IBM aDesigner Testing Software for Website Accessibility

Published: Jun 20, 2007

Several solutions for testing website accessibility exist, but none of the programs will test website suitability for the visually impaired. For this purpose IBM developed aDesigner, a program which tests as much as six Web standards.

aDesigner, an IBM alphaWorks project, is great software for web builders. Not only does this software test websites specifically for the blind and visually impaired, it also takes into account standards such as: WCAP (priority 1 through 3), Section 508, JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) and IBM’s own guidelines. It can take into account three kinds of color blindness, vision 0.1 through 1.0 as well as the visitor’s age.
 
aDesigner points out problem areas, offers tips for improvement and shows comparisons of images viewed with and without vision problems. For instance, you will be able to see how long it takes for a line of braille to appear at a certain location on the screen. aDesigner will also offer tips on hidden links on a page and indicate problems the visually impaired might encounter. Whether it’s small lettering, bad contrast on a background or colors that are too close together, aDesigner will notice everything.
 
The software can be downloaded for free from the IBM alphaWorks website, with a required site registration. 
 
Translation: Vanessa Flier

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

Back to top