Independent Software QA Testing Services

Collaboration and Cooperation – World Usability Day

Listing Popular Usability and Accessibility Testing Tools
Empowering Inclusivity

Introduction

In today’s virtual landscape, creating websites and applications that are both user-friendly and accessible to all is extremely important. Usability and accessibility testing tools play a crucial role in achieving this goal. These tools not only help identify potential barriers for users with disabilities but also enhance the overall user experience for everyone. Delve into some of the most effective and innovative usability and accessibility testing tools available.

Popular Usability Testing Tools

User testing platforms like UsabilityHub (rebranded as Lyssna) and UserTesting.com provide valuable insights into the overall user experience. By incorporating individuals with diverse abilities into testing scenarios, designers can uncover specific pain points and gather authentic feedback on accessibility and usability. This approach promotes a user-centric mindset, leading to more inclusive designs.

Optimizely specializes in A/B testing and experimentation, enabling designers to compare different versions of a design.
Including A/B testing, multivariate testing, personalization, and feature flagging for continuous optimization.Helping in making data-driven decisions by evaluating the effectiveness of design variations.

Hotjar offers a suite of tools to analyze user behavior through heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys , heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, and feedback polls for comprehensive user behavior analysis.To gain insights into user interactions, pain points, and preferences refining the user experience.

Crazy Egg focuses on visualizing user behavior through heatmaps, scrollmaps, and user recordings. Heatmaps, scrollmaps, user recordings, and A/B testing to understand user engagement patterns. Provides a visual representation of user interactions, aiding in identifying areas for improvement.

Lookback offers remote user testing with features for moderated and unmoderated sessions. Including Live sessions, video recordings, and participant feedback for in-depth user research.Enabling designers to conduct user interviews and observe real-time interactions, even across different locations.

Maze specializes in user testing and research, providing designers with a platform to conduct usability tests and validate design decisions.
Prototyping testing, user testing, and user feedback collection, allowing designers to gather insights on design effectiveness.Seamlessly integrating with design tools like Figma and Sketch, streamlining the testing process and making it easy to iterate based on user feedback.

Usabilla focuses on gathering user feedback and insights through various channels, helping designers understand user sentiment and pain points.Including Feedback widgets, surveys, and user sentiment analysis tools for capturing and analyzing user feedback.
Providing a robust platform for capturing user sentiment and feedback in real-time, aiding in making informed design decisions and addressing user concerns effectively. And the ability to target specific user segments ensures relevant feedback is collected.

Popular Accessibility Testing Tools

Axe Accessibility Checker is a powerful browser extension that empowers developers and designers to identify and rectify accessibility issues. With its user-friendly interface, it provides detailed reports on potential problems, allowing for swift resolution. This tool supports a wide range of platforms, making it an essential addition to any development toolkit.

Axe Monitor is a service provided by Deque that allows organizations to continuously monitor their websites for accessibility issues. It provides alerts and reports, making it easier to maintain accessibility compliance over time.
Voice Dictation Software (e.g., Dragon NaturallySpeaking)
Voice dictation software allows testers to evaluate how well an application or website accommodates users who rely on speech recognition for navigation and interaction.

Keyboard Testing
Testing applications using only a keyboard is crucial for users who rely on keyboard navigation. Built-in browser tools and extensions like aXe and Keyboard Accessibility Checker can help identify and fix keyboard navigation.

WAVE is a comprehensive suite of evaluation tools designed to aid developers in creating accessible web content. This extension identifies accessibility and usability errors, offering clear and actionable feedback. It's particularly helpful in providing visual representations of potential issues, making it a valuable asset for designers aiming to enhance the user experience.

Ensuring proper color contrast is essential for creating accessible interfaces. Tools like the WebAIM Color Contrast Checker and Contrast Checker help designers assess color combinations and ensure readability for users with visual impairments. These tools are simple yet invaluable in promoting inclusivity.

Screen readers are indispensable for evaluating the accessibility of a website or application for visually impaired users. NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) and VoiceOver are two of the most widely used screen readers that allow developers to experience their products from a visually impaired perspective. By using these tools, designers can identify areas that require improvement in terms of navigation and content comprehension.

ARIA is a set of attributes that enhance the semantics of HTML elements, making them more accessible. Tools like ARIA Validator and W3C's ARIA Authoring Practices can assist developers in implementing ARIA correctly, ensuring that assistive technologies can interpret web content accurately.

JAWS is a widely used screen reader for Windows that provides comprehensive support for web content. It's an indispensable tool for testing web applications and ensuring they're compatible with assistive technologies.

Pa11y is an open-source command-line tool that automates accessibility testing. It can be integrated into continuous integration workflows, enabling developers to catch accessibility issues early in the development process.

This suite of tools by Microsoft offers a range of features for testing and improving the accessibility of web applications. It includes a FastPass tool for quickly identifying common issues, as well as a robust set of assessment tools.

ZoomText is a screen magnification tool that helps evaluate the usability of a website for users with low vision. It allows testers to simulate different levels of magnification to ensure content remains readable and navigable.

Lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool for improving the quality of web pages. It includes audits for performance, accessibility, progressive web apps, and more. The accessibility audit helps identify issues that may affect users with disabilities.

Sortsite is a comprehensive web accessibility testing tool that scans websites for compliance with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and provides detailed reports on issues that need to be addressed..

Siteimprove is an all-in-one platform that offers a suite of tools for web content management, SEO, analytics, and accessibility testing. It provides a holistic approach to improving website quality.

This tool provides accessibility testing capabilities for web, mobile, and desktop applications. It helps identify and address accessibility issues across different platforms.

Parting Thoughts

Usability and accessibility testing tools are indispensable resources for creating digital experiences that cater to a diverse audience. By integrating these tools into the development process, designers and developers can proactively address accessibility challenges, resulting in products that are more inclusive and user-friendly for everyone. Deploying these tools is not only a step towards compliance with accessibility standards but also a commitment to inclusivity and user-centric design.

Things to Remember, each tool serves a specific purpose, and choosing the right combination depends on specific project requirements. Integrating a variety of these tools into a testing process will help ensure that each digital product is accessible and user-friendly for all.

About Thought Frameworks

Thought Frameworks is a U.S. based leading QA and software testing organization that's been in business since 2009, armed with the ultimate solutions for all your software's QA testing challenges. Having headquarters both in California, USA, and a fully functional well equipped QA Test Lab in Bengaluru-India, that delivers premium QA and QC services endlessly across different Industry domains and niches. An ISTQB Silver Partnered Company, our superhuman test team heroes have delivered numerous successful QA and QC projects for clients across the globe. Get powered by our deep dive bug hunting process that helps your software in clocking release cycles on time while delivering excelling quality and functionality.