Library: Accessibility Resources: Testing Accessibility

Testing Accessibility

WAVE Tool by Webaim
WAVE is a web accessibility evaluation tool.
NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)
Free screen reading software can be used to test resources.
Canvas Accessibility Checker
Instructions on how to use the accessibility checker in Canvas.
Grackle Docs
Accessibility checker for Google Docs. Add-on to Chrome browser.
Toptal - Colorblind Web Page Filter
Use the colorblind filter to test web pages for color blind anomalies.
WebAIM Resources
A list of helpful resources for evaluating accessibility.
Vischeck
Vischeck simulates color blind vision.
Adobe Acrobat Pro - Accessibility Checker
Create and verify PDF accessibility in Acrobat Pro.
Read Out Loud for Acrobat Reader
Read Out Loud is a Text-to-Speech (TTS) tool that is built into Adobe Reader.
Link Contrast Checker
Check the contrast of your links.
Accessibility Bookmarklets
"These bookmarklets help web developers and designers see the "big picture" regarding web accessibility."
The Screen Curtain Bookmarklet
The Screen Curtain Bookmarklet allows engineers, testers, educators, and students to temporarily obscure web technologies while using screen readers in order to simulate the experience of using such technologies without sight.

Don't use color as the only way to communicate information, always make sure meaning is conveyed in multiple ways.
This is true for the main text of your document, links in blocks, and images of text.
In the case of links, use another identifier such as bold or underline to indicate a link versus using color alone.
Run your site and documents through color contrast checkers to make sure the contrast ratio is good.
To meet basic guidelines (Level AA) text must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 (or 3:1 for large text).

Check to see if the colors you've picked for your tabs and background are accessible.
Use these color contrast evaluation tools.
WCAG Contrast Checker is a Firefox browser plug-in.
This plug-in checks the compliance of contrast levels of foreground and background color combinations based on the requirements of WCAG 2.1.
Color Contrast Analyzer is a Chrome browser plug-in.
This extension allows you to analyze text color contrast problems on a webpage according to the WCAG 2 text color contrast requirements. It evaluates the page as it appears in the browser, so it is able to handle text over gradients and advanced CSS attributes. You can choose to analyze a portion of a web page, the entire visible contents of a tab, or an entire web page.

Choosing accessible colors for your documents and site is important.
Colors affect the readability of your document and site for all users, not just those with vision impairments.
The only people for whom the color choices don’t matter are those using screen readers.

WebAIM Color Contrast Checker
Check your text with this tool to see if it can be read based on the text and background color, ensuring your site meets and exceeds accessibility guidelines.