The 5 Best Accessibility Testing Tools That Will Instantly Make Your Web App ADA Compliant

Introduction

Accessibility means that your web application is accessible to any user, including people with disabilities, and guaranteeing that can be a legal requirement as well as an important aspect of having a smooth user experience. Ensuring applications are accessible is a central tenet of the principles of inclusion and legality for businesses, particularly for a web application development company. Thankfully, there are hundreds of accessibility testing tools that can make this process much easier. 

Why Accessibility Testing Tools Are Important?

Accessibility testing tools are specialized software that can identify and address issues on websites and web applications that affect the access of people with disabilities. These tools judge the accessibility of web content against standards of accessibility such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Such factors include color contrast, keyboard navigability, and compatibility with screen reader applications. Though, interestingly enough, all these tools assure that your web application gives all the users a perfectly inclusive digital experience.

Read more: 7 Ways In Which Web Application Development Is Changing

Top 5 Accessibility Testing Tools for Instant ADA Compliance

1. BrowserStack Accessibility Tool

More than 3,000 real devices and browsers against which your application can be tested promise access to your application across different platforms and environments.

• Live Debugging: The immediate feedback related to the accessibility issue has your problems fixed right away.
• Ad Hoc Tools: Color contrast analyzers, tab stops and landmarks are some of what falls under the umbrella for ad hoc tools used for user checks.
• Integration with DevTools: Integrates well with development tools to test in real-time right within the browser

How BrowserStack Ensures ADA Compliance

BrowserStack examines extreme accessibility issues, from color contrast to keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility. It indicates areas that do not meet WCAG standards but also provides actionable recommendations on how to make the necessary changes. Real devices will make the developers realize and overcome device-specific accessibility problems that could lead to a higher degree of ADA compliance.

2. Microsoft Accessibility Insights

FastPass vs. Detailed Assessment:

FastPass Use Case: This is ideal for initial testing or quick checks right before launch. It speeds up the identification of the most recurring accessibility issues to enable developers to remedy the issues as early as possible.

Assessment: Much more comprehensive, taking developers step by step through an entire accessibility check. These include keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and any other WCAG criteria, thereby ensuring that a far more effective evaluation takes place.

Integration with Development Tools

One of the largest advantages of Accessibility Insights is the ease of integration with development environments. This tool can be embedded in the development tools offered by Microsoft to carry out accessibility checks throughout the development cycle. This also aids in the maintenance of accessibility from the very onset of the development.

3. EqualWeb

EqualWeb offers some of the following features designed to ensure WCAG and ADA compliance:

AI-Powered Remediation: Automatic detection and remediation of many common issues, such as missing alt text and form label errors.

While the AI-based approach for detecting and remedying most accessibility issues is something offered by EqualWeb, another added benefit comes in that of manual testing by real professionals to ensure complex issues are fully addressed. This combination of AI and human expertise brings about equal power in achieving the best standards of accessibility.

Accessibility Widget: The addition of user personalization options, for example, text size and color scheme, in addition to an enabling text-to-speech feature.

The accessibility widget can personalize the browsing experience of the user and differentiate it; it not only increases user satisfaction but also shows commitment to a digitally inclusive environment. This widget is a very easy device to integrate into a website, making it very easy for any web application development company to add it.

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4. WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) by WebAIM

WAVE is the tool developed by Web AIM that focuses on visual feedback to find out accessibility problems:

Visual Feedback: 

• It comments on web pages with visual marks for pointing out accessibility problems.
• WAVE injects visual markers directly on the web page to point out where accessibility issues exist. 

Detailed Descriptions:

• It includes descriptions along with hyperlinks to the corresponding WCAG guidelines. 
• Detailed descriptions help developers understand the root causes and provide suggestions for remediation. The use of visuals can be more suitable for the user who desires immediate, actionable insight into issues.

5. Google Accessibility Developer Tools

Google Accessibility Developer Tools include a collection of features available natively within Chrome:

• Accessibility Audit: Automated scans for common accessibility issues.
• ARIA Implementation Checks: Explain the usage of ARIA roles
• Real-time Inspection: The tool permits inspection of elements in real-time

Real-time Inspection with Focus Management

The real-time inspection feature, the tool is capable of navigating through web pages while highlighting potential accessibility issues in real time. The tool can assess keyboard navigation and focus management: the capability to navigate interactive elements using keyboard controls is an important feature for people with motor impairment.

Integration with Chrome DevTools

Google Accessibility Developer Tools integrate well with Chrome DevTools, providing the comfort of the interface that developers are familiar with. It makes possible efficient debugging and optimization and allows incorporating checks of accessibility into the existing workflow.

Read more: 10 Steps for Custom Web Application Development

Conclusion

Accessibility testing tools can only be effective and successful if they are chosen aptly for maintaining ADA compliance. These tools also provide valuable insights into issues about accessibility, which helps to solve the problems accordingly. Whether you test your application in-house or outsource it to a web application development company, you use all these tools to ensure that everyone can get access to your web application, including people with disabilities. 

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