Digital accessibility testing

Accessibility is part of usability and should be part of usability testing. A best practice for your accessibility testing approach includes the 3-tier approach.

Include accessibility into each phase of your product development cycle: design, build, and test.

The W3C offers this great resource Evaluating Web Accessibility Overview. 

Check out Siteimprove's Accessibility 101 webinars (MyAccess login required) for a primary introduction to testing and the importance of combining automated testing with manual testing.

The 3-tier testing approach

This 3-tier approach for testing a web page/site for accessibility compliance involves different kinds of testing methods, tools, and testers for each tier. You need a combination of all to get a feel for the whole picture. 

1. Automated testing
2. Manual checks
3. Testing with users from the disability community 

Test early, test often

These simple tools will go a long way in teaching you about accessibility. Checking and ensuring accessibility is for every stage, but is most cost-effective in development.

A reiterative approach to testing and correcting can give you balance. Trying to test and fix all at once is not practical. The biggest misconception is that Accessibility is applied – it is an integral part of the creation and website management process.