What is Accessibility Testing Automation? Tips & Tools

All individuals — regardless of their abilities — should be able to access and use digital content, no matter the format. It’s a fundamental right in today’s digital world. Yet, according to the latest WebAIM report(opens in a new tab), most businesses’ homepages (94.8%) have some type of accessibility error.

With accessibility problems and barriers blocking individuals with disabilities from accessing critical information, it’s beyond time to start breaking down these barriers. A critical part of this process: automated accessibility testing.

Automated accessibility testing streamlines your path to accessibility, enabling you to create more accessible, compliant online spaces. What exactly is automated accessibility testing? We’ll explore that as well as the advantages and limitations of the approach below.

What is Accessibility Testing Automation?

Accessibility testing automation refers to the use of software to automatically evaluate and identify accessibility issues on a website or application against established web accessibility standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(opens in a new tab) (WCAG) or accessibility laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act(opens in a new tab) (ADA). More simply, the process tests whether websites, mobile apps (like iOS or Android apps), or other digital content are accessible and usable by people with disabilities. 

Unlike manual accessibility testing, which relies on human testers (such as accessibility experts or individuals with disabilities) to navigate digital content and identify issues, automated testing streamlines the process via accessibility scanners or evaluators. Typically, scanners analyze the structure and content of a webpage for accessibility errors, including:

• Missing alternative text (also called alt text)

• Poor color contrast ratios

• Lack of compatibility with assistive technology like screen readers 

• Missing captions on video content

• Inaccessible forms or online documents (e.g., Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoints, etc.)

• Incorrect use of headings

The tools then assess the identified issues against accessibility guidelines and highlight the severity and impact of each one. These accessibility insights can then be used to enhance accessibility and bring digital content into compliance.

Every website accessibility tool takes a slightly different approach to accessibility testing. Most, however, will crawl through web content, simulate user interactions, and report on accessibility issues. Some accessibility checkers even highlight specific lines of HTML code that need attention. 

How Does Automated Accessibility Testing Work? 

One of the biggest advantages of automated accessibility testing tools is their ability to quickly scan your website’s or other digital content’s code and flag common, detectable issues — such as missing alt text, low color contrast, or missing form labels. These tools use rules based on WCAG guidelines to analyze the underlying HTML and CSS, identifying violations that are often easy to miss manually, especially on large, frequently updated websites. 

Because these tools can run continuously during development, they allow teams to detect and fix accessibility and usability issues in real time before they reach production. This not only accelerates remediation but also reinforces an accessibility-first mindset among developers. 

When integrated into your workflow, automated testing supports an iterative approach to accessibility. Over time, it helps build a culture of awareness and inclusion, where digital accessibility becomes a natural part of the design and development process.  

Advantages of Automating Accessibility Testing

Digital accessibility testing itself has numerous benefits — automated checks furthers them, helping you create accessible web designs, mobile applications, and online spaces faster and more efficiently. Additional benefits of automated testing include:

• Increased efficiency: Arguably, the biggest advantage of automated web accessibility testing is the increase in efficiency. Manual testing (though it has its place) is time-consuming and labor-intensive; automated accessibility testing tools can quickly scan the entirety of a webpage and pinpoint potential accessibility errors. Rather than spending hours manually testing or auditing digital content, developers can do it in minutes, enabling them to spend more time fixing issues rather than finding them.

• Compliance: The majority of organizations must provide accessible online spaces per the ADA. Automated accessibility testing streamlines the path to ADA compliance (or other accessibility laws) by identifying existing accessibility issues on your site and providing recommendations for resolving them.

• More coverage: Automated testing provides more coverage. Tools can scan entire aspects of a website, including text, videos, images, interactive elements, and forms. This increase in coverage enhances the overall accessibility of your site and creates a better user interface.

• Repeatability: The ease and speed of automated tests encourage regular use. Tests can be scheduled to run at regular intervals, allowing for continuous monitoring. This also helps you catch accessibility issues early in the web development cycle. 

Challenges of Automated Accessibility Testing

Despite the benefits of automated accessibility testing, the approach does have its limitations:

• False positives: Automated testing tools aren’t perfect — they can generate false positives, flagging elements as inaccessible when they’re not. Or generate false negatives, failing to identify genuine accessibility issues. Refining tool settings or using more sophisticated tools capable of smarter analysis can help with false positives, but even then, some may slip through. 

• Complexity of accessibility guidelines: How automated tools interpret accessibility guidelines may not always be accurate. This may result in inaccuracies in identifying certain types of accessibility issues; if not identified, these issues can create problems for your users and increase your legal risk. 

• Limited scope: Automated testing tools primarily focus on common accessibility issues, overlooking more complex ones that can significantly improve the user experience. These errors typically require human judgment to find and fix.

• Integration into development workflows: Depending on your testing platform, integration may not be easy. You want to ensure your testing platform can integrate with your entire deployment pipeline, as this ensures accessibility is considered at every stage of development.

Overcoming these challenges requires one thing: expert testing. Expert testing incorporates human expertise and judgment into the testing process. This ensures that testing results are interpreted accurately — especially for nuanced issues that require human judgement — and helps you find and fix more accessibility issues. 

Combining both automated testing and expert testing enables you to take advantage of the benefits of automation (like speed and repeatability) and the knowledge of human experts. This ultimately allows you to detect and fix accessibility issues that can negatively impact the user experience and increase your legal risk.

An accessibility icon surrounded by a number of design tools — an eyedropper, a cursor, and an anchor point tool.

What to Look for in Automated Accessibility Testing Tools

Today’s market has an abundance of accessibility testing tools. When considering different evaluation tools, it’s critical to remember that testing is just the first step in creating a more accessible website. No tool can create a wholly accessible website, so look for a platform that provides more than just testing. And remember to look beyond just price — free testing tools might be a great starting point, but you may want to consider more advanced options. 

A few other features and functionalities to keep in mind when looking at platforms: 

• Integration capabilities: Ensure testing tools can seamlessly integrate with your existing tech stack. This will make things significantly easier on your IT or development team and help you seamlessly integrate testing into your existing processes. 

• Flexibility and adaptability: Testing tools should be flexible enough to adapt to your specific needs. Tools with more flexibility and adaptability can more easily fit your organization's unique needs. 

• Custom fixes: Not all accessibility issues can be fixed with software alone. Look for vendors that can write custom, code-based fixes for more complex accessibility issues. 

• Support: Look at the vendor's support options. Do they provide legal guidance or support in the event of an accessibility lawsuit or ADA demand letter? Do they offer 24/7 assistance? Is accessibility training or onboarding included?

Ultimately, you’ll want to choose a tool that can do more than just accessibility testing. You want something to help you build accessible websites, mobile and web applications, videos, and more. This will help you foster a culture of accessibility and create more accessible online spaces. 

Take AudioEye’s Accessibility Platform for example. Our platform combines powerful automation and human-assisted AI technology to streamline the accessibility testing process. AudioEye first scans your digital content for common accessibility issues and applies Automated Fixes for those issues. Our team of accessibility experts and members of the disability community supplements that testing by testing your content and identifying more complex issues. The result: a more accessible, compliant site that serves the needs of individuals and keeps your legal risk low.

How to Get Started with Automated Accessibility Testing

Getting started with automated accessibility testing will vary depending on your organization, technology stack, and accessibility goals. The steps below, however, are a good starting point for bringing automated testing to your development processes.

First, research accessibility tools. Look for platforms with the features, capabilities, integrations, and support needed to reach your goals. Once you’ve signed up for a service, ensure you’ve installed all the necessary extensions or integrations into your development environment. Finally, start testing your digital content!

Integrating Automated Testing Tools into Your Development Workflows

It’s important to note that the integration process will vary depending on your specific software development environment. Below are a few high-level integration steps for various environments to help you get started. 

• Content Management System (CMS): Check that the necessary browser extensions or integrations are installed in your preferred API or CMS environment. Next, configure the tool to automatically run accessibility tests as part of your local development workflow.

• Version Control System (VCS) integration: Integrate the automated testing with your VCS (i.e., GitHub, Bitbucket, etc.) to trigger tests on commits or pull requests. Then, webhooks or continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines can be configured to automate the testing process whenever changes are pushed to the repository.

• CI/CD pipelines: Once you’ve incorporated the testing tool into your CI/CD pipeline, define the stages in your pipeline to execute accessibility testing alongside other automated tests. You may need to utilize scripting or configuration files to define testing steps and parameters within your pipeline. For example, AudioEye’s Developer Tools integrate directly with your CI/CD deployment and thoroughly check your code for accessibility issues.

Maintaining Ongoing Compliance

Another thing to remember about accessibility testing: it’s not a one-time process. Accessibility guidelines are always changing as technology evolves and user needs shift. Continuously monitoring your site for accessibility issues and ongoing compliance with digital accessibility lawsuits ensures your digital content stays accessible and compliant over time.

Using a real-time monitoring system can help with this. For example, AudioEye’s Active Monitoring continuously tests for accessibility issues. Every time you update your website or add new content, you risk introducing new accessibility issues. Our Active Monitoring is designed to catch those issues, bringing them to your attention before they impact your users or land you in legal trouble.

Achieve and Maintain Digital Accessibility with AudioEye

Automated accessibility testing plays a critical role in addressing and resolving accessibility barriers. The process ensures that digital content is accessible to all users — not just those with disabilities. By streamlining the testing process, you can more quickly meet regulatory requirements, adhere to accessibility standards, and foster a culture of accessibility.

With AudioEye, the path to accessibility is faster, easier, and more cost-effective than ever. We take a three-pronged approach to accessibility, using powerful automation, human-assisted AI technology, and testing through the development process to detect and fix accessibility issues. With our comprehensive approach to accessibility, you save time and up to 90% in costs compared to traditional methods. Plus, with AudioEye Assurance, you’ll enjoy a level of protection that’s 400% more effective than automation or consulting-only approaches.

Ready to take the first step towards a more accessible, compliant digital future? Scan your digital content with our free Web Accessibility Checker. Or book a demo to see AudioEye’s capabilities in action.