WAVE Accessibility Tips
Overview
WAVE has been designed to be accessible to users with disabilities, including screen reader users. Because the WAVE interface is complex and highly visual, accessibility for screen reader users poses some unique challenges, but structure has been added to facilitate better screen reader navigation and exploration.
IMPORTANT! While WAVE can identify accessibility issues within the web page being tested, including issues that may not be readily detectable using a screen reader alone, WAVE does not fix accessibility issues within the page. Significant page accessibility issues can sometimes interfere with WAVE functionality.
Interface Structure
The WAVE interface is comprised of the following primary areas (in order):
- WAVE Sidebar
- Page content (with injected WAVE icons and indicators)
- WAVE Code panel
Accessibility items identified by WAVE (Errors, Contrast Errors, Alerts, Features, Structural Elements, and ARIA) are presented in all 3 of these areas, allowing the WAVE user to explore WAVE feedback in various places and ways.
Extension Shortcut Key
When using the WAVE Chrome or Firefox extension, you can activate WAVE by pressing Control + Shift + U (Command + Shift + U on Mac) or by activating the “WAVE this page” context (right click) menu item.
Icon Alternative Text and Color Reliance
While colors are used to identify [...]