Evaluating Pages for Accessibility

Ideally a Web page creator should ask these questions before, during, and after the development process. First think about some issues that people with disabilities might encounter when using your material, and secondly, go through a systematic procedure to test your documents for accessibility.

Some real world issues:

Can a person with a cognitive disability understand the material presented? Are there visual cues and easy to understand language if the reader has a learning disability?

What if a person has a physical disability? Some visitors may be using voice recognition software or they may be using a mouthstick to type on the keyboard. Can the site be navigated without a mouse? Is it easy to get around even if the person does not have excellent fine motor coordination? Does the site timeout after a certain amount of time? What if the user cannot type or read very quickly?

Are there audio portions of the website? Some visitors may be listening in a noisy environment, or they may have a learning disability which affects their auditory processing. If someone is deaf or hard of hearing will they have access to the same material?

A person who is blind will access web sites with screen reader software which reads the material out loud to them. Or they may read the pages online using a Braille display. Are graphical images which convey information accessible? Can a visitor who is blind navigate through the pages without difficulty?

Remember that some people are colorblind. Are essential graphics understandable even if someone cannot differentiate colors?

A number of people have low vision or they may have not been wearing their reading glasses. Do the colors provide enough contrast? Are all of the graphics and text still understandable even if screen magnification software is used?

Some people have seizures if they view flashing or strobing images. Can flashing objects be turned off?

A procedure:

In order to check for accessibility for people with a variety disabilities, and to meet CR guidelines, here is a procedure we have been using in the High Tech Center at the Eureka campus. Please realize that this is the work in progress.

1. go through the Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) checklists

2. use HiSoftware's® Cynthia Says, or The Wave to check for errors -- remember we need to meet Priority Level I at least

3. test with the keyboard -- is the entire page accessible without the use of a mouse?

4. use the JAWS screen reader-- does the page make sense when read outloud? Do the links make sense when read out of context? Are data tables marked up correctly for screen readers?

5. test graphics with ZoomText screen enlarger software for low vision--are text graphics still readable?

6. if applicable, test graphics for colorblindness with vischeck.com

7. look for other potential accessibility issues such as multimedia without closed captions or transcripts, links to PDF documents, any changes in language (e.g. Spanish and French), timed automatic page changes, blinking or scrolling text, etc.

And if you are really tech savvy, it's a good idea to test the HTML code itself for compliance.  Valid HTML is usually more accessible code. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides a free online HTML Validator Service. Or if you are using Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, select File > Check Page > Validate Markup (or Check Accessibility).

If you don't have time to complete all seven steps above, try these...
Simple Questions for Checking for Accessibility Issues:

1) Mouse test: When Internet Explorer is running, let the mouse cursor hover over all content images. Do little text boxes pop up with understandable alternate text?

2) Keyboard test: Are all links accessible without using a mouse? Can someone using only a keyboard access all form buttons, checkboxes, links, etc.? Is there a way for keyboard only users to skip over navigational links to the main content of the page?

3) Sound test: Can someone get the same information if the speakers are turned off?

4) Visual test: Are colors essential or can a person who is colorblind access the information? Is there enough contrast in the color scheme? Are fonts easy to read? Will images/graphics look okay if magnified or enlarged?

5) Links test: Are the hyperlinks labeled intelligently (no "click here" links)? Are links large enough for a person with poor motor coordination skills? Are links provided for other necessary software (Microsoft Word viewer, Adobe Reader, etc.)? Are links provided for accessible alternatives to embedded Adobe PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, etc.?

Links to other sites regarding testing web pages for accessibility:

Note: WebXact and Bobby are no longer available for free