Creating web accessible forms can be a daunting task. With many different web standards and conventions, it can sometimes be hard to separate the noise from the useful information. While difficult, it is still necessary to create content that is easily seen by all types of people, no matter their disabilities or restrictions. This list of the 20 best web accessibility tools will help you, as a developer, create more accessible web pages and make the Internet a better place.
1. SortSite
SortSite is a good way to get a quick overview of your website. Just one click and the app will analyze your entire website by testing over 450 standards based checkpoints. This is an easy way to quickly and efficiently test your site's web standards.
2. ACTF aDesigner
A self proclaimed "disability simulator", ACTF aDesigner is a tool to help developers create web pages that are easily accessible by the sensory impaired. Many blind people use voice browsers to read aloud the text on a page. This tool helps you visualize what they see to better improve your product.
3. JuicyStudio's Image Analyzer
This is a quick tool that checks for accessibility in images. It will scan for width, height, alt, and longdesc attributes in the images embedded in a wage page and checks if they are at appropriate values.
4. GrayBit
GrayBit is an online app that makes any web page black and white to help create accessible websites for the visually impaired. It's easy to use; all you have to do is type in the URL of the web page you wish to test and press enter.
5. Semantic Extractor
W3C's semantic extractor pulls out information from HTML. The idea is for the developer to see exactly what information is available just from the HTML so they can better optimize their websites for search engines and the visually impaired.
6. MEGENTA Accessibility Validator
MEGENTA is a web app still in beta that works by evaluating web pages using two different guidelines. One for the Stanca Act, which follows WCAG 1.0 standardss, and one specifically for the visually impaired.
7. Cynthia Says
This is an app from HiSoftware that quickly identifies mistakes in content in regards to Section 508 standards. The website offers a demo that scans one web page at a time, but it can be a useful tool to check accessibility issues.
8. FAE
The Functional Accessibility Evaluator was created at the University of Illinois that quickly scans single web pages for accessibility issues. If you create a free account, there are features that allow you to save reports and scan more than one page at a time.
9. Online-Utility's Readability Calculator
This app reads text and estimates what education or age requirement the reader would need to fully understand that text. This is useful when developing for people with English as a second language or young kids.
10. Accessibility Valet
Accessibility Valet is a web application that checks web pages against Section 508 and W3C WCAG. You can check one URL at a time with the demo, with unlimited use with a paid subscription. It exports an HTML file displaying mistakes by highlighting them.
11. resizeMyBrowser
This is a handy little app that resizes your browser window to a lot of popular dimensions. In includes many smartphones and tablets in a predefined list as well as allowing you to create your own function presets.
12. Load Time Analyzer
Some developers spend too much time focusing on the details of accessibility and forget the basics. Load Time Analyzer is a tool that checks if the load time of a website is appropriate as well as helps to identify potential bottlenecks that could cause a website to load slowly.
13. Web Accessibility Toolbar (WAT)
This is a toolbar for Internet Explorer that is designed to aid the process of accessibility evaluation in websites. It comes with many features and is also available for the Opera web browser.
14. Web Accessibility Inspector
This is a tool that runs directly on the desktop and scans web pages for potential accessibility concerns. It allows for visual representation of the problems in a browser by using markers to show the potential issues.
15. Lynx Viewer
Lynx viewer allows you to see what your website would look like in Lynx, a popular text only web browser. Why is this important? This is how most devices designed for the visually impaired operate, and this can help in optimizing your blind accessibility.
16. Vischeck
Vischeck is an app that will show you what your website looks like in the eyes of a colorblind individual. All you have to do is type in the URL of your web page and it will automatically translate it into what a colorblind person would see.
17. AChecker
AChecker will quickly scan through a single HTML page to identify core issues in accessibility on that page. Then it will provide a report and categorize those issues into three types: known problems, likely problems, and potential problems.
18. Fangs Screen Reader Emulator
Fangs simulates a text version of your web app to help identify potential issues in accessibility early on. Text is how many accessibility devices read web pages, so this is a good tool to use when first starting the design on your website.
19. EvalAccess
EvalAccess is a tool that helps web developers evaluate accessibility issues using the WCAG 1.0 from W3C. All you have to do is type in a web page and it automatically scans it and reports all potential issues.
20. WP Accessibility
This plugin for Wordpress addresses accessibility issues found in Wordpress themes. It's customizable and you can easily modify your website through Wordpress itself. For those who just want a blog without any further fuss but still want to make their websites accessible, this is the way to go.
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