Currently, there are very few tools for testing the accessibility and usability of software applications. However, various accessibility and usability strategies and guidelines are available for evaluating a software application. For the purpose of this website, I will use (Table 1: a software accessibility and usability check-list) from Web2Access.org.uk, which is a JISC-funded project. Moreover, I will use a tool for desktop applications that is "Application Accessibility Evaluator" from Virtual508.com
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| No | Test |
| 16 | Built in accessibility checks |
| 17 | Application works with External Assistive Technologies |
| 18 | Text or other alternatives for image elements. |
| 19 | Keyboard / Alternative input with focus |
| 20 | Labels for objects, fields or controls |
| 21 | Audio alerts have visual cues |
| 22 | Alternatives for Video/Animation |
| 23 | Media events offer user control |
| 24 | Textual Information for screen reader |
| 25 | Keyboard shortcut keys offered |
| 26 | Save user preferences for style and zoom |
| 27 | Timed events can be altered |
| 28 | Change colours and contrast |
| 29 | Uniform and standardised presentation |
| 30 | Documentation |
Table 1: Software application Check-list and test for usability and accessibility from Web2Access.org.uk.
There are many tools are offered for testing the accessibility and usability of web sites (see a list of Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools from W3C). For the purpose of this website, I will use Functional Accessibility Evaluator 1.0.3 (FAE) that is provided by University of Illinois , WAVE tool provided by WebAIM and SortSite form Electrum Company for evaluating accessibility and usability of the two web 2.0 applications. In addition, I will use SortSite and W3C tools (Markup Validator and CSS Validator) for evaluating web designing to standards. Moreover, to check accessibility and usability for blind and low vision users I will use aDesigner desktop tool. Finally, SortSite and BrowserCam tools will evaluate browser and operating system compatibility of the applications.
