Enhance Website Accessibility with These 10 Essential Testing Tools

Do you know how and why website accessibility is essential for establishing your business success? 

Website accessibility is critical for creating an inclusive online experience. It ensures that websites and content are designed and developed to allow everyone, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, to perceive, navigate, and interact with the web.

However, to ensure that your website meets accessibility standards, thorough testing is crucial. Therefore, in this article, we will be talking about 10 essential testing tools that can help enhance your website accessibility to ensure a stunning user experience. 

These tools will also help you identify and fix accessibility issues on your site.

But before that, let us get some crucial insights about website accessibility, its significance and key principles. 

Let’s begin!

Why is Web Accessibility Important?

Website accessibility is crucial for fostering inclusivity, providing equal opportunities, and upholding ethical standards in the digital realm. It is a fundamental principle that ensures equal access and usability for individuals of all abilities.

Therefore it is crucial to connect with an expert web design agency in Melbourne if you want to test and enhance accessibility and bring value to your website. Let us now delve into the importance of website accessibility and its positive impact on both users and businesses:

Inclusivity

The primary importance of website accessibility lies in fostering inclusivity. It ensures that individuals with diverse abilities and disabilities can access and interact with digital content, services, and information on an equal footing.

Legal Compliance

In most countries, some laws and regulations need websites to be accessible to people with disabilities. Non-compliance can result in legal issues and financial penalties. Prioritising website accessibility lets you avoid these legal complications.

Business Benefits

An accessible website expands your potential customer base by making your products or services available to a broader audience. It also enhances user experience and increases customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, an accessible website is search engine optimisation (SEO) friendly and can boost your website’s visibility and rankings.

10 Best Web Accessibility Testing Tools

Many countries have developed standards and guidelines that a website developer is expected to follow to make their website accessible to those disabled who rely on the web for various purposes like education, information, finances and more. 

Website Accessibility is Crucial! With over 2 billion disabled people worldwide, ensuring that your website is accessible to all users is not just a legal requirement but also an ethical and responsible practice.

However, to ensure that your website meets the website accessibility scenario, it must undergo some tests. Hence, let us now check out the 10 most trusted testing and evaluation tools to enhance your website accessibility. 

1. WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool)

WAVE is a robust browser extension tool that allows you to evaluate your website content for accessibility issues directly from your browser. It ensures the accessibility of your website by providing visual feedback about web content accessibility  using methods like injecting icons and indicators to your page. 

The WAVE tool can easily integrate with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, letting you get your website accessibility checked within a few minutes. 

All you need to do is enter your web page address into the given field, and it will evaluate the potential issues related to colour topography, text size, web contrast errors, confusing elements, undefined elements, etc.

WAVE is an effective website accessibility testing tool providing a user-friendly and intuitive interface, making it accessible to many users, including developers, designers, and content creators. The tool’s simplicity ensures that even those with varying levels of expertise in accessibility can use it effectively.

2. DYNO Mapper

Dynomapper is a highly curated and automated web accessibility testing tool. It checks for compliance with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1, the globally recognised standard for web accessibility. This saves you time and effort by quickly identifying potential accessibility barriers.

Dynomapper has a user-friendly interface that makes it easier for technical and non-technical users to navigate and use the tool. It generates detailed reports that highlight the accessibility issues found on your website, using which you can overview the accessibility barriers, including the specific WCAG guidelines that are not met.

Along with this, Dynomapper offers continuous accessibility monitoring, allowing you to track the accessibility of your website over time.

3. Funkify

Funkify stands out from other accessibility tools by simulating real user experiences. It allows developers to understand how people with different abilities interact with their websites. 

By providing various disability profiles such as visual, motor, and cognitive impairments, Funkify helps developers identify and address accessibility issues that may not be immediately apparent. This realistic approach to accessibility testing ensures that websites are accessible to all users.

Funkify offers a user-friendly interface to streamline your testing process. From checking colour contrast and keyboard navigation to testing screen reader compatibility and form validation, Funkify provides developers with the tools they need to make their website accessible to every user.

4. Tricentis Testim

Another top-tier tool that stands out in the market is Tricentis Testim. Its AI-powered engine can scan a website, identify accessibility issues, and provide detailed reports on areas that need improvement. This saves your efforts in manual testing, making it an efficient solution for web developers and testers.

Tricentis Testim seamlessly integrates with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, enabling developers to incorporate accessibility testing into their development workflow.

This is one of the best accessibility testing automation tools that facilitates real-time collaboration among team members, allowing them to work together on improving website accessibility. With the ability to share and discuss test results, developers and testers can easily communicate and resolve issues promptly.

5. Remediate

One of the best tools available for website accessibility testing is Remediate. We say this because of the comprehensive features of this evaluation tool that maps website accessibilities on various parameters. 

Remediate offers automated testing of websites to identify accessibility issues. It covers a wide range of accessibility guidelines, including WCAG 2.1, Section 508, and ADA compliance. The tool quickly identifies common issues such as missing alternative text, incorrect heading structure, and lack of keyboard navigation.

After scanning a website, Remediate generates detailed reports that highlight accessibility violations. The reports indicate the specific elements that need attention, making it easier for developers to prioritise and fix the issues.

Remediate integrates with popular development tools and workflows, including GitHub and Jira. This integration allows developers to incorporate accessibility testing into their existing development processes, prioritising accessibility.

6. AccessScan

AcessScan is a comprehensive website accessibility tool designed to help businesses and website owners identify and resolve accessibility issues on their websites. It uses advanced algorithms and AI technology to scan web pages and provide detailed reports on accessibility violations, making it easier for developers and designers to rectify these issues.

This versatile tool can seamlessly integrate with various website development platforms, including WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. It can also be used with any programming language, making it a versatile tool for website accessibility testing.

AccessScan can also provide detailed reports outlining the accessibility violations found on your website. These reports provide specific recommendations for fixing each issue, making it easier for developers and designers to address accessibility concerns effectively.

7. NVDA

NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) is a free and open-source screen reader that enables individuals with visual impairments to easily access and interact with digital content. Developed by NV Access, it is compatible with Windows operating systems and supports popular web browsers like Chrome and Firefox.

NVDA excels in testing websites that utilise ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) and HTML5 technologies. It accurately interprets and announces ARIA roles, states, and properties, ensuring that users with disabilities can interact with complex web elements like menus, sliders, and modals.

One of the key advantages of NVDA is its extensive customisation options. Users can personalise the screen reader’s behaviour, voice, and Braille settings to suit their individual needs. This flexibility allows developers to simulate user experiences and test various accessibility scenarios.

8. LERA

LERA, “Leading Edge Responsive Accessibility,” is a powerful website accessibility tool that allows developers and designers to test and ensure their websites meet accessibility standards. One of the key features that sets LERA apart is its ability to scan entire websites for accessibility issues and ensure that every page and element is accessible.

LERA is a valuable Chrome Extension accessibility testing tool for developers, business owners, and content creators who want to ensure their websites are accessible to all. In addition to its scanning and testing capabilities, LERA also offers a range of accessibility guidelines and best practices.

Another standout feature of LERA is its responsiveness testing capabilities. It allows users to test their websites across various devices and screen sizes, ensuring that the website remains accessible and user-friendly regardless of the device used.

9. Axe Accessibility Tool

Axe (Accessibility Engine) is a popular and widely used open-source accessibility testing tool developed by Deque Systems.

It provides browser extensions for web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge, allowing developers to perform on-the-fly accessibility testing directly within their browsers.

It also supports a command line interface (CLI) that allows users to integrate accessibility testing into their build processes or workflows. This is particularly useful for automated testing scenarios.

Axe promotes an empathy-driven approach by providing insights into how users with disabilities may experience a website. This helps developers and designers create more inclusive digital experiences.

10. Google Lighthouse

Google Lighthouse is another open-source tool developed by Google that helps website developers and designers improve the quality and performance of their websites. It performs automated audits on a website, scanning its pages for potential accessibility issues.

Google Lighthouse is a robust and free web accessibility testing tool that simulates different user scenarios, such as users with varying types of disabilities and using other assistive technologies. This allows developers to understand how their websites perform in various accessibility scenarios and make necessary adjustments to improve accessibility.

This tool attracts developers because it can seamlessly be integrated with Chrome DevTools, making it easily accessible. With a few clicks, developers can run Lighthouse audits and obtain accessibility reports directly within their Chrome browser. This integration streamlines the accessibility testing process, saving developers time and effort.

Conclusion

Incorporating accessibility testing into your development workflow is essential for creating a web environment that is inclusive and user-friendly for everyone. 

Using the above mentioned tools can ensure that your website is reachable and accessible to all users, regardless of their disabilities. Enhancing website accessibility helps you comply with legal requirements and improves the overall user experience.Therefore, test your website today on any of these web accessibility testing tools and get a real-time report within no time. If your website doesn’t comply with the web accessibility parameters, we recommend contacting an experienced web design agency in Melbourne to get professional assistance and expert consultation to make it more accessible and reachable.