Checklist

We've covered a bunch of ground related to accessible software development. One of the most important steps you can take is accounting for accessibility throughout the development process (not just at the end!). To aid in that process, use the following checklist as you develop your website or application:

• Do all images have meaningful alternative text?
• Is every focusable element operable using the keyboard alone?
• Is there a consistent visible focus indicator when navigating using the keyboard?
• Have all controls, frames, and page titles been labeled meaningfully and uniquely?
• If custom controls/components have been implemented, have these been tested to assure that assistive technology recognizes name, role, state, and value (where applicable)?
• Have custom controls/components been verified to work as expected using assistive technology, such as a screen reader?
• Are error messages interpretable by assistive technology?
• Do you have sufficient foreground and background color contrast?
• Have captions been included with any audio or audio/visual media?

There are also a number of free tools available for assessing the accessibility:

• WAVE by WebAIM for general website accessibility
• Juicy Studio's Readability Test
• Vischeck's Color Blindness Checker