Getting started with screen reader testing

Screen readers are the most important assistive technology for developers and designers to understand. But most people never open one. The learning curve feels steep, and it’s hard to know where to start. Today we’ll cover the basics of screen reader testing so you can hear your site the way assistive technology does.

If you haven’t run a basic keyboard test yet, start there first. Keyboard navigation is the foundation screen readers build on, and the two overlap more than you might expect.

The two tools:

There are two screen readers worth knowing about for desktop testing: one for Mac and one for Windows.

• VoiceOver ships with every Mac. No download needed. Turn it on with Command + F5.
• NVDA is free, open source, and the most widely used screen reader for Windows testing. Download it at nvaccess.org.

Core controls:

Three things to listen for:

1. Image alt text: When the screen reader reaches an image, does it announce something meaningful? A filename or silence means the alt text is missing or wrong.
2. Form field labels: When you tab to a form field, does the screen reader announce a clear label? Generic announcements or silence mean the field isn’t properly labeled, and users won’t know what to enter.
3. Dynamic content changes: When something updates on the page, a form error appears, a modal opens, or a live region changes, does the screen reader announce it? If not, those updates are invisible to screen reader users.

A note on the learning curve

Screen readers take time to learn, and that’s okay. This isn’t a complete guide, but it’s enough to start noticing obvious problems. The goal isn’t to become a power user. It’s to hear what your users hear.

Turn it on. Navigate through your site. Listen for what gets announced and what doesn’t. You’ll start to notice things that no automated tool would ever catch.