Best Tools and Practices for Accessibility Testing

Best Tools and Practices for Accessibility Testing

Navigating the web can often be challenging for individuals with disabilities. Hence, accessibility testing—a specialized branch of usability testing—must ensure everyone can fully utilize your digital presence. This imperative task extends beyond the normative reach of QA testing services, adhering to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure that auditory, cognitive, neurological, physical, speech and visual impairments do not hinder users' online experiences. By prioritizing this development aspect, your platform can provide an inclusive environment that enriches user interaction and extends your market outreach.

This blog lays the groundwork for the essential strategies and tools to improve accessibility testing proficiency. 

Understanding Accessibility Testing?

Understanding the nuances of accessibility testing is pivotal for your QA testing services to ensure that your digital offerings cater to the needs of all users, including those with disabilities. This critical process involves evaluating various aspects of web accessibility, such as:

• Compliance with Standards: Your website or application should adhere to the WCAG guidelines, which the W3C sets. These standards provide a framework for creating more accessible content.
• Diverse Testing Scenarios: Evaluate your product's accessibility by considering different disabilities, including visual, auditory, and cognitive impairments. This means checking color contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen reader compatibility to ensure a barrier-free experience.
• Manual and Automated Testing: While automated tools can scan for specific compliance issues, manual testing is essential for a comprehensive assessment. However, it can be challenging due to a potential lack of familiarity with the experiences of disabled users.
• Legal and Ethical Considerations: Beyond improving user experience, accessibility testing is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions. Failure to comply can result in legal consequences, making it not just a moral imperative but a business necessity.
• Supporting a Range of Disabilities: Your accessibility testing services must encompass support for all types of disabilities, ensuring that everyone can interact with your product effectively.

Sample Test Cases for Accessibility Testing

To conduct thorough accessibility testing, you might consider some sample test cases:

• Keyboard equivalents and logical tab order for navigational ease.
• Clear instructions and labels for better understanding.
• Audio alerts and closed captioning for multimedia content.
• Color flexibility and flashing control to accommodate visual sensitivities.

Leveraging the best accessibility testing tools, such as Wave, TAW, and aDesigner, among others, can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your testing efforts. These tools can help identify areas where your website or application may fall short in accessibility, allowing you to make the necessary adjustments to serve all users better. 

Key Benefits of Accessibility Testing

Embarking on accessibility can significantly enhance the reach and functionality of your application. By integrating accessibility features early in the development process, you mitigate the risk of costly post-launch fixes and ensure a smoother user experience. Here are the key benefits that accessibility testing offers:

• Expanding User Base: By making your application accessible, you're not only embracing inclusivity but also tapping into a broader market of users with disabilities. This strategic move can broaden your audience and potentially increase your customer base.
• Streamlining Development: Incorporating accessibility from the start of your project can save time and resources. It's far more efficient to build in accessibility than to retrofit it later, which can be a complex and expensive endeavor.
• Beyond Compliance: Adhering to regulations such as Section 255 of the Communications Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is crucial, but the goal of accessibility testing transcends mere compliance. It's about creating an equitable user experience for everyone.
• Enhanced Automation: When you design with accessibility in mind, you improve automation capabilities. Many UI automation hooks that facilitate test automation are the same ones used for accessibility features.
• Comprehensive Support: A seasoned accessibility testing service can help you address a broad definition of disability, including temporary and situational challenges, ensuring your application is accessible to all.

Best Practices for Effective Accessibility Testing

To elevate your QA testing services and ensure your digital assets are accessible to all users, it's imperative to integrate a set of best practices within your accessibility testing framework. Here are some actionable steps to enhance your accessibility testing services:

• Leverage Automated Testing Tools: Begin by employing automated testing tools to swiftly identify the most evident accessibility issues. These tools serve as an initial filter to catch basic problems that can be rectified quickly.
• Manual Testing with Assistive Technologies: Complement automated checks with manual testing using assistive technologies like screen readers. This approach ensures that your application's accessibility aligns with real-world user experiences.
• Evaluate Color Contrast: Ensure that all text on your application has sufficient color contrast to be easily readable by individuals with visual impairments. This not only aids usability but also enhances the overall aesthetic appeal.
• Keyboard Navigation Testing: Verify that every interactive element of your application is operable through keyboard navigation, catering to users who cannot use a mouse due to motor impairments.
• Validate Markup for Assistive Technologies: Regularly check that your HTML and ARIA markup is correctly implemented, providing meaningful context to assistive technologies and thereby improving the user experience.
• Diverse Disability Considerations: When testing, always consider a spectrum of disabilities, including but not limited to low vision, hearing loss, motor impairments, and cognitive impairments. This ensures a comprehensive assessment of your application's accessibility.
• Include Users with Disabilities in Testing: Involve users with disabilities in your testing process to gain insightful feedback, which is invaluable for understanding the practical impact of your accessibility measures.
• Establish an Accessibility Policy: Formulate a clear accessibility policy and statement to guide your testing priorities. This helps in systematically addressing the accessibility of your digital assets.

Top Accessibility Testing Tools

To ensure your digital assets are accessible to everyone, it's essential to equip yourself with the top testing tools of 2023. These tools are pivotal in complying with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the cornerstone of web accessibility. Here's a breakdown of the leading tools that should be part of your QA testing services:

Automated Testing Tools:

1. Testsigma: It offers a robust platform for automated accessibility testing, ensuring your application adheres to the latest standards.
2. Google Lighthouse: A well-integrated tool in Chrome DevTools, it provides automated scanning and actionable feedback.
3. aXe by Deque:  It is known for its comprehensive error identification, aXe is a powerful addition to your testing suite.

Manual and User Acceptance Testing Tools:

1. Siteimprove: It facilitates a thorough manual review process complemented by automated checks.
2. QualityLogic: It delivers detailed manual testing services on diverse disability considerations.

Hybrid Testing Tools:

1. accessiBe: It combines automated scanning with human evaluation, ensuring a nuanced approach to accessibility. It's one of the top-rated accessibility testing tools, offering a comprehensive solution for your needs.
2. UsableNET: A tool that bridges the gap between automated results and real-world usability.

Conclusion

By embracing the strategies, practices, and tools discussed, accessibility testing transcends mere compliance with legal standards—it evolves into a strategic advantage, fostering broader engagement and reinforcing an ethical commitment to inclusivity. As you aim to build and refine digital platforms, you may contact QASource and carry forward the significance of these insights. Our testing team ensures that our efforts in accessibility continue to break down barriers and create opportunities for all to engage and thrive in the increasingly digital world we share.