Quality Assurance

Run through each page with the WAVE Chrome Extension. 

This tool is not perfect, however, will provide a good basis for accessibility errors.  Users should be able to navigate through content using their keyboard.  Remember to look out for: Accessing navigation and drop down menus, users should be able to tab through an entire page and not get trapped in any elements, this is a common issue for modals, focus states on selectable elements -- links, buttons, etc. 

Conduct screen-reader testing

Users should be able to navigate content using a screen reader. We test on NVDA, a free download for Windows. A tutorial on how to use this is here  Screen readers vary though and we should also be testing with Apple’s built in Voice Over, this includes a built in tutorial on how to use it. 

Ensure the general architecture and hierarchy of the content should make sense. 

Headers should exist, clickable elements should be clearly indicated, and the user should be able to navigate through. If you are viewing content with poor lighting or from a few feet away, text should be readable. If you could foresee users having trouble seeing or comprehending content, that’s a sound indicator that something is off. 

Charts and images should all have alt-text

So that users with screen readers or users on a slow connection will still be able to understand the images. 

Decorative images should not be visible to screen readers 

Make sure things work well enough across platforms, browsers, and devices. 

Different assistive technologies work better in some areas than others.