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Automated Testing Workflow

Introduction

Accessibility audits start with automated testing, which can catch about 20 to 30% of issues. Please note that manual testing is still required for full WCAG compliance.

Automated testing finds obvious code-level problems like:

  • Missing alt text
  • Low color contrast
  • Links or buttons without text
  • Videos without captions
  • Broken heading hierarchies

Together, automated and manual testing provide a complete picture of the site’s accessibility status.

Running Automated Scans

Start a scan in AAArdvark by navigating to the Site in your Workspace dashboard. Make sure all the pages you want to test are added.

From the Site Dashboard, click Run Automated Scan to scan all pages. That’s it. The scan will start running.

The site details card on the Site Dashboard, with the Run Automated Scan button highlighted.

Reviewing Automated Issues and Addressing Them

After the scan, issues appear in the list. They may fall into three cases:

  • Fix required: Once resolved, select Mark as Fixed. The instance moves to Awaiting scan, and AAArdvark confirms the fix in the next scan.
  • False positives: If no problem exists, select Dismiss, and AAArdvark will ignore it next time.
  • Warnings: Instances the scanner can’t check on its own are listed on the Needs confirmation page in the site’s sidebar. Someone with the Accessibility Tester, Project Manager or Administrator role (or the workspace Owner) reviews each one: Confirm real problems (they move to the issue’s active instances to be fixed) or Dismiss false positives. These don’t count against your Accessibility Score, but the site’s grade stays capped until they’re reviewed.
An issue on the Needs confirmation page, showing an instance with What to confirm details and the Dismiss and Confirm buttons highlighted.
Review each instance on the Needs confirmation page, then Confirm or Dismiss it.

AAArdvark Features for Automated Testing

AAArdvark readily provides features to streamline the automated testing process with some key capabilities:

Whole Site vs Single Page Scans

Full-site scans are useful for starting a project or regular check-ins, but may take longer. For quick checks, scan a single page from the Pages tab, which is ideal for verifying fixes.

Learn more about scanning the whole site vs single pages.

The Pages tab for a site, with the Scan a Page icon highlighted in the Actions column of the first page.
Button for a single-page scan in the Pages page in AAArdvark.

Scheduled Scans

You can schedule daily or weekly scans for ongoing monitoring after a project is complete. Weekly scans are especially useful to track overall accessibility over time. A sudden rise in issues signals it’s time for a manual audit.

The Scan Settings section of a site's Settings page, with the Scan Frequency option highlighted and set to Scan Weekly.
Adjust the scan frequency under Site Settings.

Site Dashboard Information

After a scan, the site dashboard shows:

  • Accessibility Score and workflow status: the site’s score and grade, the suggested next step, and where the site is in the Scan, Review and Test workflow
  • Site Statistics: issues by impact, issues over time, and the most common active issues
  • Recent Activity: a log of recent scans and issue updates
The Accessibility Score and workflow status section on the Site Dashboard, showing a B grade with a score of 85 out of 100, a Needs Review prompt, and the Scan, Review and Test workflow steps.
Site Dashboard in AAArdvark, showing the Accessibility Score and workflow status.
The Site Statistics section on the Site Dashboard, with cards for Issues by impact, Issues over time, and Active Issues.
Site Dashboard in AAArdvark, showing Site Statistics.

Filters for Automated Issues

Use filters to narrow issues by severity, type, status, assignment, success criteria, or page, and sort them by priority.

The main focus is usually on Active automated issues. Filter by:

  • Type: Automatic
  • Status: Active

To work through instances that need a manual check, use the Needs confirmation page described above.

The filter bar on a site's Issues page, with the Type filter set to Automatic and the Status filter set to Active highlighted.
Filters for Issues where Type is set to Automatic and Status is set to Active.

Still stuck?

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