Manual vs Automated WCAG Testing: Which One Should You Use?
Which testing method you should use for WCAG certification?
Some websites have text too light and buttons that won’t click. Someone using a screen reader may feel like they are fighting back with such websites. This type of websites needs WCAG compliance.
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WCAG is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This is a framework set for website accessibility. Organizations use this to design and test their website. This accessibility checkup of a website is done in two ways, manual and automatic WCAG testing.
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A computer program can scan for errors quickly. A manual audit might be more detailed. So which is the right choice? Let’s find out what your website really needs.
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What is manual WCAG accessibility test?
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Manual testing is when you rely on a human tester instead of a computer. You hire an expert of WCAG guidelines they carefully assess your website and find problem areas.
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Manual audit specialists will check the following things on your website:
- Is your website content easily accessible if you do not have a mouse?
- Are all the images have meaningful descriptive or alt text?
- Are headings structured and easy to understand?
- Are buttons easily visible and easy to understand?
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A manual tester might look at a pop-up blocking the screen reader and tell you that it is against WCAG guidelines. A form field with a label that does not make any sense like “field 1” “field 2”. A computer might not catch the sense part because the field has a label. Only human intervention can tell you that it needs sense to make it WCAG compliant.
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What is automated WCAG testing?
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When you use a software to find the accessibility errors in your website, it is called automated testing. There are many tools for this task. Some are paid and some are free.
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When you run these codes, you can quickly get a report for the following kinds of issues:
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- Low color contrast
- No alt text
- Heading order mistakes
- Empty links
Automatic tools are fast and you can scan hundreds of web pages in minutes. They are good for basic issues.
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But, software can only scan 30% of the accessibility errors. A software scan cannot focus on meaning, logic and context kinds of errors. For these you will need manual testers.
How Are They Different?
| Feature | Manual Testing | Automated Testing |
|---|---|---|
| Who tests it | Humans | Software or tool |
| Speed | Slower | Much faster |
| Accuracy | Very high | Limited (30–40%) |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
| Checks usability | Yes | No |
| Best for | Real experience | Quick scanning |
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Someone actually walks through your website in manual testing and automated testing is like you are running a spell-check. Both are useful but they serve different purposes.
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Which testing method you should use for WCAG certification?
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You will need for WCAG certification. As said earlier, software testing is fast and good for catching basic errors. However, it is only 30% correct so you can’t rely on it for total WCAG compliance. Therefore, follow automated testing with manual testing to ensure your site works for everyone.
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You can follow this testing plan total WCAG compliance:
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- Pick a trusted WCAG testing tool and start with an automated test.
- Fix the errors you find with the compliance checker.
- Hire an accessibility expert and run a manual audit.
- Follow the remediation feedback and achieve total compliance .
Conclusion
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You should use both automated and manual testing to ensure that your website follows all WCAG guidelines. Automated testing saves time and manual testing brings context to the audit.
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If you need audit help or need WCAG certification then consult ADACP. They can guide you with a free website accessibility test and thorough manual audits.