches accessibility issues while developers are in the development stage, which drives down the time needed for manual testing and, therefore, reduces costs. Axe DevTools has a browser extension for quick results, and you might need a manual audit with Axe Auditor for complete coverage and compliance or Axe Monitor for dynamic site-wide scanning and reporting.

Strengths

• Comprehensive tools
• CI/CD integration
• Early issue detection

Weaknesses

• Complex setup
• Manual audits required

Google’s Lighthouse

As with most other web accessibility tools, Google Lighthouse is an open-source tool within Chrome DevTools that generates website performance, SEO, and accessibility reports. If you want to know if your project is web accessible with Lighthouse? Just go to your webpage and right-click on the page and select "inspect element". Next, select the Lighthouse tab and hit "generate report".

Although it does a good job at catching some of the more common WCAG 2.1 Level AA issues, such as missing alt text and color contrast issues, it's not without its limitations. Lighthouse does not catch incorrect alt text, alt text on decorative images that is not empty, page titles that aren't descriptive or don't describe the page, using color alone to convey meaning. You are better off running Lighthouse than doing manual testing for a more complete accessibility test.

Strengths

• Easy accessibility within Chrome
• Broad overview of metrics
• Free and open-source

Weaknesses

• Misses some alt text issues
• Requires manual testing for full compliance

EqualWeb

EqualWeb has an accessibility widget for your web product. It enables functionality at different customer preferences. For example, the option for clients with different impairments to shift colors or to have screen readers. This is the shortcut to make your website accessible to all of your customers in a few minutes; it fully matches the WCAG and ADA regulations!.

On EqualWeb, you can replicate various accessibility profiles on how people with different conditions interact with your website. For instance, if you toggle on blindness and have a screen reader, you can view how your website is being interacted with.

This is a great way to enhance your customer's experience by making your website compliant with various accessibility regulations.

Strengths

• Quick implementation
• Real-time adjustments
• Diverse user interaction profiles

Weaknesses

• Periodic updates needed
• May require additional manual checks

SiteImprove

SiteImprove, just like the WAVE tool we mentioned above, allows you to provide your web address to check the accessibility measures of your website.

You get an overall score on different metrics for testing your site and you can see the details by clicking on each one. Siteimprove integrates seamlessly with popular CMS, web browsers, project management tools, and business applications, maximizing the benefits of its services. Most importantly, Siteimprove has readily available extensions, plugins, and connectors for free and at no cost or extra payment. It is easy to set up without engaging in long onboarding processes.

Strengths

• Granular reporting
• Easy integration with tools
• Free extensions/plugins

Weaknesses

• Tricky initial setup
• Detailed reports can be overwhelming

Pa11y

Pa11y is an open-source accessibility testing tool; it was built to empower you to make your sites more accessible. But the coolest thing is that it also gives you a CLI where you could run commands to test your site for certain accessibility issues.

You could start by installing their core packages:

    npm install -g pa11y

It uses a command-line interface to check web pages against accessibility standards like WCAG 2.1. Pa11y can also be configured to show only critical errors, set thresholds for acceptable errors, and hide certain elements when tests are done. It also supports multiple URLs, device-specific tests, and simulating user actions. Advanced configuration controls can be controlled via pa11y-ci for continuous integration.

Strengths

• Scriptable CLI
• High personalization and automation
• Advanced configuration options

Weaknesses

• Requires CLI knowledge
• Complex configuration
• Less user-friendly compared to graphical tools

Taw

Taw detects both automatic and manual issues and gives you an in-depth and detailed report. Quick URL scans can be done by Taw users, and accessibility findings are then categorized under problems, warnings, and items that need manual review.

Taw’s reports highlight issues with specific WCAG success criteria, helping users address accessibility. The tool is free and supports detailed analysis but is limited to homepage scanning.

Strengths

• In-depth reporting
• Free to use

Weaknesses

• Limited to homepage scanning
• Requires a learning curve

Ending

An accessible website is one that all users can use with ease and experience no impairments of usage experience to surmount any obstruction in enjoying the content.

These few examples are the tip of the iceberg when we talk about the accessibility testing tools for web applications. I would encourage looking at all of these, and at others like these, along with any tools and guides available over the internet, to find ways to make your web products more and more accessible. Ideally, you should be able to walk away having a firm understanding of these seven web accessibility testing tools and how to use them to ensure your web applications are accessible to all users.