How do you test a website for ADA compliance?

If you have a website, it’s important to make sure that it is ADA compliant. But how do you test for that?

This blog post will go over the steps you need to take to make your website accessible for everyone.

We’ll also discuss some of the people’s common mistakes when designing their websites. So if you’re looking to make your website more inclusive, keep reading!

How do you test a website for ADA compliance?

Steps for making a website ADA compliant:

Check for color contrast:

One of the first steps to take when testing your website for ADA compliance is to check for color contrast. To meet ADA standards, text and background colors need to have enough difference to read people with low vision or color blindness.

This means that you should avoid using grey on blue or yellow on black since those are colors that are hard to see. If you’re not sure what good color contrasts look like, the W3C has some great resources.

According to the W3C, there are three standards for color combinations. So if you’re using any of these following combinations on your website, you comply!

Test with a screen reader:

Another great way to test if your website is ADA compliant is by trying it with a screen reader. These tools work just like they sound: they read aloud everything that appears on your screen. If you’ve ever used Siri or Google voice search, this concept should be familiar!

This can help you identify problems because some features might not be accessible through standard navigation. The text content might not always align with images and other elements on the page. You’ll want to check things like: Are all links readable?

Does your navigation make sense to someone who can’t see the page? Is anything you’re trying to communicate through images or other non-text elements readable by a screen reader?

Test with JAWS:

The third way you should test for ADA compliance is with JAWS, the most common screen access program in North America. If you’ve ever used a Mac and missed Voiceover, this is the Windows version!

This software will read everything on your monitor aloud just like a screen reader does. Using this tool, you’ll want to test all links, headings, forms, etc., using this tool because that’s how blind people are likely to interact with your website.

Test it yourself!

You should also test your website yourself, following the guidelines above. You’ll want to check out your website in both Safari and Chrome since that’s how most people view websites these days.

You should also run through all the steps listed above while you’re checking for compatibility since this is an excellent way to identify problems!

Make sure it’s mobile-friendly

We’ve talked a lot about desktop testing so far, but what about mobile? If you’re designing a new site or working with a designer on an update, it’s essential to make sure that the layout of your site is responsive so it can be viewed from any device.

Google recommends using tools like Google’s Mobile Guide, which provides specific information on optimizing content for mobile devices.

How do you do ADA testing?

Here are the 6 Simplest Web Accessibility Tests Anybody Can Perform:

Unplug your mouse and turn off your trackpad:

The quickest and easiest way to test how accessible your website is is to disable any accessibility features on your computer. If you are using a mouse, unplug it, and if you are using a trackpad, turn off the tapping function in settings.

This way, you will have to rely only on the keyboard interface designed for people with disabilities to use when navigating your website or mobile app.

Use only tab to navigate:

Many programmers nowadays utilize tab indexes when developing websites to re-arrange content on the page.

However, this creates difficulties for people who want to navigate by pressing the Enter/Return key on their keyboard since it will not be possible without this feature enabled.

Navigate through every link and button on your website with only the tab key to test how well it works.

Use only the arrow keys to navigate:

Like tab, programmers nowadays utilize their arrow keys to re-arrange content on the page. However, this creates difficulties for people who want to navigate by pressing an alternate set of keys on their keyboard since it would not be possible without this feature enabled.

Navigate through every link and button on your website with only the arrow keys (up, down, left, right) to test how well it works.

Turn off Images:

This test is very similar to the previous one, except you turn off images instead of removing features that may interfere with navigation.

Navigate through every link and button on your website without having any images appear on the page at all.

This way, you can get an idea of how helpful your website would be for people who suffer from impaired vision or even color blindness.

Turn off JavaScript:

One of the most known issues with web accessibility is that some JavaScript can block certain types of access, especially when they’re poorly programmed.

Navigate through every link and button on your website without having any JavaScript appear on the page at all.

This will give you a good idea about how usable your site is for people who do not have JavaScript enabled.

Turn off CSS:

Similar to JavaScript, CSS can cause many issues with website accessibility because it’s possible for specific styles to get in the way of others when poorly written, mainly if they are used in the same element.

Navigate through every link and button on your site without having any forms of CSS appear on the page at all.

This will give you an idea about just how functional your website/ mobile app is for people who do not have CSS enabled or even blocked.

Now that you’ve tested your site for these 6 things, you should be able to tell whether or not it will function well for people with disabilities so long as it is appropriately coded (which is something else entirely).

If this was easy for you, congratulations! You’re already doing better than most websites.

However, if it was difficult at all and many things blocked your access to the content on the site (not necessarily in a negative way).

Be sure to re-visit your website and make some changes before launching it to avoid problems with web accessibility compliance after launch.

Conclusion:

Testing your website for ADA compliance can seem daunting, but a few methods can simplify it.

In this article, we have discussed some of the most common ways to test for ADA compliance and some of the most common issues that can occur.

If you are unsure about how to proceed or need help to fix any potential issues, our team is here to assist you.

Working on a website can be difficult. Adding new media and updating pages is chore, even though you know your company website needs to evolve and become more accessible to the many users you are trying to reach. Maybe when you first built it, accessibility wasn’t even really discussed. But now you’ve taken a step back, looked at your customer base with a desire to include everyone and you’ve realized just how important it is to make your site accessible. However, the thought of building a robust site that can do all the things you want it to do is overwhelming.

What is Web Accessibility

A practice of designing and coding the website in order to provide complete compatibility in accessing it by people with disabilities. In addition, it is a way to improve search engine optimization only an ADA Compliant Web Designer will help you to make your website Compliant. Is your website compatible? By going through the checklist below, you can get the answer.

Assessing Current Web Pages and Content

The website must include a feature like a navigation link at the top of the page. These links have a bypass mechanism such as a “skip navigation” link. This feature directs screen readers to bypass the row of navigation links and start at the web page content. It is beneficial for people who use screen readers to avoid to listen to all the links each time they jump to a new page.
All the links should be understandable when taken out of the context. For example, images without alternative text and links without worded as “click here”.
All the graphics, maps, images, and other non-text content must provide text alternatives through the alt attribute, a hidden/visible long description.
All the documents posted on the website should available in HTML or another accessible text-based format. It is also applicable to other formats like Portable Document Format (PDF).
The online forms on the website should be structured so assistive technology can identify, describe and operate the controls and inputs. By doing this, people with disabilities can review and submit the forms.
If the website has online forms, the drop-down list should describe the information instead of displaying a response option. For instance, “Your Age” instead of “18-25”.
If the website has data charts and tables, they should be structured so that all data cells are associated with column and row identifiers.
All the video files on the website must have audio descriptions (if necessary). This is for the convenience of blind people or for having a visual impairment disability.
All the video files on the website must have synchronized captions. People with hearing problems or deaf can access these files conveniently.
All the audio files on the website should have synchronized captions to provide access to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
All web pages should be designed so that they can be viewed using visitors’ web browser and operating system settings for color and font.

About Website Accessibility Policy and Procedures

One must have a written policy on website accessibility.
The website accessibility policy must be posted on the website at a location where it can be easily found.
The procedure should be developed to ensure that content is not added to the website until it has been made accessible.
It should be confirmed that the website manager has checked the code and structure of all new web pages before they are posted.
While adding the PDFs to the website, these should be accessible. Also, the text-based versions of the documents should be accessible at the same time as PDF versions.
Make sure that the in-house and contractor staff has received the information about the website accessibility policy and procedure to confirm the website accessibility.
It should be confirmed that in-house and contractor staff has received appropriate training on how to ensure the accessibility of the website.
The website should have a specific written plan if it contains inaccessible content. Also, it should include timeframes in place to make all of the existing web content accessible.
A complete plan to improve website accessibility should be posted along with invited suggestions for improvement.
The homepage should include easily locatable information that includes contact details like telephone number and email address. This is useful for reporting website accessibility problems and requesting accessibility services with information.
A website should have procedures in place to assure a quick response to the visitors with disabilities who have difficulty in accessing information or services available on the website.
Feedback from people who use a variety of assistive technologies is helpful in ensuring website accessibility. So make sure to ask disability groups representing people to provide feedback on the accessibility of your website.
Testing the website using a product available on the internet is helpful, These tools are of free cost and check the accessibility of a website. They may not identify all accessibility issues and flag issues that are not accessibility problems. However, these are, nonetheless, a helpful way to improve website accessibility.

Checklist of Action Items for Improving the Accessibility of a Website

In addition, while considering the above suggestions, the following checklist initially prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Federal Agencies provides further guidelines on ways to make websites more accessible for persons with disabilities.

This practical advice, as well as another checklist, are available at:

Satisfying all of these items does not necessarily mean that a website complies with ADA, but it will improve the website’s accessibility and decrease the risk of litigation. Again, an Expert or Web Accessibility Consulting & Services provider should be engaged to conduct a comprehensive review of your website.

Nothing brings you closer to reality than actually facing it. This is the premise of my latest attempt to spread awareness about Web Accessibility.

For better understand, here is a link in which a practical example is shown to make the websites’ user experience better by following the guidelines. Also, it tells the issues affecting various users on the internet with solutions.

You can make your website ADA compliant in an easy way by consulting the professionals, who can do this job effortlessly. Also, you can get a quick website audit from To Be ADA Compliant that offers complete web accessibility consulting & services in California, USA.

Resource: https://dev.to/chinchang/an-interactive-and-practical-introduction-to-web-accessibility-22o1