Home
>
Web Development
>
Ten Quick Tests To Check Your Website For Accessibility

Ten Quick Tests To Check Your Website For Accessibility

The Disability Discrimination Act says that websites must be made accessible to disabled people. So how can you check that your website is up to par? There are a number of basic tests you can make to address some of the main issues that provide a good start in increasing accessibility to your site visitors:

1. Check informational images for alternative text

Place the cursor over an informational image, for example, the organisation logo. Does a yellow box appear with a brief, accurate description of the image? For users whose browsers do not support images, this alternative text is what they will see (or hear) in place of the image.

2. Check decorative images for alternative text

Place the cursor over a decorative image that does not have any function other than to look nice. Does a yellow box appear with a description of the image? It should not. There is no reason for users whose browsers do not support images to know that this image is there, as it serves no purpose.

Be careful though as this is not a foolproof test. If a yellow box does not appear, this could mean one of two things:

- The alternative text of the image is assigned a null value, which means that it will be ignored by browsers that do not support images. This is the ideal scenario.

- The alternative text of the image is simply not set at all, which means that users whose browsers do not support images will be alerted to its existence but will be unable to find out what purpose it carries ? something which is very frustrating! This is certainly not the desired outcome.

3. 'Listen' to any video or audio content with the volume turned off

If you turn your speakers off, you are clearly unable to listen to, or follow, any audio content. This situation is faced by a deaf person on a daily basis. Ensure your website supplies written transcripts, so that deaf people can understand the message that your website is conveying.

4. Check that forms are accessible

Usually there is prompt text next to each item in a form. For example, a contact form might have the prompt text 'name', 'e-mail', and 'comments', each one next to a box where your site users will enter the information. When you click on the prompt text, does a flashing cursor appear in the box next to that text? If not, your forms are inaccessible.

5. Check that text can be resized

In Internet Explorer (used by over 90% of Internet users) go to View > Font size > Largest. Does the text on your website increase in size? If not, then your website is inaccessible to web users with poor visibility.

6. Check your website in the Lynx browser

The Lynx browser is a text-only browser and does not support many of the features that other browsers such as Internet Explorer have. You can check how your site looks in this browser with the Lynx Viewer, available at http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html. If your website makes sense and can be navigated through the Lynx browser, then it will be fulfilling many of the web accessibility guidelines.

7. Check that you can access all areas of your website without the use of a mouse

Can you navigate through your website using just tab, shift-tab and return? If not, then neither can keyboard- and voice-only users.

8. Check that there is a site map

Can you find a site map? If not, then neither can people who are lost on your website.

9. Ensure link text makes sense out of context

Blind Internet users often browse websites by tabbing from one link to the next. Does all the link text on your website make sense out of context? 'Click here' and 'more' are two common examples of non-descriptive link text.

10. Check your web pages with an automated program

Two programs available for free on the Internet are Bobby ( http://bobby.watchfire.com ) and Wave ( http://www.wave.webaim.org ). They are unable to provide you with all the information that you need, as some checks must be done by humans, but they can tell you some of the areas where your site might be going wrong.

This article was written by Trenton Moss. He's crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

residential cleaning services Lincolnshire ..

In The News:

House Bill 469 would prevent AI systems from owning property, serving as executives, or gaining legal personhood in Ohio under Representative Thaddeus Claggett's proposal.

Public voter records expose retirees' personal details to election scammers who create targeted cons using names, addresses, and voting history data.

Instead of fearing what comes next with artificial intelligence, think outside the box. Here are high-earning AI jobs that don't require a computer science degree.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says polite words like "please" and "thank you" cost millions annually, while direct prompts may improve ChatGPT accuracy by several points.

Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat exposed intimate conversations and photos, revealing users spent up to $18,000 on AI companions before the breach.

New Instagram parental controls allow families to manage teen screen time and content limits through the Family Center with stricter safety settings.

Third-party security breach at Discord exposes sensitive user information including government IDs, highlighting cybersecurity risks from external service providers.

Survey of 1,000 students shows teens using AI for personal relationships while two-thirds of parents remain unaware of their children's AI usage.

Cybersecurity experts warn about a ShadowLeak vulnerability that weaponized ChatGPT's Deep Research agent to steal personal data from Gmail accounts through hidden commands.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving system faces federal investigation following 58 reports of crashes, with six vehicles running red lights before colliding with other cars.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest developments on artificial intelligence, with news on OpenAI moving to soon allow erotica for adult users.

Eric Schmidt alerts that hackers can reverse-engineer AI models to bypass safety measures, citing examples like the jailbroken ChatGPT variant called DAN.

Cybercriminals exploit Microsoft Teams through impersonation, malicious links and fake profiles to gather intel and deliver ransomware to personal and work devices.

Google, Dior, Allianz and dozens of other companies lost sensitive customer data in Salesforce-related breaches affecting millions of records across multiple sectors.

Apple launches iOS 26 with new Preview app that combines document editing, PDF annotation and scanning features into one streamlined iPhone experience.

New AI road monitoring system uses sensor-embedded fabric to predict infrastructure problems, potentially reducing maintenance costs and traffic disruptions for cities.

Holiday charity scams target retirees through lookalike organization names, untraceable payment requests, and data broker information to steal donations.

The Federal Trade Commission says criminals are posing as IRS agents, law enforcement officers or other officials, often over the phone or online, to steal thousands of dollars at a time.

AI phishing scams now use voice cloning and deepfake technology to trick victims, but Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals warning signs to watch for.

Inversion Space unveils Arc, a reusable reentry vehicle that can deliver up to 500 pounds of cargo from orbit to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.

Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.

Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.

Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.

Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.

Ten Quick Tests To Check Your Website For Accessibility

Web Development