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Accessibility Testing Tools Overview

Purpose of This Page

It deals with a real-world QA question that is posed on this page: 'What are the accessibility tools that we should actually use?'

Emphasis will be placed on a central, realistic set of tools that the QA teams could use immediately rather than a complete list of tools that are available.

For more information on accessibility principles and strategies for testing, see What is Accessibility Testing?

Browser Extensions (Quick Checks)

Tool Purpose Best For
axe DevTools Primary automated WCAG checker Specific problem identification
WAVE Visual structure overview Quick Visual Audit

Such tools are very useful in development environments before conducting official QA tests.

Screen Readers (Essential Manual Testing)

Screen reader testing cannot be compromised when it comes to accessibility quality.

Platform Screen Reader Cost
Windows NVDA Free
macOS / iOS VoiceOver Built-in
Android TalkBack Built-in
Windows JAWS Paid

Essential Screen Reader Shortcuts

NVDA (Windows)

Action Shortcut
Start/Stop reading NVDA + ↓
Next heading H
Next link K
Next form field F
Elements list NVDA + F7

VoiceOver (macOS)

Action Shortcut
Start VoiceOver Cmd + F5
Next item VO + →
Rotor (elements) VO + U
Next heading VO + Cmd + H
Next link VO + Cmd + L

VO = Control + Option

Automated Testing & CI/CD

Tool Use Case
axe-core Integration with test frameworks
Pa11y CLI and CI/CD pipelines
Lighthouse CI Performance + accessibility in pipelines

Playwright + axe-core Example

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import AxeBuilder from '@axe-core/playwright';

test('checkout page accessibility', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/checkout');

  const results = await new AxeBuilder({ page })
    .withTags(['wcag2a', 'wcag2aa'])
    .analyze();

  expect(results.violations).toEqual([]);
});

Cypress + axe-core Example

describe('Accessibility Tests', () => {
  it('homepage should have no violations', () => {
    cy.visit('/');
    cy.injectAxe();
    cy.checkA11y();
  });
});

Color & Contrast Tools

Tool Purpose
WebAIM Contrast Checker Web-based contrast validation
Colour Contrast Analyser Desktop app with eyedropper
Stark Figma/Sketch plugin for designers

Contrast Requirements for WCAG:

  • Normal text: 4.5:1 (AA)

  • Large text (18pt+): 3:1 (AA)

  • UI components: 3:1 (AA)

Development Linters

Tool Framework
eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y React
vue-a11y Vue.js
angular-eslint Angular

Angular Linters decrease the number of accessibility bugs that reach the QA phase.

Practical QA Workflow

  1. Automated Scan → axe DevTools / WAVE

  2. Keyboard Testing → Tab, Enter, Escape, Arrow keys

  3. Screen Reader → NVDA / VoiceOver on key flows

  4. Visual Checks → Contrast, zoom (400%), reflow

  5. CI/CD Integration → axe-core in test pipeline

This layered approach balances speed, coverage, and real user validation.

What Tools Can and Cannot Do

Automated tools CAN detect:

  • Missing alt text

  • Color contrast issues

  • Missing form labels

  • Invalid ARIA attributes

  • Broken skip links

Automated tools CANNOT reliably validate:

  • Meaningfulness of alt text content

  • Logical reading order

  • Real screen reader usability

  • Keyboard trap scenarios

  • Overall user comprehension

!!! warning “Important” Automated tools catch ~30-40% of accessibility issues. Human evaluation remains essential.

Tool Selection Guide

Scenario Recommended Tools
Quick dev check axe DevTools, WAVE
Sprint testing axe + NVDA/VoiceOver
CI/CD pipeline axe-core, Pa11y, Lighthouse
Mobile testing VoiceOver (iOS), TalkBack (Android)
Design review Stark, Contrast Checker

QA Perspective

Assistance tools help in QA judgment; they do not replace it.

The best possible accessibility tests are achieved through the integration of the:

  • WCAG standards (what to test)

  • Automated tooling (speed)

  • Manual testing with assistive technologies (validation)

Conclusion

Accessibility testing tools make it efficient for problems to be not only identified but prevented, although accessibility cannot be solely dependent on tools. The inclusion itself can be achieved by applying the right tool at the right time, as implemented by QA teams.

!!! quote ‘Final Reminder’ The strongest tool in the field of accessibility is a QA expert well-versed in the technology and its effects.