Practical Accessibility Testing for Developers
This guide covers the basic steps of accessibility testing for software engineers — enough to make sure your feature or page meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.2 standards (AA Level) in most scenarios. More advanced topics like Voice Control and mobile testing will be covered in a separate guide.
Why accessibility testing matters
If you’ve never heard of accessibility (a11y), the simplest way to think about it is this: it means building a website that works well for everyone — people using keyboards, people on slow connections, people with temporary injuries, and people using assistive technologies every day. Accessibility is not just a compliance checkbox. It’s a sign of a quality website.
WCAG 2.2 AA is the standard most organizations should aim for. It is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions (EAA (European Accessibility Act) in the EU, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) in the US, etc.).
How to do basic accessibility testing
Each step builds on the previous one.
Tools cannot check all accessibility aspects automatically. Human judgement is required.
Sometimes evaluation tools can produce false or misleading results. Web accessibility evaluation tools can not determine accessibility, they can only assist in doing so.
Screen readers used in this guide
- macOS — VoiceOver (built-in)
- Windows — NVDA (free, JAWS is also widely used but requires a paid license)
See also: Video accessibility requirements