Testing for accessibility might be challenging. Before moving to Accessibility testing, it’s important to understand what is accessibility and why is it a concern.
Accessibility should be ensured in web to make the world of web accessible or useful to people with disabilities. In other words, web accessibility is designing products and services of the web for the easy access of people with disabilities.
Web accessibility make sure that our web site is easily accessible to all disregard of any disabilities they have. Be it permanent or temporary. Disabilities include blindness, deaf, handicapped, or any disorders in the body. People with disabilities make use of assistive technologies to help them access the web. So when designing and building a web product, we must make sure t is readable by the assistive technology they are using.
Assistive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities or elderly population while also including the process used in selecting, locating, and using themwikipedia
Wikipedia defines Assistive technology as “Assistive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities or elderly population while also including the process used in selecting, locating, and using them.”
Some people cannot use a mouse, including many older users with limited fine motor control. An accessible website does not rely on the mouse; it makes all functionality available from a keyboard.
Assistive technologies are software or equipment that people with disabilities use to improve interaction with the web. For example, screen readers that read aloud web pages for people who cannot read text, screen magnifiers for people with some types of low vision, and voice recognition software and selection switches for people who cannot use a keyboard or mouse.
Web accessibility also benefits people without disabilities, for example:
- people using mobile phones, smart watches, smart TVs, and other devices with small screens, different input modes, etc.
- older people with changing abilities due to ageing
- people with “temporary disabilities” such as a broken arm or lost glasses
- people with “situational limitations” such as in bright sunlight or in an environment where they cannot listen to audio
- people using a slow Internet connection, or who have limited or expensive bandwidth
Stories of Web users:https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/user-stories/
Diverse abilities are Barriers:https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/
Tools and Techniques:https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/tools-techniques/
Old users and accessibility:https://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/
|Type of Disability||Disability Description|
|Vision Disability||Complete Blindness or Color Blindness or Poor VisionVisual problems like visual strobe and flashing effect problems|
|Physical Disability||Not able to use the mouse or keyboard with one hand.Poor motor skills like hand movements and muscle slowness|
|Cognitive disability||Learning Difficulties or Poor Memory or not able to understand more complex scenarios|
|Literacy Disability||Reading Problems|
|Hearing Disability||Auditory problems like deafness and hearing impairmentsCannot able to hear or not able to hear clearly|
Accessibility Testing Tools:
- Accessibility Developer Tools