Accessibility Testing
Testing that evaluates whether a website or application can be used by people with disabilities, including those who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers, keyboard navigation, or voice control.
Accessibility testing combines automated scanning with manual evaluation. Automated tools like axe, Lighthouse, and WAVE can detect issues such as missing alt text, insufficient color contrast, and invalid ARIA attributes. However, many accessibility issues, such as logical reading order, meaningful link text, and keyboard trap scenarios, require manual testing with assistive technologies.
Testing should cover visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive accessibility. Common techniques include navigating the entire site using only a keyboard, testing with screen readers like NVDA or VoiceOver, and verifying that content is understandable at 200% zoom.
Why It Matters for QA Teams
Accessibility is both a legal requirement (WCAG, ADA, EAA) and a quality imperative. Inaccessible websites exclude users with disabilities and expose organizations to lawsuits and regulatory action.
Example
An accessibility audit reveals that a dropdown navigation menu is fully functional with a mouse but cannot be opened or navigated using the keyboard. Screen reader users also hear 'clickable' instead of a meaningful label. The team adds keyboard event handlers, proper ARIA roles, and descriptive labels to fix both issues.