In this review, we will be bringing accessibility closer to you by analyzing the top accessibility checkers for Europe.
Top Accessibility Checkers for Europe are tools that analyze how accessible, certain content or websites are. What is Web accessibility, you may be wondering? The Basics: Website Accessibility 101 explains in detail what it is and why we need immediate implementation. In brief…
Web accessibility makes the world wide web accessible to everybody, even users with physical or mental disabilities. Many processes go into this, with accessibility checking being one of the more important.
For instance, one big issue can be accessing your preferred tool from all over the globe. Therefore, not all Top Checkers provide global access. In this review, we will be focusing on which Top Checkers in Europe are accessible. Before we get to that, though, let’s analyze some of the issues with accessibility in Europe.
Accessibility in Europe: What are the issues?
On the whole, deep distrust of the WCAG 2.0 regulations has led to their dismantlement in Europe. Instead, they have put in place a much more flexible framework. Accordingly, a fifteen-page WAD (Web Accessibility Directive) is in place to enforce the new concept and its rules. Hence, these regulations require all websites and mobile apps that provide public info or services to adhere to them. This WAD’s purpose is to ensure that all EU citizens have equality of access to the Internet. Not following these regulations, even as a private entity, may result in fines or even lawsuits.
Leading Accessibility Checkers in Europe
in fact, complying with EN 301549, WCAG, and WAD regulations is critical in Europe. What’s more, on a local level, governments are implementing these accessibility solutions wherever they can. However, some countries have their own sets of laws on digital accessibility. For example, France employs its RGAA regulations, Spain the UNE 139803 guidelines, and so on. These are all important locally, but the unified regulation is the European Union Directives from 2016.
The requirements for other jurisdictions may vary, but the essential guideline unifying these states remains the European Union Directives of 2016. Keeping these three in mind while developing your accessibility solutions or implementing them, and you’ll be golden. The companies we will be focusing on are SiteImprove, Axe, WebAIM, and CKEditor 5.
1. Siteimprove
A Sitelmprove checker is an automated tool testing the accessibility of your website. The home page scan is free of charge, and you can receive the results in under 30 seconds. 3 different categories represent the Accessibility status of a site:
1. The overall Accessibility Score
2. Accessibility Score segment into three groups
- Errors in accessibility detected & the interrelated WCAG levels
- Warnings for accessibility according to all WCAG levels
- Pages with multiple levels of A/AA levels
3. Accessibility progress graph
Naturally, available for those who want to track the improvement of the accessibility score over time. What’s more, SiteImprove’s checker system allows different teams to access & contribute to the process. The roles and responsibilities divide into three types: editor, webmaster, and developer. The tool can detect issues such as issues with images, issues with links, issues with forms, etc.
Once the first scan of your site is done, you receive the list of improvements in 3 forms: errors, warnings, and reviews. Sitelmprove checker is a paid tool, and the pricing is received once you submit the request based on your needs. Different websites, industries, numbers of pages, everything comes into play. Thus, give them a call if you are in a hurry, and you will get all the information you need right away.
2. Axe
Axe enables QA testers and developers to wire accessibility in a website or application development process. It works in compliance with WCAG 2.0, Section 508 & EN 301549.
Axe is an absolute leader in the accessibility industry because of its innovative tendencies, constantly removing barriers in the fast-changing digital environment. Axe’s tools have been downloaded over 33 million times, plus claimed as an accessibility standard by Google, Microsoft, and the US Ministry of Justice.
Axe is different from other accessibility solutions because it is brought into play in the development process, not once the website or an application has been completed. This enables businesses and developers to save time and build an accessible presence from the get-go.
Axe’s accessibility tool is made up of three tools:
As you can assume from the name of the tool, it has been created to help the front and back-end developers to check for possible accessibility issues. Download it as a browser extension and use it to run a quick test while coding. Click here to install the free Chrome extension.
The premium version of this tool is available, and it is called Intelligent Guided Testing. There are three reasons why you should get the Intelligent Guided Testing:
- You will be able to conduct a more detailed audit by selecting the sections you want the tool to focus on.
- There is no need for technical knowledge, it is easy to use, and all the know-how is simplified with easy-to-understand guides.
- You will save a lot of time with this upgrade.
Watch the video below to learn more about Intelligent Guided Testing.
Cost: Free version is available together with the Pro Pack that you can test 14 days for free, and after that priced at $40 a month.
Axe’s Auditor stands out by having both automatic and manual audits run at the same time. You can set rules for the automated audits to detect simple issues, which will leave you time to focus on the issues you need to get your hands on and fix manually.
Cost: Click here to request a demo to learn more about the tool and find out the pricing.
3. Android & iOS Accessibility
Something that not many tools offer is the option to identify and fix accessibility issues on mobile apps. Axe covers both Android and iOS in this sense because they have designed a tool for each of the systems that can suggest improvements in compliance with accessibility standards.
Cost: Schedule a demo or request an audit before you start using the tool. Once you test the tool you will be able to request the pricing from Axe directly based on the size of your mobile app.
3. WebAIM
WebAIM checker is set apart by a well-designed processing engine that can cater to several pages at once, while a single-page scan is available for free. This checker has advanced features which allow evaluation of any website without restrictions. If you or your team want to learn how to use this tool best, training is available.
WebAIM offers two different ways to examine pages:
1. Free Wave single page URL checker
2. Paid automated evaluation scanners identifying non-compliance errors on multiple pages
One of the advantages of the WebAIM checker is visual feedback that uses colors and icons to point out non-compliance errors. Another advantage is that the WebAIM checker is not limited to any code setup. You can run accessibility checks on all types of domains (Java Scripts).
Browser extensions are available for both Chrome & Firefox
You can install the WebAIM accessibility checker plugin and run the scan.
WebAIM offers three additional tools that can help in getting a more comprehensive site evaluation.
You will get a detailed report sheet with all accessibility errors that need to be fixed in compliance with accessibility standards. It can scan websites with 10 000 pages, taking 2 to 5 days to produce a report.
Cost: up to $500 for 10 000 pages; reevaluation for half-price for 10 000 pages
This tool provides remote and automated evaluations of web pages. You will receive the report on access evaluation from web accessibility experts.
Cost: Fundamental Analysis $0.4 per page
With this tool, you can schedule analysis, including intranets, secure web pages, and non-public websites. You will also receive a customized report regardless of the number of pages on your website.
Cost: Starts from $4000 and can go up based on API call usage & license agreement.
4. CKEditor 5
Content created with the CKEditor 5 is accessible from the very beginning. There is a certain freedom when creating content with CKEditor 5 because you have access to pre-made edits that can be easily applicable. For more complex modifications, customization they are offering is the key advantage of this tool. You can integrate CKEditor 5 with all new technologies such as React, Vue.js, Angular, Node.js, and many more. CKEditor offers one of the best JavaScript text editors with a virtual DOM.
Four essential functions of CKeditor are:
- Responsive Images – All you have to do is drag and drop. The support is built-in, and images on your website will be automatically mobile-responsive.
- Office Content into HTML – Easily convert all the content into the desired format.
- Media Embedding – Embed any media such as a video, audio, tweet, or post.
- Automated Formatting – If your users spend a lot of time writing, this is a crucial feature for you because auto-formatting will enhance their experience on your website.
Cost: Three different subscription options are available.
Firstly, there is a free option. Secondly, a monthly subscription is priced at $37 and a custom option to build a package that suits your needs.
The great thing about CKEditor 5 is the flexibility in pricing and that they can be something for everyone.
If you enjoyed reading our Top Accessibility Checkers for Europe Guide, then keep on reading for the Top 5 Accessibility Checkers for WordPress
