Web accessibility allows all people to use websites, web and mobile apps. A11y stands for accessibility because there are 11 letters between “a” and “y”. Web accessibility allows everybody to use the Internet fully. And it does not include only software.
Why does that matter you ask?
Well, about 15% of the world’s population experiences some sort of disability.
I bet you did not know that!
That means over one billion users are not able to use websites, web, or mobile apps the same way as the rest of us. There are a couple of reasons why that matters. Firstly, since the pandemic started everything has been moving online. If the online content is not accessible then disabled people are excluded from using the Internet fully. Secondly, by not providing accessible web content businesses are losing disabled people as their online customers. The first problem is probably harsher than the second because we do not want to leave anybody behind, right?
In order to help disabled people and make them feel included, specific rules for accessible web were created. These rules are not laws per se but law courts deciding web accessibility adhere to them regularly. Some legislatures are starting to include these guidelines in their federal/state laws. Due to that, web accessibility, or a11y for short is lately becoming a talked-about term. Especially between big businesses that do not want to get sued.
And they could, believe me!
History of a11y
The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.
Tim Berneers-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web
Web accessibility started as a W3C project in 1996. It supplemented the non-existent guidelines for creating the Internet accessible to disabled people. W3C helps the websites to look and function the same way across multiple browsers. W3C web accessibility initiative – WAI helps set up the guidelines and techniques nowadays to make the web accessible for all people alike. The most important guidelines you need to know are called Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
A11y meaning
There are all different disabilities in this world and they can be either situational, temporary, or permanent. That means even you and I can become disabled in a certain situation even if we do not have any permanent disability. By making sure that web content fulfills all the necessary accessibility guidelines you are actually helping your future self, your loved ones, and really anybody.
For a better illustration and idea around a11y meaning we can divide those as follows:
| Situational (something you can walk away from) | Temporary (something which changes after some time) | Permanent (can not be changed) | |
| Visual | using your phone in bright sunlight or battery saving time | loosing or scratching glasses | being legally blind, color-blind |
| Motor | trying to walk on slippery ground | breaking arm and wearing a cast | having a spinal cord injury or arthritis in fingers |
| Hearing | conversing at a loud club | having blocked ears due to cold | being partially or fully deaf |
| Speech | talking to someone in a foreign language | blocked nose due to cold | having a stutter |
| Cognitive/Learning | trying to be a part of conversation without knowing anything about the subject | concussion or brain fog | Alzheimer’s or brain injury |
Is a11y legally enforceable?
In the USA, there are two sets of laws applying to web accessibility. Section 508 mandates that US government and all agencies getting government money have to follow the WCAG. When it comes to private sector the Americans with Disabilities Act applies. According to that, all public accommodation has to be accessible to people with disabilities. Courts are interpreting this law as including the web accessibility guidelines WCAG.
In Canada, there is the federal and provincial legislature. As a result, government and connected agencies have to implement WCAG. The same applies to private businesses with over 50 employees.
Norway and the European Union are also enforcing accessibility.
What do you need to know about a11y as a software tester?
As a software tester, you will have to make sure that the website, web or mobile app is accessible according to WCAG. Hopefully, designers and developers on your team will be experienced in a11y too so that there won’t be too many bugs. Anyways, it is good if you know the basic principles of accessibility. They are called POUR.
Perceivable
Perceivability means the user can identify content and interface elements by means of the senses. Most users perceive primarily visually. Although some may use sound or touch. Technical innovation will allow using sensory cues for smell and taste; these would also be considered a11y examples of “perceivable” technology. Form input is a typical example of a perceivable principle. If it does not include a label or placeholder, you won’t know what you should type in.
Operable
Operability means that a user can successfully navigate the site or app using controls, buttons, and other necessary interactive elements. Most users will identify an interface control visually, and then click, tap, or swipe. Users who are visually impaired will use a computer keyboard or voice commands to operate and control the interface. As an example, clicking a social media button should be possible by the mouse as well as keyboard.
Understandable
Users should be able to comprehend the content of the interface, and learn and remember how to use it to consider it understandable. Such technology is always consistent in its presentation and format. Design and usage patterns are predictable. Everything is concise, multimodal, and appropriate to the audience in its voice and tone. For example, if the navigation buttons change at every webpage, it is really hard on the user to remember where was what.
Robust
Robust means that the app, website, or interface will comply with common standards and function on all appropriate technologies, including assistive technology. Users will be able to choose specific technology for their interaction with websites, online documents, multimedia, and other information formats. If a website requires a specific browser to work, it is not robust.
A11y tools
There are multiple tools to help you with assessing whether the website/app you are working on is accessible. Using these tools will save you time and headache for sure. They will also help you in spotting the accessibility issues better with your naked eye.
Because let’s be honest. If your sight is 20/20 then you would miss that the contrast of certain words is not enough for a visually impaired person. On the other hand, if you ever tried to read something on your cell phone in direct sunshine, you might understand. Let us dive now into the tools.
A11y chrome extension tools
Wave Evaluation Tools
Wave is a chrome extension you can add to your chrome browser and start analysing websites. It describes all the errors on the page in details. It can be hard to navigate at first but once you understand all the icons for different types of accessibility it becomes a great tool to use. I ran Wave on my own website youintechnology.com and found some problems I will need to fix. For illustration, here is the screenshot:
The errors are the ones you should usually focus on the most as they might be the biggest issues. When you click on the view details, you will understand what each of the icons mean.
Axe development tools
This tool you have to add into your chrome development tools. Again I have tried the same for my youintechnology.com website. I opened the dev tools when on one page and ran the analysis. It came up with even more errors. Here is the picture:
Other a11y tools examples
There are multiple other tools you can use to measure accessibility. Some are paid like Jaws and some are free. You can check those here. There are also fully automated accessibility tests like axe cypress. For that, you need to have some programming skills. However, I would suggest starting small and really understand how accessibility works. Then pick one tool, use it consistently, and learn it well. That way you will be able to get a hold of accessibility faster.
In conclusion…
Web accessibility is an important topic today and knowing how to make a website or web app fully accessible can land you a well-paying job as a QA software tester. If you are planning to a career change into tech as a software tester learning a11y is a must. You can also check my other articles on how to make the career switch to IT here.
I hope you enjoyed this article. I am off now. Gotta go fix the accessibility at youintechnology.com website :-).
Please leave me a comment on what you think about accessibility below.
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