Make sure that all content is available in screen reader or text only mode. Screen Reader Testing
Make sure your page is legible in different color modes. Color Testing Details
If you use style sheets, then make sure the content is usable with style sheets turned off and in Netscape 4.7. Style Sheet Testing Details
Make sure the page zooms well by going to your browser then the View menu and selecting a Text Size option. Zoom Testing Details
You can run the site through accessibility reporting services to see if you have missed any issues. Accessibility Report Details
Solicit feedback from multiple users.
This protocol gives a list of the general types of audiences you are testing for and some methods for testing at each stage.
Install Fangs Screen Reader Emulator for Firefox. It does not read text aloud, but displays content from any Web page in screen reader format (no line breaks, headers/tables announced)
Install demo versions of different screen readers. Some demos like JAWS work for only limited stretches of time but can be re-used as needed.
Computers with screen readers are available at the Penn State Libraries and in some labs designed for users with disabilities.
Test in the Opera browser with accessibility utilities or install the CITA accessibility extensions for Firefox/Mozilla and Internet Explorer for Windows.
View the page on the Delorie Lynx Text Browser Similator. Although not the same experience as a screen, this tool will show you generally what a screen reader will see and allows you to quickly spot missing ALT and TITLE tags.
Install the Lynx Text text-only browser for testing. Downloads are available from:
Preview your Web site on a Palm Pilot or other Personal Digital Assistant.
Go to the Preferences menu in your browser (or Internet > >
Tools > > Advanced tab in Internet Explorer for Windows) and
turn off support for images, multimedia and Javascript.
Download the Opera browser which allows
you to toogle between Author Mode (with stylesheets) and User Mode (custom
or no stylesheet). Click the document/paper icon next to the Web Address to
go into User Mode. See the WebAim
Opera article for more details.
Note: On OS X, this is a camera icon located at the far right
of the address bar.
Install the CITA accessibility extensions which lets you toggle style sheets off and on.
Preview all pages on Netscape 4.7. Some screen readers require users to
use Netscape 4, so all content must be available and legible in Netscape
4.
It's especially important to test documents on Internet Explorer for Windows, since it has the most issues with zooming. To test whether the code has disabled zooming, go to View then Text Size then Largest. If the text does not appear to change size, then the the coders have specified absolute font sizes and disabled zooming.
Open Firefox, Mozilla, Opera or Netscape 6/7 and zoom to at least
1000%. To zoom in Netscape/Mozilla,
go to
View then Text Size then select Other and fill in 1000%.
To zoom in Opera,
click on the magnify drop-down menu to the right of the URL
address
bar and type or choose "1000%".
A variety of organizations and companies have developed tools to "scan" Web pages and see if they are accessible or not. The tools include LIFT, Cynthia Says and others. Although these tools can catch some errors like missing ALT or TH tags, they cannot catch all errors.
For errors that cannot be caught automatically, a list of manual checks, like those described above, are suggested. Therefore a completly Section 508 compliant site could still generate a list of items to check depending on the reporting tool - this is perfectly normal.
Below are some advantages and limits of accessibility reporting tools.
(Chart provided by the University Libraries)
| HTML Element | Reports CAN | Reports CANNOT |
|---|---|---|
| Images | Check for Missing ALT tags | Verify that ALT tags are accurate |
| Color | Suggest manual color check | Simulate Color Blindnesss modes |
| Data Tables | Identify most missing TH tags | Check that tables are coherent when read left-to-right, top-to bottom |
| Style Sheets | Suggest manual check without CSS sheets | Check stylesheets for accessibility |
| Links | Identify large blocks of links | Identify links which are vaguely worded or too close together |
| Forms | Identify missing LEGEND, LABEL and ID tags | Fix them for you automatically or ensure that they are accurate |
| Javascript | Suggest manual NOSCRIPT check | Automatically insert a NOSCRIPT alternative |
| HTML Code Validation | Nothing | HTML and XHTML validation is completely different tool or report |
Inaccessible Test Page (contains blinking elements)
LIFT is available to Penn State staff for a low fee. See the Penn State Computer Store for details.
The LIFT plug in can be customized for different standards (e.g. Section 508 + selected W.C.A.G. standards) and can be used to test pages before they are posted online.
See also WebAim Evaluation & Repair Tools List for a more detailed list.
- Service is free.
- Can be customized for Section 508 or W.C.A.G standards.
- Will detect missing ALT and TITLE tags.
- Includes warnings for manual checks or items you should review for accessibility.
| Report | Benefits | Quirks |
|---|---|---|
| LIFT |
|
|
|
CynthiaSays and AccMonitor, both developed by HiSoftware are similar, but not identical. |
|
| WAVE |
|
Very graphically oriented and uses a large set of icons. It may take a while to learn all the icons. |
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