Plan Manual Testing

Automated testing finds a meaningful share of WCAG issues, and it finds them fast. It cannot judge meaning or experience. A short manual routine on your most important pages covers much of the rest.

Use the Coverage Table as Your Checklist

On a domain’s Overview, the coverage table marks criteria as Manual test or Spot check. Those are the ones to test by hand. Leave Only criteria with issues unticked so every criterion is listed.

A 20-Minute Routine per Key Page

Keyboard (about 5 minutes)

1. Put your mouse aside and press Tab from the top of the page.
2. Can you reach every link, button and form field?
3. Can you always see where focus is?
4. Does the order make sense?
5. Can you open and close menus and dialogs, and escape from them?

Screen reader (about 10 minutes)

Use NVDA on Windows (free), VoiceOver on Mac, iPhone and iPad (built in), or TalkBack on Android (built in). Complete one real task, such as signing up or buying something. Listen for:

• Unclear link or button names
• Images described poorly
• Form errors that are not announced

Zoom and reflow (about 5 minutes)

1. Zoom the browser to 200 percent. Text should grow and nothing should be cut off.
2. Zoom to 400 percent. Content should reflow into one column without scrolling sideways.

Record What You Find

Our free WCAG 2 AA checklist spreadsheet has a row for every check, with columns for the result, the failing element and your recommended fix.

Fix problems like any other issue. Keep notes of what you tested and when, alongside your exported reports, as evidence of your work.

For more on splitting the work, read automated vs manual accessibility testing.