Best practice - Screen reader testing

Screen readers work by reading your page content aloud so you can hear it. They help people with severe visual impairments to use your service even if they can’t see it. They also help people with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, where reading may be difficult.

You must make sure your product or service works using at least one common screen reader.

Voiceover on OS X

Voiceover is built into Mac OS X. To turn it on, choose:
System Preferences > Accessibility > Voiceover

Voiceover is only fully supported by the Safari browser. So make sure all testing is done using Safari.

The DWP OS X Voiceover test template is available as HTML or Open Document Text format (ODT). Use whichever you feel most comfortable with.

The default Voiceover keys are CONTROL + OPTION, so in the testing template where you see VO these are the keys you will need to use unless you change the default configuration.

Download the testing template you want to use:

Complete each test marking it as passed, failed or not applicable. Keep your results as evidence.

NVDA on Windows

NVDA is a free screen reader which you will need to install before you use it.

NVDA works well on Firefox, and Chromium based browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. It also works well on Internet Explorer, but Internet Explorer may not support all the features of websites which have been coded to modern standards which could create false negatives in your tests.

The DWP NVDA test template is available as HTML or Open Document Text format (ODT). Use whichever you feel most comfortable with.

The default NVDA key on Windows 10 in is the INSERT key. If you don’t have an insert key, you can configure NVDA to use CAPS LOCK in the settings. So, in the testing template where you see NVDA you will need to use one of these keys.

Download the testing template you want to use:

Complete each test marking it as passed, failed or not applicable. Keep your results as evidence.