Mon 25 Aug 2008
10 Cool Web Accessibility Tools - How To Check Your Website
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Here’s some quick ways to test how accessible your website is for people with ‘disabilities’.
We’re currently re-evaluating all the sites with our name on it including this one - perhaps you might want to test your site?
- Validate Your HTML to W3C recommendations - Hobo Web
- Validate Your CSS to W3C levels - Hobo Web
- ATRC - Find out if your page is WCAG 2.0 Level2 ‘compliant’ - this is the grade (or level of compliance) that the UK Government now recommend - Hobo Web
- WAVE - Test your website compatibility issues with WCAG 1.0 and section 508 - Hobo Web
- TAW - Checks website pages for conflicts with WCAG 1.0.
- CynthiaSays - I use this and it’s my favourite, but to be honest, I think the reports, though extremely detailed are difficult for the novice web designer
- HERA - Highlights WCAG 1.0 compatibility issues
- CSS Analyser - Color contrast test to make sure your sites CSS color scheme meets WCAG 1.0 requirements
- Readability Check - Analyzes the language on your website to Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid!
- Check how your site looks on multiple browsers at Browsershots.org
Recently the UK Government issued a consultation document on Delivering Inclusive Websites to ‘improve’ commissioning a new website.
- Delivering inclusive websites (PDF) [PDF, 210KB]
- PAS 78 (BSI publicly available specification)
- Download Free PAS78:
( 354KB 51 sec @56K ) 
( 231KB 33 sec @56K ) 
( 821KB 2 mins:)
- Download Free PAS78:
Of course, the best way to get the accessibility of your site evaluated is by getting a focus group organised to test the accessibility and usability of your site, but the reality is not many go to these lengths. Note too, Automatic tests like the ones listed have many limitations.
NB - No web design company can build you a website that complies with the UK DDA, so ignore the snakeoil sellers. You do have a responsibility to make your website accessible under the DDA, though. Hey, it’s complicated and often confusing so make sure you think about accessibility at the start of your web design project.
“You now have a legal obligation - following the implementation of section 21 of the Disability Discrimination Act - to make reasonable adjustments to ensure blind and partially sighted people can access your service. RNIB, 2005“
Ask your website design company if they will ensure your site is built to good standards, and make any changes if you are approached about accessibility issues with your site, because that is when you can actually be sued under breach of the UK DDA, which might not be ideal publicity for your business.
We have a sort of idiots guide to accessible web design on the site if you want to learn more - if you have any comments about this site or have difficulty accessing any information please let us know and we will have a look see what we can do to improve things.
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16 Shouts
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Good overview of basic tools. No good automated WCAG 2.0 checkers yet. Hopefully, there will be some soon.
Shout Out by London Cocktail Bar — August 25, 2008 @ 7:16 pm
Thanks for providing the worth-while information.
Shout Out by Offices Paisley — August 26, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
Feeling free to throw in UITest.com’s “Analysis” section [1] …
[1] http://uitest.com/en/analysis/
Shout Out by Jens Meiert — August 26, 2008 @ 3:27 pm
Are you aware that Deque Systems, which has the most powerful compliance tool for accessibility, has just released a free, page-at-a-time scanner at http://www.worldspace.deque.com. This tool is great - Platform and browser independent, J2EE solution.
Shout Out by Wes Dillon — August 26, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
This is by far the most informative post I’ve read in a VERY long time.
Thanks BIG TIME!!
Shout Out by James Harrison — August 27, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
[...] 10 Cool Web Accessibility Tools - How To Check Your Website | Hobo (tags: webdesign usability testing css) [...]
Cited By by links for 2008-08-27 | Company K Media — August 28, 2008 @ 2:55 am
[...] 10 Cool Web Accessibility Tools - How To Check Your Website | Hobo (tags: webdesign usability testing css) [...]
Cited By by links for 2008-08-28 | Company K Media — August 28, 2008 @ 8:24 am
Perhaps you can suggest tools to measure site uptime and response time. Some social media had become slow because of high load, and o they are slow and even sometimes not available.
Shout Out by Kristina — September 1, 2008 @ 11:25 am
Shaun, what are the usage rules for that nice logo
Shout Out by Andy Beard — September 13, 2008 @ 11:08 pm
Perhaps I should remove that then…
Shout Out by Shaun — September 13, 2008 @ 11:11 pm
No, I was looking at it as a potentially great “Trust mark” to improve conversion and opt-in rates - I didn’t know where you got it, and what I had to do to qualify.
Shout Out by Andy Beard — September 13, 2008 @ 11:13 pm
I think its just a mark to say you wouldn’t discriminate and are positive about potential employees with a disability. I don’t know if you have to meet any criteria - probably best to be safe than sorry…. I’ll find out.
Shout Out by Shaun — September 13, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
Actually you need to qualify - - so removed.
Might be something worth looking into though.
Shout Out by Shaun — September 13, 2008 @ 11:25 pm
If you have clients who qualify, get them to try that near opt-in forms.
That is the kind of thing to get conversions from a healthy segment of the population, though the logo itself isn’t disability friendly, and should be linked to a page confirming the award.
Shout Out by Andy Beard — September 13, 2008 @ 11:38 pm
It looks like the ATRC link is broken.
Shout Out by Chris Estes — October 5, 2008 @ 2:38 am
Yeah…. sometimes it is (!)
Shout Out by Shaun — October 6, 2008 @ 7:14 am