Ensuring your website is accessible to people with disabilities is crucial to reaching a wider audience and complying with legal and ethical standards. Disabilities can range from visual, hearing, physical, to cognitive, and web accessibility makes it possible for everyone to use your website. In this blog, we’ll discuss the importance of web accessibility and provide practical tips for checking your website for accessibility issues. We’ll also cover common web accessibility standards and guidelines, such as WCAG 2.1, and explain how you can use automated tools and manual testing to identify and fix accessibility issues on your website.
Whether you’re a website owner, developer, or digital marketer, this blog will provide you with actionable steps to make your website accessible to everyone. Join us as we dive into the basics of web accessibility and learn how to check your website for web accessibility.
5 Website Accessibility Checkers Tool
- WAVE: Website Accessibility Evaluation Tool –
WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) is a free online tool designed to help website owners identify accessibility issues and enhance their website’s user-friendliness for all visitors. It analyzes the HTML and CSS code of a website and offers detailed feedback on possible issues that may impact users with disabilities, such as missing alt text, low contrast, or improper use of heading tags. WAVE provides three options for testing a website: the toolbar browser extension, the web-based accessibility evaluation tool, and the stand-alone API for developers. With its simple interface and clear explanations of issues, WAVE is an excellent tool for both beginners and experts. It also offers a comprehensive report on accessibility issues, which enables website owners to prioritize and resolve problems that may impede some users from accessing their website. By leveraging WAVE, website owners can improve their website’s accessibility and ensure that it is accessible to all visitors, regardless of their abilities.
- SortSite –
SortSite is a website accessibility checker that offers a comprehensive report of accessibility issues on your website. It provides both manual and automated testing options, which enable you to identify and fix accessibility problems promptly and efficiently. You can use SortSite to check your website’s compliance with various accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The tool generates detailed reports that come with clear explanations of any issues it finds, making it easy for you to understand and resolve them. Moreover, SortSite also offers guidance on best practices for web accessibility to ensure that your website is inclusive and accessible to all users. Additionally, SortSite provides different pricing plans, including a free trial option, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes and budgets. In conclusion, SortSite is an excellent tool for anyone looking to enhance the accessibility of their website.
- aXe: The Accessibility Engine –
aXe: The Accessibility Engine is a widely used accessibility checker that helps identify and resolve accessibility issues on websites. It is available as a browser extension and can be integrated into development workflows. aXe analyzes web pages against Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and 2.1 and the ARIA Authoring Practices guidelines. It generates detailed reports on accessibility issues with clear explanations and recommendations on how to fix them. The tool also includes a developer console that allows testing and debugging code in real-time. aXe is supported by popular frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.js, making it easy for web developers to use. With aXe, website owners and developers can ensure that their website is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
- Pa11y –
Pa11y is an accessibility testing tool that ensures websites are accessible to people with disabilities. This open-source command-line tool can be integrated into the development process and run automatically on a scheduled basis. Pa11y checks for various accessibility issues such as missing alternative text for images, missing labels for form inputs, and color contrast issues. The tool generates reports with details about any accessibility issues it finds, along with suggestions on how to fix them. It supports various standards, including WCAG 2.1, Section 508, and the ARIA specification. Pa11y is compatible with any website, including those built with popular content management systems like WordPress and Drupal. By using Pa11y, developers can catch accessibility issues early in the development process, making it easier and more cost-effective to fix them. It is a valuable tool for any development team committed to building inclusive and accessible websites.
- tota11y –
tota11y is an open-source accessibility checker that enables developers and designers to improve their website’s accessibility. It offers a visual representation of accessibility issues on a webpage by highlighting them in different colors and giving suggestions on how to fix them. tota11y covers a wide range of accessibility criteria, including color contrast, font sizes, and keyboard navigation. It also supports different languages, making it easy to check accessibility on non-English websites.
One of tota11y’s unique features is its ability to be embedded directly into a website, making it easy to integrate into a developer’s workflow. By adding a simple script tag, tota11y appears as a toolbar at the bottom of the webpage, providing immediate feedback on accessibility issues.
tota11y is also customizable, enabling developers to create their own accessibility rules and change the tool’s appearance to suit their requirements. With its user-friendly interface and powerful functionality, tota11y is an essential tool for anyone looking to enhance their website’s accessibility.
