Winter 2025

New and Improved Web Accessibility Tools

In the last issue, we tackled the question of why we should think about web accessibility, but this time, let’s consider what can be done and how. As librarians, we all want to make our websites and digital communication accessible, but it’s not always clear how we can tell what is already accessible or what to do when it’s not. That’s where web accessibility tools come in.

In line with this issue’s focus, below you’ll find a few new or recently improved tools for investigating and resolving common web accessibility problems. Each one is freely available and doesn’t require installation or significant background knowledge to get started. Some of these tools have been around for a while, but hopefully one or two will be new to you—and helpful too!

Color contrast checkers

For people with low vision (or just those of us who stare at screens too much), it is important to provide a high enough contrast between text and background. This is just as important for signs and other in-person communication as for digital communication like social media posts and emails. These tools enable you to verify the colors you choose are readily perceivable and comfortable to read. (Most web evaluation tools include a built-in contrast checker, but when you just want to check colors in a document, it may be simpler to use a purpose-built tool.)

  • Colorblind Web Page Filter will provide a side-by-side view of a chosen page in its original colors and how it would appear to users with several color vision deficiency variations.
  • WebAIM’s Contrast Checker can be used online when the hex values or RGB of your colors are known, but they also offer a bookmarklet which provides an eyedropper tool you can use for anything on your screen, even if it’s in a document rather than on your web browser.
  • Contrast Ratio provides a sample page illustrating how your chosen colors appear in multiple sizes and font styles, as well as allowing entries for color by name, RGB, and hex value. It also provides an eyedropper tool that works beyond the browser.

Office software accessibility tools

Many workplaces deploy a single office software system across the organization, and each will have its own tips and tools for ensuring accessibility. Two common options are Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, and each has a variety of built-in tools and add-ons to improve accessibility. Also included is documentation for Adobe, since the PDF format is nearly ubiquitous, and special handling is needed to make them fully accessible.

  • Adobe Acrobat Pro Help explains the process for ensuring PDFs meet accessibility guidelines. Generally, the Pro software is required for creating an accessible PDF; documents exported as PDFs from other programs are rarely accessible.
  • Google Support offers some general explanations for making documents, presentations, sheets, and videos more accessible. More guidance may be available within each tool as well.
  • Microsoft Support also provides an overview of its built into accessibility tools for Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other software. Most include a built-in checker that can be deployed before sharing or exporting.

Website evaluation tools

These tools are meant to identify potential web accessibility problems for any given page and generally also provide some guidance for resolving those issues. Not every tool will identify every problem, and not every problem they identify can (or should) be resolved, but these tools can prove invaluable for getting started and making ongoing improvements in any webpages you manage or update.

  • ANDI is a bookmarklet from the Social Security Administration that will check a webpage in one of several categories at a time, focusing on Section 508 compliance. There is a lot of information available, but each category can be examined and addressed separately using the dropdown menu at the top.
  • Sa11y is a bookmarklet or plugin that performs common accessibility checks. Its most helpful and unique features are two of its tabs: “Page Outline” shows how headings navigation would work for a screen reader, while the “Images” tab displays all the images on the page alongside their alt text (with flags for potential problems).
  • The Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) from WebAIM provides a visual analysis of a web page, making it clear which headings are being used where and what alt text and links would convey to a screen reader. WAVE provides a lot of information and so can be overwhelming at first, but it’s an excellent “one-stop” tool for checking most elements of web accessibility.

Fun and games

Even though it’s worthwhile, improving web accessibility can sometimes feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be a slog! Web-based games and a gamification mindset can both improve awareness and stimulate creative thinking about accessibility.

  • The Accessibility Maze game is a keyboard navigation game that illustrates and explains some common barriers to access encountered by people with disabilities online.
  • Hocus:Focus is billed as “a keyboard accessibility horror game” and specifically reveals the importance of focus indicators and avoiding keyboard traps. You might find yourself stuck once or twice on your first attempt, but each level is solvable with creative maneuvering.
  • While not a game itself, this blog post on Gamifying Web Accessibility provides a helpful way to conceptualize accessibility efforts, plus some concrete steps to address issues. A company’s proprietary software is mentioned, but the principles discussed are applicable without it.

Is one of your favorites missing from this list? Or do you have other accessibility ideas to share? Please reach out with your favorite tools or tips for a future web accessibility update: you can email me at rford2@niu.edu. Many thanks to CALL member Kristen Naik for recommending WAVE, the WebAIM Contrast Checker, and Hocus:Focus for this issue’s entry.