Issue link: https://essentialaccessibility.ufcontent.com/i/1422377
There are a number of tools to conduct preliminary automated testing. It is recommended that you determine which tools will work with firewall settings and design and developer teams use the same tools. QA teams will likely leverage even more tools to ensure compliance and usability. Here is a listing of free tools for you to peruse to get you started: Code Validation W3C CSS Validator software was created by the W3C to help web designers and web developers check Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). It can be used on their free service on the web, or downloaded and used either as a java program, or as a java servlet on a web server. This tool will allows comparison of style sheets to the CSS specifications, helps find errors, typos, and incorrect uses of CSS. It will also advise when the CSS poses some usability risks. Color Contrast and Color Blindness The Colour Contrast Analyser is a downloadable tool that helps determine the legibility of text and the contrast of visual elements, such as graphical controls and visual indicators. Currently, the tool supports WCAG 2.1 compliance indicators. Mobile Accessibility Two tools serve the mobile accessibility space. For Android, Accessibility Scanner checks for accessibility in Android apps. For iOS, Accessibility Inspector can be used to check for accessibility. Both apps are utilized by developer and QA audiences. Document Accessibility The Document Accessibility Toolbar (DAT) is a dedicated accessibility ribbon menu for Microsoft Word that makes it quicker and easier to create accessible documents. This toolbar features a range of hand-picked and custom-built functions to optimize and validate a document for accessibility. The PDF Accessibility Checker PAC 3 allows for the checking of PDFs for accessibility. It works even for people that do not have Adobe Acrobat Professional. Web Accessibility The WAVE by WebAIM tool is one of the favorites in the industry as it uses a simple Red, Yellow, Green icon to show errors, warnings and good areas. It also has an ARIA check and color contrast analyzer built in, and you can turn on/off style sheets. Currently, it only checks against WCAG 2.0. Other tools offer specificity of analysis for content, design, developers and QA teams. 6 | essentialaccessibility.com