👓 Quality Experience: Easy Ways to Introduce Accessibility Testing

Testing for accessibility can feel daunting. The first time my Director asked me to add accessibility as a category for testing, I didn’t know where to begin. Considering the high standards for reaching the WCAG 2.1 AAA rating, I felt overwhelmed knowing the site I was testing would not rate well.

After deep breathing and good mentorship from the engineering team, we searched for tools that helped identify fast and easy fixes to make our site more accessible.

First, The Why

Again, Empathy is a fabulous place to begin. My ability to see content on a site page is a variable, not a fixture that every user experiences. I know people who are color-blind or dyslexic. My willingness to see through their eyes affects how I test for users with accessibility challenges. Even if your website looks fine and seems intuitive, don’t expect it to look and feel the same for your entire user base.

Resource: Check out Seren Davies - Death to Icon Fonts

With What?

Thankfully, there are many tools (free and open source!) that support identifying web accessibility issues. For this post, we will focus on a few, easy-to-implement options.

Support for users with Dyslexia

Use: OpenDyslexic Browser Extension

This browser extension was an easy add for our QA teams test suite. Listening to Seren Davies story helped me realize that using the extension would be an easy way to see how the site would look when the browser extension is turned on. I was pleased to learn that our site used SVGs instead of Icon Fonts. Using the extension, we catch bugs that display when the extension is enabled.

Accessibility for Broader Audiences

Use: WAVE Browser Extensions

Accessibility for users with Vision Impairments

Use: Screen Reader Browser Extension

How does your site sound to those with low vision? For users that aren’t able to use their sight, screen readers are perfect for those wanting to browse the internet. If they found your site, what would be their experience? Turn this extension on and click on different elements to hear what your site sounds like to those using screen readers.

When?

Now. Start today. Add testing for accessibility to your current test plan. No, it may not be the company’s top priority now. Building data, identifying easy-to-fix issues, and showing easy ways to achieve accessibility for many types of users, will help create a case for providing a more inclusive environment in your organization.

Recently, I was working with someone from Support. As we spent time troubleshooting an issue, she shared her screen so we could look at things from her perspective.

“Is that Open Dyslexic Font??” I asked.

“Yes! I use it all the time! It makes web pages so easy to read!”

I was so excited to share that we use Open Dyslexic in our test plan. She was excited that someone was looking at the world through her eyes! Exhilerated, I returned to the QA team to report that we were on the right path.

May all your users be this happy with what your team creates.

What resources provide guidance for accessibility in your organization? Please comment and share!