What basic accessibility checks can you do manually?
WebJunior
In shortUse the page with only the keyboard, try a screen reader, zoom to 200%, check color contrast and text alternatives, and make sure forms have labels and clear errors.
Model answer
Accessibility means people with disabilities can use the product. Many issues can be found in minutes:
- Keyboard only: put the mouse away. Can I reach every link, button and field with Tab, in a logical order? Is the focus visible? Can I close a modal with Esc, and am I not trapped?
- Screen reader: VoiceOver (Mac/iPhone), TalkBack (Android) or NVDA (Windows). Do buttons have meaningful names (“Add to cart”, not “button”)? Do images have alt text?
- Zoom and text size: browser zoom to 200%, large system font on mobile. Nothing should be cut off or overlap.
- Color and contrast: text is readable, and color is not the only signal (an error isn’t just a red border, it has a message too).
- Forms: every field has a visible label, errors are announced and explain how to fix them.
- Media: videos have captions, nothing autoplays loudly or flashes.
- Touch targets on mobile are large enough.
Then I run an automated check like Lighthouse or axe to catch things like missing labels and low contrast. Automated tools find only part of the problems, so the manual checks stay important. The standard to reference is WCAG, usually level AA.
Learn more: Accessibility Basics (WCAG)
What they're looking for
A handful of concrete, quick checks a tester can do without special training, plus awareness of WCAG and automated tools as a complement.
Common mistakes
- Saying accessibility is only about blind users.
- Relying only on an automated scanner.
- Not mentioning keyboard navigation.