QA guide · Accessibility

Manual accessibility testing checklist for QA

A manual accessibility pass can reveal important barriers early, but it is not a certification and it is not exhaustive. Use it as a first review, then escalate to deeper testing when the product requires it.

Keyboard and focus

  • Tab through all interactive controls; every essential action should be reachable.
  • Focus should remain visible and follow a logical order.
  • Menus, dialogs and forms should not trap keyboard users unexpectedly.

Forms and labels

  • Each form control needs a clear purpose and an associated label.
  • Required fields and errors should not rely on color alone.
  • Error messages should explain what needs correction.
  • Do not use placeholder text as the only label.

Content and visual checks

  • Page title and heading hierarchy should describe the content.
  • Meaningful images need useful text alternatives.
  • Text and controls need sufficient contrast for their context.
  • Zoom/resizing should not hide essential information or controls.

Scope note

Passing a quick manual checklist does not prove WCAG conformance. W3C describes Easy Checks as a basic first review rather than a comprehensive evaluation.

Practice task

Test the QA Lab using keyboard only for five minutes. Record any unreachable control, missing focus indication, unclear label or confusing error as evidence-first findings.

Ferramenta gratuita

Revise a qualidade do seu bug report antes de enviar.

O QA Evidence Generator roda localmente no navegador, dá um score determinístico de completude, aponta lacunas e exporta Markdown ou HTML pronto para PDF.

Abrir QA Evidence Generator →

Practice it

Use a real browser exercise, not only a definition.

The QA + Security Bug Hunt Lab gives you a self-contained storefront with intentional findings, reporting templates, scoring and an answer key.

Open the QA Lab on Gumroad ↗

Primary references

← All QA guides