As digital accessibility becomes increasingly important, many teams incorporate automation tools to check if their website or application is accessible.
To meet this growing need efficiently, many QA teams and developers turn to automation accessibility testing tools. These tools promise to speed up testing, catch compliance issues early, and integrate seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines. Their power lies in their ability to quickly scan large codebases and identify common violations of standards like WCAG.
If you haven’t already, check out our previous blog – Everything You Need to Know About Accessibility Testing – where we debunk common misconceptions and explore why accessibility is much broader than screen readers and visual impairments.
In this blog, we will examine what automation accessibility testing tools promise, what they provide based on real-world testing, and why human judgment will remain a key component of the process. We will also look at the most common tools today – what they do well, where they fail, and how to best use them in your QA process.
Popular Automation Accessibility Testing Tools
Let’s break down the most widely used accessibility testing tools, their pros and cons, and where they stand in real-world usage.
Axe by Deque Systems
What It Is:
- One of the most respected and widely used accessibility tools, available as a
- browser extension, CLI tool, or integration for frameworks like Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright.
Promises:
- Accurate WCAG checks
- Seamless CI/CD integration
- Low false positives
- Enterprise-level dashboarding with Axe Monitor
What It Delivers:
- Excellent for spotting basic WCAG 2.1 violations
- Great developer experience
- Doesn’t check alt text meaning or visual clarity
- Needs manual testing for logical flow and interaction
Use Case:
- Use it during development and CI builds. Pair it with manual screen reader testing for best results.
Example (Browser Extension):
- To demonstrate automation accessibility testing, we used Axe DevTools by Deque Systems on the SauceDemo Login Page.
Below is a step-by-step guide with real results and screenshots.
Steps to Run the Tests
Step 1:Install Axe DevTools
Install the Axe DevTools Chrome extension.
Step 2: Open the Website
Navigate to the target site – in our case: https://www.saucedemo.com/v1/
Step 3: Open DevTools
Right-click on the page → Click Inspect or press Ctrl + Shift + I.
Step 4: Switch to the “axe DevTools” tab
You’ll find a new Axe DevTools tab inside Chrome DevTools.
Step 5: Click “Analyze.”
Axe will begin scanning the page and show a list of accessibility issues it detects.
Test Results:
Here are the actual findings from the SauceDemo login screen using Axe DevTools:
Issues Detected (Total: 3)
- The element must have a lang attribute
- Images must have alternative text (missing alt attribute)
- Zooming and scaling must not be disabled
Screenshot:
Key Takeaway:
Even polished-looking websites can miss critical accessibility attributes. Automation tools like Axe catch these early in development, but for a complete accessibility audit, always complement automation with manual testing (screen readers, keyboard navigation, etc.).
Google Lighthouse
What It Is:
- A free tool built into Chrome DevTools. Runs accessibility audits as part of performance and SEO checks.
Promises:
- Simple, quick accessibility score Checklist of key issues No installations needed
What It Delivers:
- Quick overview with accessibility score
- Detects low contrast, missing labels, and bad button usage
- Score can be misleading – passing doesn’t mean “fully accessible”
- Limited rule set compared to Axe
Use Case:
- Great for a fast audit or to report improvements. Not reliable for deep testing.
Example (Browser Extension):
- To demonstrate automation accessibility testing, we used Lighthouse on the SauceDemo Login Page.
Below are the step-by-step guide with real results and screenshots.
Steps to Run the Lighthouse Accessibility Test:
Step 1: Open the Website
- Go to https://www.saucedemo.com/v1/ in Chrome.
Step 2: Open Chrome DevTools
- Right-click anywhere on the page → Select Inspect or press Ctrl + Shift + I.
Step 3: Go to the “Lighthouse” tab
- Click on the “Lighthouse” tab inside Chrome DevTools.
Step 4: Configure the Audit
- Uncheck all categories except Accessibility
- Choose the mode: either Mobile or Desktop
- Click the Analyze page load
Step 5: View the Report
- After a few seconds, Lighthouse will generate a detailed accessibility report with a score out of 100 and a list of issues.
Test Results:
Accessibility Score: 82 / 100
Common issues detected by Lighthouse:
Missing alt attributes for meaningful images
Buttons without accessible names
Insufficient contrast between background and foreground text
Form elements not associated with labels
ScreenShot
WAVE by WebAIM
What It Is:
- A visual accessibility evaluation tool. Available as a browser extension and API.
Promises:
- Clear visual feedback on accessibility error
- Educational tool for learning WCAG issues
- API for developers and QA teams
What It Delivers:
- Great for quick visual checks
- Highlights structure and ARIA landmarks
- Doesn’t scale well for large apps or CI/CD
- Can clutter pages and sometimes false-flag
Use Case:
- Ideal for learning and quick audits on smaller pages.
Example (Browser Extension):
- Install the WAVE extension.
- Visit a webpage and click the WAVE icon.
- It overlays icons to show errors like missing alt text or bad ARIA roles.
Example:
- To demonstrate manual visual accessibility inspection, we used the WAVE browser extension on the SauceDemo Login Page. Below is a step-by-step guide along with real test results and optional screenshot areas.
READ THE FULL BLOG: https://tinyurl.com/4849x3mb
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