Website Accessibility Testing

Why consider accessibility

People with disabilities– Visual, Hearing, Physical, Cognitive (learning,

reading, attention deficits, etc) Elderly people Non-English speaking Old equipment Slow telecommunications Mobile devices Search engines

Components of Web Accessibility

When to consider accessibility

At all stages of a project Business requirements Technical specifications Wire frames Graphical design Templates Content preparation Maintenance

Fundamental Concept

On a web page, keep the following separate: Content

– Text + informative images

Structure– Headings, lists, paragraphs, tables, etc

Presentation– Visual style, presentational & design elements,

positioning and interactivity

Along with standards compliant coding, this separation will avoid many accessibility problems.

Concept and Design Review

Critical consideration of end-to-end process from user perspective

– use common business activities and include any critical 3rd party applications

Assess strategies that could be used – What are the options for users and for the business to achieve the

delivery goals

Check: Have people with disabilities been considered in the business

requirements? Has accessibility been considered in the technical

specification?

Checking & Testing

Requires knowledge and understanding Involves:

– Reviewing content– Reviewing code – User testing

Ref: Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility www.w3.org/WAI/eval/Overview

Accessibility Evaluation Tools

Automated tools– Cover a limited range of objective issues– Scan many pages– Generate a report

Manual tools– More thorough coverage– Single page based– Assist with subjective issues

No tool can automatically determine the accessibility of Web sites

Selecting an evaluation tool

References:

Selecting Web Accessibility Evaluation Toolswww.w3.org/WAI/eval/selectingtools.html

Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools Databasewww.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/Overview.html

Automated Tools

Only do a partial job Can usually only tell if you fail Can’t give you a pass Still require manual checking Need interpretation Have flaws or weaknesses

Still have a place for large sites, e.g. Maxamine

Automated Tools - References

Comparison of Web Accessibility Testing Toolsausweb.scu.edu.au/aw03/papers/arch/

Automated testing - How useful is it?www.gawds.org/show.php?contentid=147

The problem with automated accessibility testing toolswww.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/automated-tools.shtml

Manual Tools

Many “pseudo tools” are available by using the options included as standard within your computer

Use the keyboard not the mouse to navigate Try different browsers & versions

– Use different browser settings

Browser Setting Options

Change the font to a larger size View pages without images View pages with styles sheets and page

colours/fonts disabled View pages with an alternative, high contrast,

colour scheme Disable scripts, applets and/or plugins

Accessibility Toolbar for IE & Opera

Features: Validate Resize CSS Images Colour

Structure Tools Doc Info References IE Options Magnification

The WAVE

Features– Visual– Identifies errors, alerts & accessibility features– Shows reading order– Shows structural and semantic elements

http://wave.webaim.org/

Colour Checkers

Colour Contrast– www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=628 – www.lighthouse.org/color_contrast.htm – www.juicystudio.com/services/colourcontrast.asp

Colour testing – colour blindness– www.vischeck.com – http://colorfilter.wickline.org

Link Checkers

Link checkers: non-existent URLs– http://validator.w3.org/checklink - free – http://www.hisoftware.com/linkvalidate/index.html

- free version available– http://www.linkalarm.com/ - free trial of some

elements– http://www.cyberspyder.com/cslnkts1.html - free trial

Cannot check for incorrect addresses

Code Validators

HTML Validators – W3C:

http://validator.w3.org/

– Web Design Group: http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/

CSS Validator– http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

Site Testing by Assistive Technology Users

Complements technical accessibility testing, but does not replace it

– Purpose is to appreciate usability issues for users of assistive technology

– User testing CANNOT determine if a site or online object works with all assistive technology

User testers need to be skilled, but not expert with their technology

Ref: Involving Users in Web Accessibility Evaluationwww.w3.org/WAI/eval/users

How to test:

Understand the diversity of your audience Incorporate their needs Use some tools Engage an expert Undertake some user testing

When to test:

Test early Test often Test for WGAC Test for usability Test for readability

Thankyou

Andrew Arch

Accessible Information SolutionsVision Australia454 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong Vic 3144

03 9864 9282

Andrew.Arch@visionaustralia.org.au

www.visionaustralia.org.au/ais/