Testing for Web Accessibility

This checklist is built to expedite your testing: we've divided tests into those you must do in all views and those you need check only if a view has certain characteristics. You can increase your efficiency by using automated testing when appropriate as well as by including testing shortcuts.

Why Test?

Digital accessibility is about ensuring that all members of our community have access to and can engage with digital products, tools, information, and resources in a way that’s equitable, inclusive, and empowering.

The University of Michigan is:

  • committed to providing accessible information technology that can be equitably used by persons with disabilities
  • legally obligated under federal law to ensure that our information technology is in compliance with current guidelines.

Our Guidelines

The university has adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 level AA as our standard. 

Tools

We recommend some auxiliary tools:

Tool Function Support
axe Expert for Chrome Automates some testing
Stark add-on for Chrome Checks color contrast and simulates color blindness
Chrome Developer Tools Lets you inspect underlying markup

Skills Needed

Anyone should be able to use this checklist to conduct an accessibility review. In a few cases, you will need to examine the underlying markup of the page. When a markup check is required, it will be flagged and a short video will explain what you will be looking for.

After the Review

You'll want to share your review results with the parties (internal or vendor) implementing the fixes.

Two items you may wish to include:

  • The WCAG guideline associated with each test case provides info on how to fix the issue. (Links to these guidelines can be found in the More Info link in each test case.) 
  • axe Expert will let you export its test results.