Defining Guide to Automated Accessibility Testing

In an increasingly digital world, ensuring web accessibility is vital. According to a WebAIM report, 95.9% of home pages had detectable WCAG compliance failures, with an average of 57 errors per page in 2023, highlighting the ongoing challenges in achieving full accessibility compliance.

Automated accessibility testing (AAT) plays a critical role in making sure websites and applications are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of automated accessibility testing, detailing its implementation, common misconceptions, comparison with manual testing, benefits, real-world applications, and how SPR can assist in this process.

Automated accessibility testing uses tools to evaluate a website or application’s compliance with accessibility the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards. These tools can quickly scan code, identify potential accessibility issues, and provide actionable insights to developers and testers helping keep your organization’s applications in compliance as browsers and platforms receive updates and you push releases.

The global accessibility testing market, valued at USD 564.73 million in 2023, is expected to reach USD 825.43 million by 2032, driven by growing awareness and expanding state and federal legal requirements for digital accessibility, according to StraitsResearch.

Implementing automated accessibility testing brings structure to the process that integrating accessibility checks into the development lifecycle. By embedding automated accessibility testing into your workflow, you can identify and address accessibility issues early, ensuring compliance with standards like WCAG and improving the overall user experience. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you implement automated accessibility testing effectively.

1. Choose the Right Tools: Select an automated testing tool that fits your needs. Popular tools include Axe, WAVE, Level Access, and Tenon. Each tool has unique features, so evaluate them based on your project's requirements.
2. Integrate with Development Processes: Integrate accessibility testing into your Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. This ensures that accessibility checks are part of the development lifecycle, significantly improving the efficiency of the development process by catching issues early and reducing the cost of remediation (BrowserStack).
3. Run Tests Regularly: Schedule regular automated tests to continually monitor and maintain accessibility standards. Regular testing helps identify new issues as the website or application evolves.
4. Review and Act on Results: Analyze the test results and prioritize fixing the identified issues. Automated tools provide reports that highlight problems and suggest improvements. If you are seeing themes in your issues, circle back with your design and development teams so they can understand what adjustments they should make to avoid repeat issues.
5. Combine with Manual Testing: While automated testing is powerful, similar to functional and regression testing, accessibly automated testing should be complemented with manual testing to catch issues that automated tools might miss.

Despite its many advantages, automated accessibility testing is often misunderstood. Several misconceptions can lead to ineffective implementation and a false sense of security regarding accessibility compliance. Here are some common misconceptions about automated accessibility testing and the truths behind them.

Misconception 1 – Automated Testing is Sufficient: One common misconception is that automated testing alone can ensure complete accessibility. However, manual testing is also necessary to evaluate aspects like keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility.

Misconception 2 – All Tools are the Same: Different tools have different capabilities and limitations. It's essential to choose tools that best suit your specific requirements.

Misconception 3 – Only Developers Need to be Involved: Accessibility is a team effort. Designers, developers, testers, and content creators should all be involved in ensuring accessibility.

Clarifying these misconceptions helps in setting realistic expectations and ensuring a comprehensive accessibility strategy.

When evaluating accessibility testing methods, it’s essential to understand the distinct roles of automated and manual testing. A balanced approach that leverages both automated and manual testing ensures comprehensive coverage and a better user experience. Here’s a detailed comparison of automated versus manual testing.

Automated Testing is best for:

• Speed and Efficiency: Automated testing is faster and can cover a large amount of code quickly, identifying issues that might be missed manually.
• Cost: Automated testing can reduce long-term costs related to both fines for non-compliance with regulations and investments required to allocate resources to resolve issues by catching issues early in the development process. However, it requires an initial investment in tools and training.
• Coverage: Automated tools can scan for a wide range of known accessibility issues, but they cannot assess subjective aspects of accessibility that manual testing can.

Manual Testing is best for:

• Depth and Insight: Manual testing provides a deeper insight into the user experience, capturing issues like screen reader usability and keyboard navigation.

Automated accessibility testing provides numerous advantages that streamline the process of ensuring digital content is accessible to all users. Here are the key benefits of automated accessibility testing:

• Consistency: Automated tests are consistent, eliminating human error and ensuring that checks are performed the same way every time.
• Efficiency: Quickly identifies issues, saving time and resources compared to manual testing alone.
• Early Detection: Integrating automated tests into the development process helps catch issues early, reducing the cost and effort required to fix them later.
• Scalability: Can handle large projects and continuous updates more efficiently than manual testing.

Automated accessibility testing is crucial across various sectors, ensuring that digital platforms are usable by everyone, including those with disabilities. These real-world applications highlight the broad impact and necessity of automated accessibility testing across different industries.

1. E-commerce Websites: Did you know that 56% of consumers with disabilities choose one online store over another because of accessibility? (Fable) Don’t let accessibility be the blocker to your business growth. Ensuring accessibility can expand the customer base and avoid potential legal issues.
2. Educational Platforms: Accessibility is crucial for inclusive education, allowing all students to access learning materials. In addition to inclusivity, it is now the law, as of April 24^th, all state and local governments, including school systems, must verify that their web content, mobile apps and social media postings are accessible for those with vision, hearing, cognitive and manual dexterity disabilities. (K-12Dive)
3. Government Websites: Compliance with accessibility standards is often a legal requirement, ensuring all citizens can access services and information. Websites under the .gov domain instill confidence and trust, they should also stand for accessibility (Digital.gov)
4. Corporate Websites: Demonstrates corporate responsibility and enhances the user experience for all employees and customers. If your employees can’t access the digital world you’ve created in your organization, they may be struggling at work. You can be the leader of change, but addressing this needs starts at the top. (Forbes)

A technology consulting firm like SPR can offer comprehensive services to enhance web accessibility throughout the software development lifecycle. SPR’s approach includes:

• Building Accessibility Awareness: We train project teams on accessibility principles and standards, demonstrating the use of assistive technologies like screen readers.
• Integration of Accessibility: We incorporate accessibility into project requirements, design, coding practices, and testing. This holistic approach ensures that accessibility is maintained throughout the project lifecycle.
• Manual and Automated Testing: SPR combines manual testing by experienced accessibility testers with automated tools to provide accurate and comprehensive accessibility evaluations.
• Ongoing Support and Training: We offer continuous support and detailed training sessions – like assisting a healthcare insurance provider with a web accessibility – to ensure development teams can maintain and improve accessibility practices over time​.

Automated accessibility testing is an essential practice for ensuring that digital content is accessible to all users. By understanding the implementation considerations, benefits, and limitations, and by combining it with manual testing, organizations can significantly improve their accessibility compliance and likely, their customer base and employee satisfaction.