Looking for free web accessiblity checker

[Wilhelmina Randtke]

While we are on this, does anyone know of a tool where I can feed in a
top-level URL, and the tool will check ADA compliance for all pages on that
domain and give a report for the entire website, rather than requiring a
check for a single page at a time?

WAVE appears to require each page to be checked separately.  That can be
very time consuming for a large web site.  I remember Cynthia Says used to
do a site-wide check.  Microsoft has some built in tools with it's web
server web development platforms which allow site-wide checks (I have never
used Microsoft's web authoring tools as an administrator).  Something to
generate a site wide report and get an overview of issues would be very
helpful.

That said, in the past when I have looked at ADA compliance, I installed a
screen reader (WebbIE), and a voice interface (Thunder), both of which are
free-of-charge.  (Dragonfly and Jaws are the for-pay versions.)  Then I
turned off my computer screen, put on headphones, and tried to browse  and
complete tasks on the website.  It felt a little futile in the library
context, because usually when I entered a subscription database, it became
extremely difficult to do even simple tasks and the library's rented
databases were often incompatible with screenreader browsing.  Browsing
like this is a more honest check of ADA compliance, because you get at the
real goal - having a site which a blind or otherwise disabled person can
use.  Also, it is possible to game the automatic checkers, for example by
putting in alt tags, but having all of those alt tags read <img
src="image.jpeg" alt="." />  or other gibberish in the tag.  Browsing with
a screen reader will tell you what the worst parts of your site are and
help you to prioritize.  You also can't game this experiential way to
check, like you can the automated checkers.

-Wilhelmina Randtke


On Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 6:36 PM, Ryan Vernon <rvernon at langara.bc.ca> wrote:

> **
> I agree, but I especially like the WAVE toolbar, which is a Firefox
> plugin: http://wave.webaim.org/toolbar
>
> The error checking is nice, but I get a lot of mileage out of the
> "Text-only view" which can give you an idea about the way a screen reader
> user might interact with a web page.
>
>
>  Ryan Vernon
>
> CILS Librarian
> 604.323.5254
> 604.323.5544
> rvernon at langara.bc.ca <Ryan%20Vernon%20%3Crvernon at langara.bc.ca%3E>
>
> Langara. <http://www.langara.bc.ca/cils>
>
> 100 West 49th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Y 2Z6
>
> Please consider the environment before printing.
> CONFIDENTIALITY: This e-mail may contain confidential or privileged
> information. If you are
> not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately and delete this
> email from your system.
>
>
>
> On 23/02/2012 3:26 PM, Diane K. Kovacs wrote:
>
> This is the best one. :)
> http://wave.webaim.org/
> Diane
>
> On 2/23/12 6:14 PM, Stacy Pober wrote:
>
> I want to check some pages for their accessibility to people with
> disabilities.� There's a long list of tools for this at W3C
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/complete�
> �
> Does anyone want to recommend their favorites?� I'm looking for a free
> one.�
>
> --
> Stacy Pober
> Information Alchemist
> Manhattan College Library
> Riverdale, NY 10471
> stacy.pober at manhattan.edu
>  ============================
>
> To unsubscribe: http://bit.ly/web4lib
>
> Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/
>
> 2012-02-23
>
>
> --
> --------
> Diane K. Kovacs - Web Teacher http://kovacs.com
> AIM & Yahoo:  SaintsMrsDi - MSN - diane at kovacs.com - GTalk - diane.kovacs at gmail.com - Di Wind on Second Life
> _The Kovacs Guide to Electronic Library Collection Development: Essential Core Subject Collections, Selection Criteria, and Guidelines_, 2nd Edition (2009)http://www.neal-schuman.com/bdetail.php?isbn=9781555706647
> _The Virtual Reference Handbook: Interview and Information Delivery Techniques for the Chat and E-Mail Environments_ (2007)http://www.neal-schuman.com/bdetail.php?isbn=1555705987
>
> ============================
>
> To unsubscribe: http://bit.ly/web4lib
>
> Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/
>
> 2012-02-23
>
>
>
>
>  ============================
>
> To unsubscribe: http://bit.ly/web4lib
>
> Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/
>
> 2012-02-23
>
>

============================

To unsubscribe: http://bit.ly/web4lib

Web4Lib Web Site: http://web4lib.org/

2012-02-23
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.nd.edu/pipermail/web4lib/attachments/20120223/1c89369d/attachment.htm>