AChecker

AChecker is an open source Web accessibility evaluation tool that can be used to review the accessibility of Web pages based on a variety international accessibility guidelines. Automated accessibility checkers can only identify a limited number of barriers in Web content with certainty. A human must interact with an accessibility review to make decisions on potential problems automated tools can not identify.

For example, any check that requires the evaluation of meaning, such as whether link text accurately describes the purpose of a link, or whether Alt text sufficiently describes the meaning contained in an image, a human must make a decision. If an accessibility checker is not asking the evaluator to make manual checks, it is not doing a thorough job.

Evaluating accessibility with AChecker is an interactive ongoing process. AChecker knows when it is unable to identify a potential problem and will ask the evaluator to manually check for the problem. Because Web content often changes, AChecker can be used to monitor the accessibility of Web content as it evolves.

Linking the AChecker conformance seal from a completed evaluation into a Web page, indicates the site is serious about accessibility. Clicking on a seal retrieves the original evaluation from AChecker, or it runs the evaluation again if the content of the page has changed.

AChecker also allows users to create accessibility guidelines, if for instance they are working in an enclosed environment that requires a specific level of accessibility. It also allows users to create new checks for the system as technology develops and makes it possible to check issue that may not have previously been possible.

It is also an open system, so those who want to develop expertise in accessibility evaluation have full access to all the inner workings of the system, all the accessibility checks and the solutions for fixing problems found by the system, and a full range of test files that verify exactly what each accessibility check is checking.