Accessibility Audit Tools and Procedures

Web page accessibility can be evaluated through an accessibility audit. You'll need to use both software-assisted and manual checks to identify all issues. Perform an audit any time during your site's creation and whenever you add additional features.

An audit identifies issues such as:

• Page structure (correct use of headings, for example)
• ALT text for graphics
• Form labels and controls
• Color contrast

Numerous automated tools are available to use. Depending on the complexity of the page and the tool you use, it may take from 1 - 30 minutes to evaluate a page.

Among the most popular and easiest to use tools include:

• WAVE - Helps you evaluate accessibility of web content. There are two WAVE tools: The web-based WAVE tool doesn't require a download. The other tool is an extension for Chrome. Both tools are free. The Chrome extension will provide more thorough results. (NOTE: You should be able to install the extension without needing administrator access to your computer.)
  • A thorough step-by-step guide on assessing the accessibility of a web page using the WAVE tools is found on WebAIM's website.
  • University of Minnesota Duluth has created a guide to "Reading a WAVE Report." HINT: Run WAVE on your Web site and select the icons on the report to see more details.
  • A "Quick-Start Guide to Using WAVE" created by a member of University of Minnesota's Office of Information Technology is also available to help you get started.


• Functional Accessibility Evaluator (FAE) - Analyzes web pages for accessibility and offers coding support for improved accessibility. Open source, no cost, must register for an account, no download required. The FAE site explains how best to use the tool.


• AInspector Sidebar - A sibling to FAE, it is a Firefox plug-in that evaluates a single page, but allows you to drill down to the element level and inspect the markup that contributes to the rule conformance. It also provides the ability to evaluate pages on demand, for example in web applications when the content of the page is changing based on user interactions or other events. (NOTE: You should be able to install the extension without needing administrator access to your computer.)