Digital accessibility resources

Microlink’s Digital Accessibility goes beyond compliance by ensuring that digital content is usable by disabled people.

To this end we undertake manual testing using, for example, screen readers that read screen content aloud for blind or partially sighted people. We also undertake testing using automatic tools. You will need to be aware that automatic web and mobile accessibility evaluation tools can only assist with testing, simple fixes and reporting. It is for this reason we recommend that you combine both manual checks with automatic testing and include where possible disabled people and accessibility experts in your evaluation workflow.

Web accessibility testing and evaluation:

Introductory checks for those new to web accessibility

• Easy checks: for example, checking that images have alternative text (“alt text”) descriptions.

More advanced web accessibility testing and evaluation

• WCAG-EM Overview: Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology
• WCAG-EM Report Tool: Website Accessibility Evaluation Report Generator
• Selecting web accessibility evaluation report tools: We recommend using three web accessibility evaluation tools together, but you will need to understand what the results mean. The following are free tools that may help:
  • 1. IBM: Equal Access Toolkit: Browser Extensions: Tools
    2. PowerMapper Check a Site: scan web sites for over 1200 quality problems
    3. TPGi: Arc Toolkit: ARC Toolkit – Page-Level Testing – TPGi
    4. University of Southampton Web2Access: provides both a manual and automatic test review methodology that can help walk you through testing. Web2Access
    5. WebAim: WAVE
    6. Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools List
    7. NVDA: is a free Window’s screen readers for desktop/laptop.
    8. TPGi: Colour Contrast Analyser
    9. How to Meet WCAG 2.2 (Quickref Reference)
    10. Involving Users in Evaluating Web Accessibility

Mobile accessibility testing:

• Android and iOS (both include the use of built in mobile screen readers).

PDF Accessibility:

PDF Accessibility Checker 2024: PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC) 2024 – axes4 (for Windows only) and checks PDF accessibility compliance to PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 AA. PAC 2025 is currently in development.

Microsoft Word (Office 365): Accessibility Checker

The language of disability when writing evaluation reports:

In the UK, the phrase ‘disabled people’ is more prevalent whereas in countries, such as the US, the preferred phrase is ‘People with Disabilities’ (PwDs). Scope use the Social Model of Disability to explain why and how disabled people are disabled by society and its infrastructure.

For example, a wheelchair user will encounter a barrier if steps are provided, rather than a ramp, to enter a building.

GOV.UK provide a useful overview for words to use and avoid when writing about disability. The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) refer to dyslexic people rather than people with or who have dyslexia.