Is My Website Accessible? Share: InternetDevels Date Published 25 September 2019 Categories Blog Reading Time 3-Minute Read Web accessibility is a must for a successful website in 2020. What Is Web Accessibility? People with disabilities surf the net too. Unfortunately, they are not able to access all the platforms because not all websites are adapted for those with impairments. If there are no barriers for people to use a site, it is called accessible. There are standards and strategies called Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) developed by the W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium) to help website owners add accessibility to their platforms and stop asking: ‘Is my website accessible?’ Check out Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Key Factors of Website Accessibility Screen reader friendly Accurate headings Informative texts for links Images with alt text (descriptions) Subtitles or transcripts for audio and videos Keyboard navigation Readable fonts Color contrasts You can learn more about web accessibility reading the guidelines at WAI site. Tools For Accessibility Testing Of Websites 1. Automated Accessibility Checking Tools There are numerous website accessibility checking tools available. Here we share a few free ones that will give you a general insight on your site’s availability to people with disabilities. WAVE All you have to do to use the Website Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) is to submit your URL. After that, you’ll get a report on accessibility errors. This platform uses visualization with colors to mark alerts, errors, features, and more. WAVE Extension is also available for Chrome and Firefox. A11Y Color Contrast Accessibility Validator A11Y Color Contrast Accessibility Validator analyses the color contrast on your platform according to the WCAG Guidelines. To get the color contrast accessibility report, you should either submit a URL or choose color pair. This platform also provides recommendations on fixing contrast issues. Accessibility Checker Accessibility Checker is a free tool that will help you check the accessibility of content created in CKEditor, as well as resolve any issues. 2. Manual Accessibility Tests With the help of manual testing, you’ll be able to find out about the issues that were not spotted by the automated accessibility checking tools. What better way than to test manually? Such things like alt text, keyboard navigation, or theming should be checked by humans. 3. Testing with a Screen Reader Using a screen reader for accessibility testing is one of the best approaches, as it will help you find accessibility errors on your platform. Activate your screen reader (if there is not one, install it first) to see what needs to be improved. Stop Asking: ‘Is My Website Accessible?’ Test Your Website for Accessibility! The website accessibility audit is special research conducted by web development experts. They check the website’s compliance with WCAG standards and see how well the platform supports the needs of people with impairments. If you are not able to check a platform yourself, you can always contact InternetDevels to test your website for accessibility.