Accessibility testing

Your ally in automated a11y regression testing

Automated compliance checks

Automated testing reduces risk by catching regressions in your app’s accessibility when you release new code.

Comply with government regs

Section 508

USA

Americans with Disabilities Act

USA

Equality Act

AODA/ACA

Canada

EN 301 549

Disability Discrimination Act

AUS

LBI 13.146/2015

Brazil

Audit trail verification

Verifiable compliance with WCAG standards with each run of your test suite.

Schedule a demo

About automated a11y testing

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the basis for all digital accessibility regulations in the US, Canada, and Europe, including: the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508, Canada’s ACA, and EN 301 549 in the EU.
‍
Automated accessibility tests treat WCAG regressions like any other bug — each time you release, QA Wolf checks compatibility with screen readers, speech recognition, screen magnification, and more.

How it's done

3 accessibility levels: minimum, recommended, highest

Choose your WCAG standard

From the humble WCAG 2.1 A to the AAA gold standard. We’ll outline and build regression tests according to the number of success criteria you’re targeting.

Not sure what you need? We’ll help you decide as we build out a test plan.

QA Wolf UI showing that you can schedule running suite

Test on-schedule or on-demand

We use Google Lighthouse and the Axe library to assert that a component meets the accessibility standard you’re targeting.

Release when clear

Any accessibility issues get filed as bug reports in your issue tracker, alongside the functional regressions we catch during testing.

Accessibility means P.O.U.R.

WCAG has four principles of accessibility: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Our QA engineers build and maintain test cases for all of them.

Perceivable

Alternatives for non-text content

Assert there’s “programmatically determinable” alt text that screen readers and other adaptive tech can use is provided for pictures, charts, and other visuals; and transcriptions are provided for audio and video content.

Colorful wolf with html code that visualizes that alt text

Adaptable content

Test that assistive technologies can determine how to render the content of your application.

WCAG ratios of white text over a black background. Normal and large text both pass AA & AAA

Distinguishable content

Validate color contrast, text sizes, responsive layouts, hover and focus states, audio balance, etc. so users can separate what’s in the background and foreground.

Operable

Keyboard accessibility

Test that your whole app can be used through the keyboard alone, and assistive technologies that navigate by simulating keystrokes.

Stopwatch with playwright code for timeouts

Timing

Assert that users have enough time to interact with your app, and the ability to delay actions if they need more time.

Photo sensitivity

Catch animations and other types of flashing content that can cause seizures or other physical affects.

form input with css code for an accessible outline

Navigation aids

Test that critical navigation aids like page titles, sequential focus order, and focus visibility are present after each release.

Input devices

Make sure your app can be used with finger inputs, styluses, pointers, and a mouse — concurrently — and that gestures, target areas, and motion meet WCAG standards for usability.

Understandable

Readable language

Check that your app has a defined “human language” that are used by screen readers and other assistive tech.

Input assistance

Test for WCAG-compliant instructions and error messages and the proper ‘aria’ labels.

button html that includes the aria-label

Predictable interactions

Catch components that trigger changes automatically without a user’s confirmation.

Robust

Compatibility with assistive tech

Catch poorly formed markup and other problems that would challenge today’s and the future’s assistive technology.

FAQs

Can QA Wolf test compliance with WCAG standards?

We sure can. WCAG has multiple versions of its standards (currently 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 are the latest), and multiple levels of compliance with each (A, AA, and AAA). We will build and run a test suite that suits your compliance goals.

Can QA Wolf limit testing to specific accessibility requirements?

Absolutely. Just let us know which rules you need to adhere to, and we’ll build tests only for those cases. Each time you run your test suite, you’ll be able to see continued compliance with the rules you’ve chosen to test.

What libraries does QA Wolf use for automated accessibility testing?

QA Wolf uses Microsoft Playwright and the Deque axe-core library. Both open-source tools support our commitment to flexibility and prevent vendor lock-in. We regularly update our software library to the latest stable version and keep everything current.

How does QA Wolf report accessibility testing results?

Like all of our regression tests, we provide pass/fail results in the QA Wolf app and through your SCM. When we discover a regression, we submit bug reports through Slack, Teams, or other communication channels and through your issue tracker.

How quickly can QA Wolf automate and run accessibility tests for my company?

A single test only takes a few minutes to write, once we’ve onboarded. If you’re looking for automated accessibility testing, schedule some time with us to learn more.