Accessibility Tools and Testing

By Ryan Leisinger - 3/31/2019 - comments welcome - requires Twitter

Three tier testing approach

1. Automated
2. Functional
3. Real User

Automated Testing

Automated testing to remove noise and easily detected issues.
Automated testing can be as simple as a browser plugin to test/report in a CI Cycle.
Automated testing is code on code testing, disability is a human experience.
Zero errors in automated testing does not equal an accessible experience.
Zero errors in automated testing does reduce your risk in the case that someone runs an automated tested against your site/app.

Automated test systems

Browser Plugins

WebAim
Really simple quick way to find code errors on a page
Web centric, good for content creator and quick checks

Microsoft Insights
More complex. Includes some interesting tools and suggestions for testing workflow
Has a simple FastPass Option or more in depth Assessment mode

Tenon
Slow to process, but detailed and uses a cool concept of measuring the density of errors.
Fits into their full suit of tools.

SiteImprove
I generally recommend this one if people are already using SiteImprove for its other features, as it integrates nice with their reporting and dashboards. Nothing that exciting about the standalone plugin.

Deque’s aXe
Quality tools, not easy to access. Work with Deque’s other products. Developer centric.

APIs & Code

Tenon
Robust integrations with a lot of CMS platforms, linting and CI.
This is where geek meets accessibility

WebAim API
Simple to call. Simple to understand. Build your own reports and dashboards or work with their partner Dinolytics

Deque aXe
Seriously in depth API

Functional Testing

I'll write this next