The web has the potential to be a powerful tool for social inclusion and improving quality of life. As such, all site visitors must have effective access.
This is most easily accomplished by incorporating a test to check for website accessibility. This test checks for website accessibility in three different areas: content, features, and technologies. If any of these areas are found to be inaccessible, then the website cannot be universally accessible.
Check the Content of Your Site
This is perhaps one of the most critical areas to test for. It is necessary to ensure that the content on the site is accessible to all users. There are several ways to do this.
First, search engines are becoming more adept at determining which pages are accessible via their algorithms. If there are no errors or warnings associated with the page, it is likely considered accessible.
There are also tools available that allow you to check for errors in your code. These typically will give you a score based on the level of errors found. If there are any errors, then the page may not be accessible.
Use a Web Accessibility Scanner
A web accessibility scanner will test your site to determine which features are being used by the site visitors. Commonly, these tools will test for screen readers, but you can usually select other features.
Typically you will be able to select the features that apply to your site. Then, you can run a test on those features and determine how accessible those features are and what improvements can be made.
Make sure that content is formatted properly and displayed in the correct language. You should check the page format to make sure it is easy for a user to navigate from page to page.
Make sure that all links work and that there are no broken links on the site. There may be problems with the way Search Engines spider your site or render your content.
Check for Accessibility in the Technologies Used
This is perhaps one of the most critical areas to test for. It is necessary to ensure that the content on the site is accessible to all users. There are several ways to do this.
First, search engines are becoming more adept at determining which pages are accessible via their algorithms. If there are no errors or warnings associated with the page, it is likely considered accessible.
There are also tools available that allow you to check for errors in your code. These typically will give you a score based on the level of errors found. If there are any errors, then the page may not be accessible.
It All Boils Down to Making Sure Your Site Is Accessible to Everyone
It’s vital to your business that everyone has equal access to your website. Therefore, it’s essential to understand how this can be accomplished using services such as Qalified.com and ensure that you’re testing for it.
It’s also vital that the tools you use are up-to-date. You don’t want to miss any potential items that can prevent access and quality of experience for your site users.
Additional Resources:
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