Have you ever struggled to read a menu because the font was too small? Or been unable to hear a video that lacked captions? Even simple things like reading text or clicking buttons become difficult for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) works to prevent disability-based discrimination – including in the digital world. As your resident accessibility expert with over 10 years of experience testing websites and apps, I‘m here to walk you through everything you need to know about ADA testing.
The Growing Need for ADA Testing
ADA website accessibility has become increasingly important in recent years. In 2018 alone, over 2,250 ADA website accessibility lawsuits were filed in federal courts. And those numbers continue rising annually.
ADA testing refers to comprehensively evaluating websites and applications to uncover barriers and issues that prevent individuals with disabilities from accessing information and functionality.
Specific disabilities addressed by ADA testing include:
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Visual disabilities – blindness, low vision, color blindness
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Auditory disabilities – deafness, hearing loss
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Motor/mobility disabilities – inability to use a mouse, slow response times
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Cognitive disabilities – memory loss, distractibility, seizures
And more. By finding and fixing the problems that exclude these groups, organizations can make their digital assets accessible to all users.
Navigating the ADA Testing Process
Conducting ADA testing is a complex, iterative process. First, an initial audit identifies common pitfalls. Next, barrier remediation resolves pressing issues. Finally, follow-up assessments catch additional problems.
Manual testing and automated testing both play important complementary roles in surfacing the issues that undermine accessibility.
Manual testing may involve working through processes only with keyboard navigation or using screen readers to check how screen reader users experience a site. Testers act as the eyes and ears of users with disabilities.
Automated assessments quickly analyze code, text formatting, multimedia attributes, and more. But false positives are common and some problems go unseen.
To maximize coverage, experts recommend blending manual verification and automated suites. Testing early, often, and comprehensively is key to benefit both organizations and users.
Who Legally Requires Accessibility Testing?
ADA website accessibility is mandatory for:
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Websites/apps categorized as public accommodations – This encompasses most e-commerce sites, web apps used by the public, and more.
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Government entities – Federal, state, and local government websites and tools must comply.
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Employers with over 15 employees – Smaller companies are often exempt.
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Some additional state laws – Certain states have expanded web accessibility regulations.
As someone intimately familiar with the consequences of non-compliance, I cannot stress enough the legal risks organizations face without rigorous accessibility assessments.
In 2019, popular grocery delivery service Fresh Direct was sued by a blind customer unable to use their site. Event ticket seller Vivid Seats similarly faced lawsuits from wheelchair users and blind patrons. Hundreds more major companies find themselves in court over ADA violations annually.
But legal action is avoidable through early, continuous accessibility testing across development cycles.
Comprehensive Testing Methods for Success
As I‘m sure you can tell by now, ADA testing is an expansive responsibility requiring close attention across many areas over time. Here are key testing approaches:
Manual Testing entails human testers thoroughly evaluating functionality based on common barriers. For example:
- Attempting to navigate sites strictly with a keyboard to simulate mobility issues.
- Turning off monitor displays to mimic blindness and check screen reader capability.
- Testing forms and inputs with speech control tools alone to assess hands-free usability.
While very time intensive, manual testing uncovers crucial issues that automated checks miss.
Automated Testing quickly scans codebases to detect about one-third of known accessibility problems. Checks focus on:
- Source order and semantics to confirm logical navigation and structure.
- Color contrast ratios to improve low vision readability.
- Descriptive link, heading, and image text for screen reader clarity.
- Media captions for deaf users and audio transcriptions for blind patrons.
However, automated testing alone cannot fully protect against legal liability due to frequent false positives and overlooked issues. Expert consensus strongly urges blending automated checking with manual verification.
Vital Site Components to Assess
While ADA testing is wide-ranging, be especially attentive in reviewing these areas:
Images & Multimedia
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Images should have descriptive and context-relevant alt text. Decorative images require null alt text.
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Audio/video needs captions for deaf users and audio descriptions for blindness.
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Complex data visualizations mandate text equivalents like tables.
Without these, graphics, video, and charts exclude those requiring screen readers.
Navigation & Functionality
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All site navigation and functions should work smoothly via keyboard for motor disabilities.
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Headings, labels, and instructions must be unique, descriptive and avoid redundant phrasing.
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Forms and interactive tools need accessible labels, keyboard access, and screen reader capability.
Failing these checks undercuts usability for various disabilities.
Satisfying Core Web Accessibility Standards
Published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) outline compliance criteria. WCAG categories include:
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Perceivable – Users can effectively process and understand information presented.
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Operable – Components and navigation work with assistive technology.
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Understandable – Content appears unambiguous, legible and intuitive.
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Robust – Functionality holds up across modern assistive tools.
WCAG defines three compliance levels reflecting rigor in meeting guidelines:
- Level A – Minimum baseline of accessibility
- Level AA – Comprehensive web accessibility
- Level AAA – Maximum possible accessibility
Most organizations target Level AA conformance to balance robust support and feasible effort. But selective AAA adoption for high-impact adjustments is worthwhile too.
Achieving ADA Compliance in Practice
Implementing ADA compliance demands early, consistent commitment but pays dividends for organizations and disabled individuals alike.
Here are best practices for embedding web accessibility:
- Bake accessibility testing into processes from project kickoff through launch and beyond.
- Rigorously conform to WCAG criteria, with Level AA as the central goal.
- Provide descriptive alternative text for all visual content.
- Ensure sufficient color contrast between elements.
- Confirm designs work properly with assistive technologies, such as screen readers.
- Dedicate staff training to raise accessibility awareness and skills.
- Monitor resolved issues to avoid accessibility regressions when updating sites.
Additionally, lean on accessibility checker tools and experts to review implementations, tackle problems, and achieve ADA conformance milestones.
Let‘s Build a Truly Accessible Web Together
I hope this deep dive clarifies what website and mobile app ADA testing entails as well as motivates prioritizing accessibility from the earliest planning stages.
When sites exclude people with disabilities, organizations miss reaching customers and risk legal action. What’s more, we lose out on diversity of perspectives that benefits everyone.
By aligning business goals with inclusion, together we can make digital spaces welcoming for all people regardless of abilities. As your accessibility adviser, I’m here to collaborate with you on that exciting mission.
