Manual Accessibility Testing

The process of evaluating web content accessibility through direct human inspection rather than automated tools. Manual testing is essential because many WCAG success criteria cannot be fully evaluated by automated means — they require human judgment about whether content is meaningful, relationships are preserved, or interactions are usable. Common manual testing activities include keyboard-only navigation, screen reader testing, checking reading order, evaluating color use in context, and assessing whether text alternatives adequately convey the same information as non-text content. Research has shown that evaluator expertise significantly affects the reliability of manual testing results, making training and structured evaluation methodologies important for consistent outcomes.