Accessibility testing is an integral part of webpage evaluation. The aim is to ensure that a website or a web application is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
With over 1.3 billion disabled people worldwide, it’s about time businesses should make their services accessible to everyone, including online content.
This is exactly what Section 508 focuses on — upgrading your website, online store, or mobile app to serve both the abled and disabled equally. This means improving website (or mobile app’s) navigation and responsiveness to facilitate the disabled population.
Everything, from text to visuals and other supported documents, should be accessible. Every page must maintain consistency, from homepages to sales funnels, contact pages, forms, and so on.
Evaluating all these aspects would require a suite of 508 compliance checker tools. If you’re looking for one, you’re in the right place!
Our list of the top 508 compliance checker tools will give you a good start. But before that, let’s understand Section 508 and its importance for businesses.
Section 508 Compliance Testing for Businesses
Accessibility checkers evaluate websites on the basis of web accessibility standards 508. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act mandates that every federal agency maintains equality concerning access to digital resources for individuals with disabilities.
These individuals may have cognitive, physical, visual, speech, auditory, or neurological disabilities.
Therefore, federal agencies are compelled to produce, maintain, and use information and communication technology that people with disabilities can access.
By adhering to Section 508, organizations can meet legal requirements. It also shows their non-discriminating intent towards the disabled community.
Moreover, non-compliance with section 508 may result in heavy fines or de-activation of the website and its content in the U.S.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
It refers to any equipment, machine, or system that is used by federal agencies to generate, convert, or access information. For example:
- Websites and operating systems
- Software
- Mobile devices
- Online training courses
- Presentations
- Webinars
- PDF documents
- Remote access tools
- Support centers
Section 508 ensures that disabled federal employees can easily use accessible devices and equipment to carry out their duties. They can access internal websites and engage in online training.
The law also considers people who apply for a federal government job and those who use an agency website to get information
Types of 508 Compliance Testing
Accessibility testing deals with multiple features of a website. Certain aspects of a website need manual review, while others can be reviewed using automated website accessibility checker tools.
Different types of 508 compliance testing include:
Manual testing
An expert conducts website accessibility testing in an environment that simulates that of users with disabilities.
Manual testing helps identify nuanced issues, such as keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, and contextual understanding, that automated tools might miss.
It is a time-intensive function that involves the following steps:
- Reviewing keyboard navigation
- Screen reader testing
- Color contrast testing
- Form testing
Automated Testing
It involves evaluating websites and documents with automated tools. Automated testing tools can efficiently review websites, software, or documents, speeding up the overall 508 compliance process.
The benefit of an automated 508 compliance checker is that it can detect all the common errors that manual testing might miss. However, it may not detect complex issues that require human judgment.
Assistive Technology Testing
Real assistive technologies can help understand how people with disabilities will interact with digital content. Assistive technology testing detects non-compliance in the following:
- Screen readers (for content interpretation)
- Speech recognition software (for voice control and dictation functionalities)
- Alternative input devices (braille displays, switch controls, etc.)
User Testing
This type of website accessibility testing is considered to be the most accurate approach. It involves:
- Letting real users with various disabilities interact with the website, software, or application
- Identifying practical accessibility issues in the light of their feedback
Expert Review
Accessibility experts analyze the content against web accessibility standards 508 using various methods. They provide comprehensive reports that outline potential errors and suggest remedies.
Document Accessibility Testing
508 compliance testing also encompasses PDFs and Word files because these documents are often available on websites and contain crucial information.
Document accessibility testing requires both the 508 accessibility checker and manual reviews.
Mobile App Accessibility Testing
Section 508 testing also takes into account mobile applications. There are different tools to evaluate mobile app accessibility across Android and iOS platforms.
Each of these options plays a role in achieving comprehensive Section 508 compliance, ensuring digital content is accessible for users with diverse needs.
Section 508 Compliance Checker Tools
508 compliance checker tools are divided into four major categories based on their specific purpose. These include:
- Web Page 508 Compliance Tools
- Screen Reader 508 Compliance Tools
- PDF 508 Compliance Tools
- Word Document 508 Compliance Tools
Tools for Testing Web Accessibility Standards 508
Checking your web pages for 508 compliance is the first step to ensure accessibility, hence the most essential element. For this purpose, there are various accessibility checkers to help you review your web pages and identify the problem areas.
Accessibility Spark
This AI-powered tool is more than just a 508 compliance checker. Accessibility Spark is compatible with various website accessibility standards, including ADA, WCAG 2.1, European EN 301 549 (EAA/EN 301549), ATAG 2.0, and Section 508 compliance standards.
This accessibility checker not only identifies flaws in your website but also adjusts them using artificial intelligence.
With Accessibility Spark, you can resolve a wide range of common and complex issues with one click, such as automatic screen reader adjustments, automatic keyboard navigation adjustments, and color selections, display and orientation adjustments, etc.
Accessibility Sparks regularly scans your website for changes and offers daily compliance monitoring. Moreover, you’ll also get monthly audit reports.
You can opt for a 5-day trial before choosing the right package. Pricing starts from $99.99/month.
BrowserStack
This 508 accessibility checker evaluates your website on multiple standards, including WCAG 2.0, 508 compliance, ADA, AA, etc. BrowserStack features a website scanner, an automated workflow analyzer, and a host of screen readers (VoiceOver, NVDA, and TalkBack).
It also helps you manually identify advanced-level keyboard navigation issues or run automated tests to find common accessibility errors. You can access all kinds of reports through the BrowseStack dashboard.
BrowseStack’s free version offers unlimited website scans, while Automate & Monitor offers the best value for money, available for $459/mo.
WAVE
WAVE is a set of web accessibility testing tools developed by WebAIM in 2001. It offers compatibility with different browser extensions for web accessibility testing, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
Simply enter your URL, and WAVE will test it on WCAG and web accessibility standards 508. You can also use WAVE API and Testing Engine or generate an accessibility impact report (AIM) to compare your website with those compliant with section 508.
AccessibilityChecker
AccessibilityChecker is a free tool to test your web pages for accessibility. It’s not just a 508 compliance checker but can also evaluate a website on other standards, such as ADA, DDA, BGG, EAA, and others.
The website accessibility checker identifies potential issues and provides simple instructions to fix them.
AChecker
This is an open-source accessibility testing tool launched in 2009. Developed by the Inclusive Design Research Center, AChecker can test your website against various web accessibility guidelines.
Simply enter your webpage URL or upload its HTML file along with the guidelines you want to test against. AChecker can evaluate your website against section 508, WCAG 2.0, BITV, Stanca Act, HTML Validator, etc.
TPGi (Formerly known as Cynthia Says)
TPGi marks the transformation of Cynthiasays.com in 2021. This 508 compliance checker also conforms with WCAG 2.0, ADA, and EN301 549 guidelines, giving you multiple options to optimize your website’s accessibility.
TPGi offers ARC Toolkit to instantly check your web page’s accessibility on browsers like Chrome or Firefox. For a comprehensive analysis and evaluation, you can opt for the ARC platform.
Functional Accessibility Evaluator (FAE)
FAE is a web-based application that evaluates websites’ accessibility based on the latest WCAG 2.0 and section 208 standards.
Its comprehensive accessibility testing report is divided into five categories: navigation and orientation, text equivalents, styling, HTML standards, and scripting.
You can download the Firefox extension, an AI-powered accessibility testing solution.
TAW – Test de Accesibilidad Web
Another 508 compliance checker, TAW, takes the game to another level by helping you enhance your website’s accessibility to up to WCAG 2.1AAA level. The platform is developed by CTIC Centro Tehnologico.
TAW offers user-friendly results by providing an annotated version of the website. Moreover, it offers recommendations and solutions for improvement.
You can check your website’s accessibility by entering its URL on the search bar. You can also install the desktop application or download its Firefox extension.
PDF 508 Compliance Tools
As mentioned earlier, websites often feature PDF documents to provide in-depth information about their core business (work ethics, code of conduct or policies, etc.) These PDFs should also be accessible to users with disabilities, according to Section 508.
To make sure your PDF documents meet the 508 accessibility criteria or to make adjustments to them, you can utilize any of the following tools:
JAWS
Jobs Access With Speech (JAWS) is a popular screen reader developed by Freedom Scientific. It is meant for computer users with visual impairment who cannot see the screen content or face problems navigating with the mouse.
Featuring multi-lingual synthesizers, Eloquence and Vocalizer Expressive, Picture Smart image recognition, and Braille display for seamless PDF navigation.
JAWS is compatible with Chrome and Edge. It also supports Microsoft Office applications. It can actively test PDFs and highlight accessibility issues.
Adobe Acrobat Pro Accessibility Checker
You can use Adobe Acrobat Pro to test the accessibility of existing PDFs. It also helps you create highly accessible PDFs from scratch.
The 508 compliance checker automates various accessibility testing tasks. Not only that but is also provides instructions to manually fix currently inaccessible PDFs.
PAVE
PAVE is a free PDF accessibility testing tool that conforms with section 508 standards. All you have to do is upload the PDF document on PAVE.
The PDF accessibility testing platform will recommend improvements and lets you to make the necessary adjustments. The free version supports 5MB files only.
Screen Reader 508 Accessibility Testing Tools
Is your website compatible with screen readers? If not, you need to improve it so that visually impaired users can get access to the content.
Below are the screen reader accessibility checkers to try:
VoiceOver
Developed for Apple.com, VoiceOver is an advanced screen-reading technology integrated in Mac operating systems. You can use it to check if your website or web application is compatible with screen readers.
For this purpose, the VoiceOver tool on your Mac and check how well it explains your content. It will also help you identify potential navigation issues a visually impaired user might face on your website.
NVDA
NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is an open-source screen reader developed by NV Access, a registered charity and development company. It is a pretty useful 508 compliance checker for Andriod devices.
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Dreamweaver is actually a website design software. But did you know if offers exceptional accessibility too? It is compatible with popular screen readers like JAWS and Windows-Eye, enabling you to test the accessibility of your website for 508 compliance.
With Adobe Dreamveaver, designers and developers can create accessible pages using helpful prompts, making webpages easier to navigate using keyboards.
508 Compliance Tool for Word Document
Although you won’t find Word document on websites as often as PDFs, they still need to be 508 compliant. For this purpose, you can
Accessibility Checker for MS Word
If you want to send an email or upload a Word Document on your website, you can use the Accessibility Checker tool to make the document 508 compliant.
Microsoft offers all the necessary support to ensure compliance. This accessibility checker is compatible with Windows, Mac and Web browsers.
Final Thoughts
Accessibility testing becomes crucial for all web applications, considering that everyone, including people with disabilities, uses the internet for different purposes. These include online shopping, remote working, distant education, etc.
An accessible website, software or application is not just an option, since Section 508 compels every federal agency to make its ICT accessible to the disabled people as well.
So, whether you want to avoid costly penalties or capture more audience for your product, you can choose the right 508 compliance checker from the above list. These tools will make the process of compliance as easy as a piece of cake.