If you’re new to website accessibility, you might be wondering where to even start when it comes to testing your site. The good news is that evaluating accessibility doesn’t require specialized expertise or expensive tools.
This page will help you take your first steps in assessing website accessibility. You’ll learn which basic tests to perform, discover beginner-friendly tools that make evaluation manageable, and find out how to keep track of any issues you discover.
Learning Outcomes
- Learn what tests you need to perform to evaluate website accessibility
- Become familiar with tools that can help with assessing website accessibility
- Document website accessibility issues
Resources
Easy Checks – A First Review of Web Accessibility
(W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WebAIM)
This is an excellent page if you are just getting started in digital accessibility. It gives a brief explanation of browser tools you already have to check accessibility and instructions about how to test for some of the most common accessibility issues.
WCAG Evaluation Methodology Report Tool
(W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WebAIM)
This tool may be helpful if you need to create a report of accessibility findings for a specific website or web application. It does not scan sites to perform automated checks, but may be helpful for recording findings from a manual review.
A Beginner’s Guide to Manual Accessibility Testing
(Pope Tech)
Automated testing tools can catch many issues, but not all of them. Manual testing is also required to ensure content is accessible. This article provides easy to understant guidance to perform the most common manual tests – keyboard, zoom, and screen reader.
10 Easy Accessibility Tests Anyone Can Do
(Digital A11Y)
It’s possible for digital content to pass automatic tests and be WCAG compliant, yet still not be usable. This article has a list of checks will only take a small amount of time and effort to complete, but it can have a big impact on your audience’s experience.