Web Accessibility Checks, Tests, Tools & Resources (2009)
Blurb by Shaun Anderson (Hobo) -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?
Valid HTML & Valid CSS is the first step to ensuring an accessible website.
- 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
Other Reading
If you want to procure, or design and build sites with accessibility in mind in the UK, you’ll find the following documents useful:
- PAS 78
- BS 8878
- Delivering Inclusive Websites
- PAS 124:2008Â Defining, implementing and managing website standards: A statement of best practice
- Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA 2001)
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. Keep an eye out for the new BS 8878, too.
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Good overview of basic tools. No good automated WCAG 2.0 checkers yet. Hopefully, there will be some soon.
Thanks for providing the worth-while information.
Feeling free to throw in UITest.com’s “Analysis†section [1] …
[1] http://uitest.com/en/analysis/
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 xxxxxxx. This tool is great – Platform and browser independent, J2EE solution.
This is by far the most informative post I’ve read in a VERY long time.
Thanks BIG TIME!!
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.
Shaun, what are the usage rules for that nice logo
Perhaps I should remove that then…
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.
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.
Actually you need to qualify – - so removed.
Might be something worth looking into though.
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.
It looks like the ATRC link is broken.
Yeah…. sometimes it is (!)