Can someone finish the task without a mouse?
Pick one task a visitor needs to finish, such as opening a menu and finding the right item. A scanner can point you to problems worth fixing. Try the whole task yourself to see what happens at each step.
Which screen should you check?
Choose the screen where the task happens. For a dialog, check the page before you open it and the dialog while it is open. Use a standalone sample, or confirm before opening a preview that its storage, sign-in and other services are disabled or connected to separate test systems with fictional records and test accounts.
If you cannot confirm the preview setup, use a standalone sample or sketch the expected interaction. Submit an address to an online checker only when it is public and you have permission to share it. Before using an extension on a private test page, check its data settings and your team's rules.
How do you turn a finding into a fix?
Open one finding and locate the exact control it describes. If an icon-only button has no name a screen reader can announce, give it a clear name such as Close help. Rerun the same check and then listen for the name with a screen reader.
Compare tools
Scroll the table sideways to read every column.
| Tool | Where it runsThe browser or page access you need. | What it showsEvidence to look at in the report. | Check by handExamples that still need a person. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse | Built into Chrome DevTools for a page you can open, including a local or approved signed-in page. | An accessibility score and the individual audit results behind it. | Follow the page by keyboard and check that the focus indicator is visible. |
| WAVE | A web checker for a public address or a browser extension for a local or approved private page. | Marks on the page and explanations of errors and items to inspect. | Check that a field label makes sense for the information it asks for. |
| axe DevTools | A browser extension that opens in developer tools and scans the page in the current tab. | Findings tied to specific elements you can inspect. | Check where focus goes when a dialog opens and what a screen reader announces. |
What should happen when you open and close Help?
Use a standalone Help dialog with sample content and no connected services. Focus is the place on the page where the keyboard is currently directed. Check where focus goes before, during and after opening the dialog.
- Open Help without the mousePress Tab until you reach the Help button. Check that you can see which control is selected. Press Enter and check that focus moves inside the dialog.
- Move through the dialogUse Tab and Shift+Tab. You should be able to reach the controls, see which one has focus and move back without landing on the page behind the dialog. With a screen reader, listen for the dialog title and the control names.
- Close it and continuePress Escape. Help should close and focus should return to the Help button. Press Tab once more to check that you can continue using the page.
What can you conclude after a check?
Record the screen state, the affected control and what happened when you tried the task. A scan and a keyboard pass give evidence for those checks on that screen. A conformance evaluation examines the applicable accessibility criteria across the pages, states and complete tasks in scope.
A high score or a clean report leaves manual checks open. Treat it as one part of your accessibility work. A legal compliance determination calls for a separate assessment of the requirements that apply to your product.