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Accessible Technology

Tools and resources

This page provides a list of free tools and resources that support accessible web design and development. The list is a work in progress and is updated regularly as tools and resources evolve.

Web and IT accessibility tutorials

Guidelines and standards

  • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG)
    WCAG 2.1 is the web accessibility standard that is required for UW websites by ADA Title II rules that were published in 2024 by the U.S. Department of Justice. For additional information about the rule, see the ADA Rule on Digital Accessibility website.
  • Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA)
    ARIA is a W3C specification that provides a way to make dynamic web applications and advanced user interface controls more accessible to people with disabilities. It is a necessary part of accessibility for most UW websites.
  • WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices
    This is an essential resource for anyone developing websites or web applications. It provides standard design patterns for dozens of common web widgets such as accordions, dialogs, and menus.

Browsers’ Built-in accessibility tools

Modern versions of major browsers have their own accessibility tools built into their developer tools. For more information, see the documentation for the tools available in your preferred browser.

Third-party accessibility checkers & browser extensions

The following tools are listed alphabetically.

  • Accessibility Bookmarklets
    This suite of bookmarklets can be used in any browser and work by visually highlighting specific accessibility features within a web page, including ARIA landmarks, headings, lists, and accessibility-related features of images and forms.
  • Accessibility Insights
    This robust accessibility checker and educational tool from Microsoft is available as an extension for Chrome or Edge, or as downloadable software for checking Windows applications.
  • AInspector WCAG Firefox Extension
    This extension was developed at the University of Illinois.
  • axe
    This accessibility testing toolkit from Deque is available as an API that can be integrated into automated testing processes for web development. Android Accessibility is also available as well the axe Chrome Extension.
  • WAVE
    Developed by WebAIM, this online tool evaluates the accessibility of a web page and shows results using icons and indicators, embedded onto the original page. It is available as a standalone website, or as the WAVE browser extension for both Chrome and Firefox.
  • Web Developer Extension for Firefox or Chrome.
    This highly useful toolbar from Chris Pederick is packed with features, including many that help check web pages for accessibility features.

Code validators

Having valid code is a first step toward web accessibility and cross-browser compatibility. The following tools should be used regularly for checking the validity of your code.

  • HTML Validator – from the W3C
  • CSS Validator – from the W3C
  • HTML Tidy
    This is a software library that evaluates and cleans up HTML, automatically generating a reformatted (i.e., “tidied”) version. HTML Tidy is widely available, and is integrated into many web coding applications as documented on their website.
  • HTML Validator Browser Extensions – for Chrome and Firefox, based on HTML Tidy and OpenSG, includes accessibility checks that can be toggled on via the Options menu
  • WebVTT Validator – for validating timed text files to be used with HTML video, e.g., for captions, subtitles, chapters, and descriptions.

Color checkers

The W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 requires a specific contrast ratio between foreground and background colors. There are several tools available for measuring contrast:

  • Colour Contrast Analyser
    This free application, available in Windows and Mac versions, makes it easy to check foreground & background color combinations. Both versions include an eyedropper tool for easily grabbing a particular color from anywhere on the screen.
  • WCAG Contrast Checker for Firefox
    This Firefox extension displays color contrast ratios in a sidebar, and flags the color combinations that fail WCAG contrast requirements at various levels.
  • WebAIM Color Contrast Checker
    This handy online tool includes a feature to “lighten” or “darken” existing colors until you find a combination that meets WCAG 2.0 requirements. This functionality is also built into the WAVE Extension (see WAVE under “Third Party Accessibility Checkers & Browser Extensions”).
  • WCAG Color Contrast Checker
    This web tool from seigemedia provides a simple interface for comparing colors.
  • UW Colors Contrast Table
    A quick guide for selecting combinations of UW brand colors that meet accessibility requirements for contrast.

Mobile development

Assistive technologies

When testing web pages and IT products with assistive technologies, it is important to be aware that no two assistive technology (AT) products are alike. What seems to work perfectly in Product A may be inaccessible in Product B. Therefore, developers should resist the tendency to develop sites and applications that work with a particular AT product, and focus instead on developing sites that comply with standards.  Also, full-time AT users develop skills, strategies and workflows for using their tools over many years of experience. When using these same tools for testing web pages, it is important to keep this limitation in mind.

Screen Readers

Screen readers are tools that are used most commonly by individuals who are blind or visually impaired to read the content of desktop or mobile computing devices using a synthesized voice. The following are commonly used screen readers in various platforms.

  • NVDA
    A free, open source screen reader for Windows.
  • JAWS (not free)
    The most popular screen reader in Windows.
  • Narrator
    Microsoft’s screen reader, built into Windows. This is a simple screen reader, minimally featured compared to NVDA and JAWS, and not commonly relied upon for daily use.
  • VoiceOver
    Apple’s screen reader, built in to both Mac OS and iOS devices.

Each of these tools, and many other assistive technologies, are available for use in the Access Technology Center.

WebAIM publishes several relevant resources: