Accessibility Testing

Web accessibility testing is a subset of usability testing where the users under consideration have disabilities that affect how they use the web. The end goal, in both usability and accessibility, is to discover how easily people can use a web site and feed that information back into improving future designs and implementations.

Accessibility evaluation is more formalized than usability testing generally. Laws and public opinion frown upon discriminating against people with disabilities. In order to be fair to all, governments and other organizations try to adhere to various web accessibility standards, such as the US federal government's Section 508 legislation and the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

However, it is important to distinguish between complying with a standard and maximizing the accessibility of a web site. Ideally, the two would be the same, but any given standard may fail to:

address the needs of people with all disabilities. balance the needs of people with differing disabilities. match those needs to optimal techniques. use clear language to express needs or techniques.

Such weaknesses can lead those with good intentions astray and may be exploited by those seeking to rubberstamp inaccessible products.