Ask most people the difference between usability testing and accessibility testing, and they won’t know what to tell you. Why would they? Most people just want products and websites to be easy to use and provide them with the desired outcome. They don’t need to know the ins and outs of how different testing methods unfold or why.
If you ask a business owner what the difference is between usability testing and accessibility testing—or if you ask a development team about those differences—you should get an informed, educated answer: but you probably won’t. Why? Because, more often than not, the accessibility of a given site or application is an afterthought, reduced to a box that’s hastily checked at the end of the design process. This is frustrating, but it follows the typical bias of business to prioritize the appetites of the perceived majority.
The fact is, 1 in 4 adults in the United States experience some type of disability. Businesses can and should do better about combining accessibility testing with their usability testing processes—and researchers, designers, and developers can do their part to become thoroughly versed in both methods of research so as to better educate their business partners on how and why accessibility is a basic prerequisite for usability. Every user, regardless of their level of ability, just wants a smooth user experience—and every user deserves to have that.
Why accessibility matters
Tim Berner-Lee, the inventor of the internet, once remarked that “the power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” His vision for one of the most powerful inventions of all time was that it would provide an equivalent experience for all users.
While we have seen promising strides in accessible tech over the last 30 years, we still have a long way to go in making accessibility a dynamic part of the overall usability testing process (and vice versa). One of the best ways to move forward is by becoming better educated about the differences between accessibility and usability, how to test for both, and ultimately improve the quality of user experience.
Differences between accessibility and usability testing
The World Wide Web Consortium describes usability in a website as an experience that is “effective, efficient, and satisfying.” Web accessibility is described as an experience where “people with disabilities can equally perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with websites and tools.”
Usability testing measures a user’s overall ability to navigate an interface and complete tasks satisfactorily. Accessibility testing tests how easily a website’s content can be accessed from assistive devices (or via keyboard only navigation) so that all users have equal access to the website’s content and equal opportunity to successfully complete associated tasks.
Determining the accessibility of a website or product is a two-step process. The first step is to run an accessibility audit. This is a systematic review of a site or product to determine whether it meets accessibility standards and complies with associated accessibility laws and regulations. The point of the audit is to identify any and all areas where people with disabilities might encounter barriers or issues as they attempt to use an application to its fullest extent.
Accessibility audits provide insights into areas where users might run into accessibility issues, but they’re insufficient proof of a well-designed application or site. Although these audits are based on objective criteria laid out by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), they don’t give insights into how actual humans will interact with a given interface.
This is where usability testing needs to come in to round out the accessibility testing process.
Usability testing to determine accessibility
The biggest difference between the accessibility audit and running usability testing with people who have disabilities is the area of focus. The accessibility audit is meant to ensure that a software or application is compliant with accessibility standards; the usability testing is all about the users themselves and observing how well a program works for people with disabilities. Both methodologies should be used to offer a comprehensive picture of how accessible and user-friendly a site is.
Some examples of accessibility testing that aims to provide an inclusive user experience might include identifying pain points in the following areas:
- Visual disabilities (screen readers, tactile interfaces, magnification/illumination software)
- Motor or mobility disabilities (voice recognition, keyboard accessibility)
- Hearing disabilities (subtitles, closed captioning, visual notifications)
- Learning disabilities (Guided workflows, clear instructions, ease of use, minimal interfaces)
Incorporating real people into the testing process ensures that meeting accessibility standards isn’t just a matter of checking off boxes. Many things can be “tested” just by making sure that the site or product is functional with certain kinds of assistive devices. But actually testing them with real people is how you make sure that accessibility features are usable and to the equivalency of experience amongst users. Combining accessibility standards and usability processes with real users is the key to producing sites and applications that are technically and functionally usable for everyone.