How to Check Website Accessibility in 2024: A Complete Guide

Ensuring website accessibility is crucial for creating an inclusive online environment and complying with legal standards. In 2024, understanding how to check website accessibility is more important than ever, as digital inclusivity continues to evolve.

In this guide, you will learn:

• What website accessibility means and the common barriers faced by users with disabilities.
• Compliance standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• Key steps to evaluate your website’s accessibility, including automated tools, manual testing techniques, and mobile accessibility considerations.
• How to report your findings effectively and maintain continuous compliance through regular monitoring and training.

By following these insights, you ensure that your website not only meets legal requirements but also provides a better user experience for everyone.

Understanding Website Accessibility

Website accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of designing and developing websites so that all users, including those with disabilities, can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web effectively. By prioritizing online accessibility testing, organizations ensure their digital content is usable by a wider audience, thus promoting inclusivity.

Common Barriers to Accessible Web Content

Users with disabilities often encounter several barriers when accessing websites. These barriers can significantly impact their ability to engage with content:

• Visual Impairments: Individuals with visual impairments may struggle with poor color contrast, small text sizes, or images without descriptive alt text.
• Hearing Impairments: Lack of closed captioning on videos and audio content can hinder users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Motor Disabilities: Websites that rely heavily on mouse interactions can be challenging for users with limited motor control who depend on keyboard navigation.
• Cognitive Disabilities: Complex layouts, inconsistent navigation structures, and difficult-to-understand content can confuse users with cognitive disabilities.

Assistive Technologies

To test web page accessibility, many individuals rely on assistive technologies that help bridge the gap between their abilities and the digital world:

• Screen Readers: Tools like JAWS (Job Access With Speech) or NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) read aloud the text displayed on the screen, helping visually impaired users navigate through web pages.
• Voice Recognition Software: Programs such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking enable users to control their computers using voice commands, facilitating hands-free navigation.
• Screen Magnifiers: Software like ZoomText enlarges portions of the screen to aid users with low vision in reading text and viewing images.
• Switch Devices: These allow individuals with severe motor disabilities to control a computer using a single switch or a series of switches instead of traditional input devices like a keyboard or mouse.

Compliance Standards for Accessibility

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of international standards designed to make web content accessible to people with disabilities. These guidelines, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), focus on four main principles:

• Perceivable – Information and user interface components must be presented in ways that users can perceive.
• Operable – User interface components and navigation must be operable.
• Understandable – Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable.
• Robust – Content must be robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Compliance with WCAG is often measured at three levels: A, AA, and AAA, indicating increasing degrees of inclusivity.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that public accommodations, including websites, must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. While the ADA compliance website checker doesn’t explicitly detail web accessibility checks. The court rulings have increasingly interpreted the ADA to apply to digital spaces.

Key Implications:

• Websites need to pass the ADA-compliant website test. As, it ensures features such as text descriptions for images, keyboard navigability, and compatibility with screen readers.
• Organizations often use free ADA compliance checker or ADA website checker tools to identify and address accessibility SEO issues.
• Check ADA compliance websites for new websites, especially for the disabled crowd.

Section 508 Standards

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology (EIT) accessible to people with disabilities. This includes websites and digital content to check accessibility.

Importance of Section 508 Standards

• Ensures that all federal websites provide equal access to information and services for people with disabilities.
• Utilizes standards similar to WCAG but focuses specifically on federal entities.

Tools for Checking Compliance

To ensure adherence to these standards:

• Use automated tools like UserWay, WAVE, or an ADA web compliance checker to conduct initial assessments.
• Perform manual testing techniques to validate that all web elements meet required criteria.

Prioritizing these compliance standards not only aligns your website with legal requirements but also enhances the overall user experience by making digital content more accessible.

Key Steps to Check Website Accessibility in 2024

Ensuring website accessibility testing in 2024 requires a multifaceted approach. Combining automated tools with manual testing techniques provides a comprehensive view of your site’s accessibility. Here’s a detailed guide on how to test the accessibility of a website effectively:

Automated Testing Tools

Automated tools play a crucial role in the initial stages of assessing website accessibility. These tools quickly scan web pages to identify common issues related to accessibility, saving time and providing a starting point for deeper analysis.

Importance of Automated Tools in Initial Assessments

• Efficiency: Automated tools can evaluate large volumes of content swiftly.
• Consistency: They apply standard checks uniformly across all web pages.
• Initial Insights: These tools highlight key areas that require further manual review.

Overview and Comparison of Popular Automated Testing Tools

A variety of automated testing tools are available, each with unique features designed to check web accessibility. Below are some widely used options:

UserWay

UserWay leverages AI to provide comprehensive accessibility checks and remediation solutions.

Features:

• WCAG/ADA compliance checks.
• Automatic correction of detected issues.
• Real-time monitoring and reporting.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface.
• Robust AI capabilities.
• Continuous updates to adhere to latest standards.

AccessiBe

AccessiBe offers automated solutions that integrate seamlessly into existing websites, ensuring ongoing compliance.

Features:

• AI-powered adjustments for screen readers and keyboard navigation.
• Compliance audits based on WCAG, ADA, and other standards.
• Customizable accessibility widget.

Pros:

• Quick setup process.
• Effective at detecting and fixing common issues.
• Comprehensive compliance coverage.

WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool)

WAVE is a browser extension that provides visual feedback by highlighting accessibility errors directly on the web page.

Features:

• Identifies errors such as missing alt text, contrast issues, and structural elements.
• Offers detailed explanations and suggestions for fixes.
• Free to use with optional premium features for more advanced needs.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use browser extension.
• Clear visual representation of issues.
• Detailed guidance on remediation steps.

How Automated Tools Complement Manual Testing?

While automated tools efficiently identify many common accessibility issues, they cannot catch everything. Some nuances require human judgment and understanding of context which only manual testing can provide.

Transitioning to Manual Testing Techniques

After addressing the initial findings from automated testing tools, it’s essential to proceed with manual reviews for a thorough assessment. This involves checking aspects such as alt text accuracy, video captioning, and ensuring keyboard navigability without reliance on automation alone. This combined approach ensures that the website not only meets technical standards but also provides a genuinely accessible experience for all users.

Manual Testing Techniques

Manual reviews are essential after using automated accessibility testing tools to ensure a comprehensive assessment. While automated tools can quickly identify many issues, they often miss context-specific problems that only a human can detect. Combining both methods offers a more thorough approach to website accessibility.

Key Areas to Assess Manually

Alt Text for Images

• Why it matters: Alt text provides descriptions for visual elements, enabling screen readers to convey the content to users with visual impairments.
• How to check: Verify that all images have meaningful alt text that accurately describes the image content. Avoid vague descriptions like “image123.jpg” and instead use descriptive phrases such as “woman reading a book.”

Closed Captioning for Videos

• Why it matters: Closed captions make video content accessible to users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• How to check: Ensure that all video content includes accurate closed captions or subtitles. Test them by watching videos with the sound off and checking for synchronization and accuracy.

Color Contrast Optimization

• Why it matters: High contrast between text and background colors improves readability for users with visual impairments.
• How to check: Use tools like the WAVE browser extension or manual color contrast analyzers to verify that text meets WCAG guidelines for contrast ratios.

Keyboard Navigation

• Why it matters: Users with motor disabilities may rely on keyboard navigation rather than a mouse.
• How to check: Navigate your site using only the keyboard. Ensure that all interactive elements (links, buttons, forms) are accessible and operable through keyboard inputs alone.

Methods for Conducting Effective User Testing

Involving Users with Disabilities

Engage individuals who have disabilities in your testing process. Their firsthand experience can reveal issues that might not be apparent through automated or even manual checks done by non-disabled testers.

Creating User Scenarios

Develop specific scenarios or tasks for testers to complete on your website, such as filling out a form or navigating through different sections. This helps identify practical usability barriers.

Feedback Collection

Use surveys, interviews, and observation during user testing sessions to gather detailed feedback about their experience and any difficulties they encounter.

By integrating these manual testing techniques into your website accessibility check process, you can ensure a more inclusive digital environment that meets the needs of all users. This combination of automated and manual reviews forms a robust strategy for achieving comprehensive web accessibility in 2024.

Mobile Accessibility Considerations

With the rise of smartphones and tablets, it’s more important than ever to make sure that mobile versions of websites are accessible. Mobile devices have become the main way people access the internet, so it’s crucial that all users, including those with disabilities, can easily access web content.

Importance of Mobile Accessibility

Mobile accessibility is essential because:

• Increased Mobile Usage: A significant portion of web traffic now comes from mobile devices. An inaccessible mobile site can alienate a large user base.
• Diverse User Needs: Users with disabilities may rely on mobile devices for their unique accessibility features.
• Legal and Ethical Obligations: Ensuring that your site meets accessibility standards on mobile platforms helps avoid legal repercussions and promotes inclusivity.

Tools and Techniques for Testing Mobile Accessibility

Testing mobile accessibility involves a combination of automated tools and manual techniques to ensure comprehensive coverage.

• Built-in Screen Readers
• Accessibility Overlays
• Responsive Design Testing
• Manual Testing Techniques

Built-in Screen Readers

Built-in screen readers are invaluable tools for testing mobile accessibility:

• TalkBack (Android): This tool reads aloud the content on the screen, allowing testers to experience how accessible their website is for visually impaired users on Android devices.
• VoiceOver (iOS): Similar to TalkBack, VoiceOver provides auditory feedback for navigating iOS devices, ensuring that all elements of a website are accessible without visual assistance.

Accessibility Overlays

Accessibility overlays can be used to provide real-time feedback on potential issues:

• UserWay: This overlay offers customizable options like font size adjustments and color contrast changes, beneficial for testing various aspects of accessibility directly on mobile sites.
• accessiBe: With AI-driven solutions, accessiBe helps automate the identification and remediation of accessibility issues in real-time.

Responsive Design Testing

Ensuring that your website’s design adapts seamlessly across various screen sizes is critical:

• Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check if your site is optimized for mobile devices.
• Employ BrowserStack or similar services to simulate how your website performs across different devices and operating systems.

Manual Testing Techniques

Manual testing remains indispensable for identifying nuanced issues:

• Keyboard Navigation: Ensure that all interactive elements can be accessed and operated using a keyboard alone.
• Color Contrast Checks: Verify that text is readable against background colors under different lighting conditions.
• Alt Text Evaluation: Confirm that images have descriptive alt text, which is crucial for users relying on screen readers.

Conclusion

Ensuring web content access for all users is not just a task to check off but a vital part of fostering equal opportunities online. By checking the accessibility of the website for your regular website maintenance, you contribute to a more inclusive digital landscape.

By prioritizing digital inclusivity, you create an environment where every visitor can seamlessly navigate and interact with your content, regardless of their abilities. This commitment not only aligns with legal standards but also reflects a broader dedication to equity and user-centered design.