Some content cannot be tested by Siteimprove or other automated testing tools, for example:
- Websites that require a login or are restricted to the UCSF network (e.g., VPN)
- Mobile apps
- PDFs
- Word documents
- PowerPoint files
Inventory files to test
Get your inventory documented, track if it's accessible or not, prioritize next steps, and more.
- Download the provided sample spreadsheet (Box Word doc) and make it your own.
- There are multiple worksheets to help guide you, ranging from a comprehensive worksheet that accommodates all types of online assets to simplified Video-only or Audio-only worksheets.
Use these as a starting point and customize the column names to match your department's needs and process.
Steps for manual testing
This short list of foundational identifies the majority of common accessibility issues.
- Zoom levels for users with low vision
Check that text enlarged to 200% is still readable. This is for text only, you can skip captions and images of text.
Using the Firefox browser, go to Options or Menu bar > View > Zoom text only > 200%.- Verify there is no loss of content or functionality (e.g. no parts of the text are clipped, boxes do not overlap, controls are not obscured or separated from their labels, etc.).
- Verify there is no horizontal scrolling. There are some exceptions, for example, maps, diagrams, and data tables, to name a few.
- Keyboard only for users with limited mobility
Can you get to all the interactive objects in a logical order? What you experience on a particular website may be different for each browser.
Steps for testing with a keyboard:- Click in the browser address bar. This is now your starting focus point.
- Take your hand off your mouse and use only your keyboard.
- Press the Tab key repeatedly to move forward in the tab sequence from one interactive object to another.
- Use Shift + Tab to navigate backward.
- Spacebar activates checkboxes, buttons, and expand/collapse items.
- Follow more Keyboard Testing tips from WebAIM.
- Test on small screens
View your site or application on the following and confirm that there is no loss of content or functionality on the smaller screen.- Test on mobile devices (iPhone, Android, etc.)
- Test on laptops or desktops by shrinking the size of the browser window
- Video captions
Watch your video with the closed captioning on.- Do they exist?
- How accurate are captions for proper names and medical terminology?
- Follow our Audio and Video Accessibility page for more information.
- Color contrast
Measure your color contrast for text against the background color with a tool from the Color Accessibility page. - Assistive technology (AT)
Learn more about testing with assistive technology with a 5-minute screen reader demo. While not required, this is strongly recommended.
For more complete coverage, use one of the checklists below.
Checklists
To ensure a higher level of accessibility, also use one of these simplified and condensed checklists for beginners:
- Check Your WCAG Compliance Checklist, from The A11y Project.
- Easy Checks - A First Review of Web Accessibility, from the W3C.
- WCAG 2 checklist, from WebAIM.
These checklists include pass/fail descriptions for WCAG success criteria, with links to how to fix issues.
Evaluation tools
Tools list
The W3C has compiled a list of 70+ tools to check for accessibility. The information on their page is submitted by providers and others. Inclusion of products on this list does not indicate endorsement by W3C.
How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference) is a power tool from the W3C.
Bookmarklets
Bookmarklets install as bookmarks in your browser, and use JavaScript to highlight roles, states, and image alt text on a page.
- ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector) is a free tool to test web content for accessibility. It will flag issues and reveal what a screen reader is expected to say for interactive elements.
- JavaScript Bookmarklets for Accessibility Testing – A free tool by Paul J. Adam.
GitHub tool
- AccessLint - A GitHub app that identifies accessibility issues in your pull request. Test your development workflow before the code goes live.
In-house training materials
These links are to past events and include recordings and materials such as slide decks.
- "Build Your Accessibility (A11y) Testing Toolkit" webinar. Presenter: The Center for Accessible Technology, a local Bay Area accessibility vendor
- "Manual Accessibility Testing with Lucy" lunch and learn. Led by Lucy Greco, UC-Berkeley's former Web Accessibility Evangelist, and Jill Wolters and Christina Ovalle from the UCSF Digital Accessibility Program.