A11y audit bookmarklets

Accessibility Diagnostics

Focus Tools (Related to 2.4.3 Focus Order, 2.4.7 Focus Visible)

• 🔖anchor for Show focus styles bookmarklet Show focus styles
  Details for 'Show focus styles'

  

  • Runs through whole page,looking for focusable items and focuses them.
  • Focus style is captured and set as inline style.
  • You get a page that shows how all elements on the page will appear when they receive focus.
  • 🚨 NOTE: This is destructive, there is no 'undo' feature (just reload page).
• 🔖anchor for Lost focus alert bookmarklet Lost focus alert
  Details for 'Lost focus alert'

  

  • Inspired by the revelation in this article How To Avoid Breaking Web Pages For Keyboard Users, specifically the video demonstration.
  • Run this bookmarklet before doing keyboard testing and it will alert any loss of focus issues that may not be immediately obvious.
  • It checks for elements that lose focus as a result of:
    • Being removed from DOM.
    • Being hidden.
    • Being set as disabled.
    • Being set as inert.
    • Link activated that goes to a target that lacks tabindex="-1" (if it is not a natively focusable element).
    • Having a blur() event set (unless immediately re-set with focus()).
• 🔖anchor for Focus Order bookmarklet Focus Order
  Details for 'Focus Order'

  

  • Finds all focusable elements and shows the actual tabbing order.
  • Can draw path of tabbing order (redraws when window resized).
  • Helpful to identify SC 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A) failures.
  • After running, you can quit by pressing 'q' and the tool will remove all highlights, restore markup back as it was before.

Structure Tools (Related to 1.3.1 Info and Relationships)

• 🔖anchor for Check headings bookmarklet Check headings
  Details for 'Check headings'

  

  • Checks the page for definite WCAG failures and also best practices.
  • Highlights problems on the page.
  • Provides an outline in the console (along with issues found).
  • After running, you can quit by pressing 'q' and the tool will remove all highlights, restore markup back as it was before.

Names, Roles, Values and all that jazz (Related to 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value)

• 🔖anchor for WTFocus bookmarklet WTFocus
  Details for 'WTFocus'

  

  • As you tab around the page, a panel shows alongside each element.
  • Show the accessible name, what the source of the accessible name is and indicates any name sources that have been overridden.
  • Alerts when no accessible name is found.
  • Also warns when use of role attribute may not be great.
  • NEW: Added a new curtain mode - screen is blanked out and all that shows as you tab through focusable elements is the accessible name and the role of that element.
  • NEW: Added a download text file feature (which lets you save a numbered list of all focusable elements, including the accessible name, role and description). Note that it does not work on all sites due to a URL size limit (the content is dynamically created via a data URI).
  • 🍿📽️ Watch an explanatory video here.
  • WTFocus source is on Github.

Hidden Content Tools

• 🔖anchor for Visually Hidden? bookmarklet Visually Hidden? New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Visually Hidden?'

  

  • Looks for all elements that appear to be visually hidden (available to assistive technology users, but not visible on screen).
  • Looks for commonly-used classnames for this effect.
  • Also tries to match commonly-used CSS property/values in case the classname is not one of the usual suspects.
  • After running, you can quit by pressing 'q' and the tool will remove all highlights, restore markup back as it was before.
  • 🍿📽️ Watch the Visually Hidden? bookmarklet in action here.
• 🔖anchor for Blackout bookmarklet Blackout New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Blackout'

  

  • Finds all elements on a page that are set as aria-hidden="true" and blacks them out, to visually indicate elements that will not be available to assistive technology (AT) users.
  • In addition, also finds aria-hidden elements that are keyboard-focusable (which will be problematic for AT users).
  • Visually flags focusable but hidden-to-AT-users with a pulsing red outline.
  • After running, you can quit by pressing 'q' and the tool will remove all highlights, restore markup back as it was before.
  • 🍿📽️ Watch the Blackout bookmarklet in action here.

Miscellaneous Tools

• 🔖anchor for Non-underlined links bookmarklet Non-underlined links
  [Related to 1.4.1 Use of Color]
  Details for 'Non-underlined links'

  

  • Finds any links on the page that do not appear to be underlined (text-decoration set to none and no detectable border-bottom).
  • Indicates these non-underlined links in a big obvious red outline.
  • Provides xpath reference for all affected links.
  • Ignores non-underlined links that are inside a nav/role="navigation" element.
  • Where links without underlines are found, it checks color contrast and flags any under 3:1 ratio (which may indicate a 1.4.1 Use of Color issue).
  • After running, you can quit by pressing 'q' and the tool will remove all highlights, restore markup back as it was before.
• 🔖anchor for Suggest autocomplete values bookmarklet Suggest autocomplete values
  [Related to 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose]
  Details for 'Suggest autocomplete values'

  

  • Finds all fields on fields on a page that don't currently have autocomplete and highlights them.
  • Provides a select list that you can choose the appropriate autocomplete value for.
  • Logs any changes that you make (so you can copy from console).
  • Has option for cleaning up the page after so that your candidates for autocomplete are highlighted (and the select lists are removed) ready for screenshotting.
• 🔖anchor for Live Region Watcher bookmarklet Live Region Watcher New Jul 2024
  [Related to 4.1.3 Status Messages]
  

  Details for 'Live Region Watcher'

  • Finds all likely live regions on the pages (looks for [role=alert], [role=log], [role=marquee], [role=status], [aria-live]).
  • Visually highlights any visible live regions.
  • Logs details to console for each (id, role, aria-live, aria-atomic, aria-relevant, inner HTML content).
  • Watches for any content changes in each and updates console as they happen.
• 🔖anchor for Screen Reader Simulation bookmarklet Screen Reader Simulation
  Details for 'Screen Reader Simulation'

  

  • A script that attempts to show a styled site in a way similar to how screen reader users might perceive it. It does this by:
    • Replacing images that have NO alt with the filename.
    • Replacing images that have alts with the alt content.
    • Removing images that have alt="".
    • Finding visually hidden text, exposing as visible text.
    • Hiding anything that is marked as hidden to AT.
    • Removing all styling, flattening layout.
    • Applying some very basic styling back to the now unstyled document.
  • There is also an option to append a role (only for link or button) so that it is more clear what the controls are and to hint at how a screen reader would announce them.
  • Images that are changed to text are given green outline.
  • Images that have empty alts are given red outline.
  • Text that was previously visually hidden is given purple outline.
  • And yes, I will come up with a scheme that does not rely on use of color to indicate these.
  • This is a work in progress. It will be far from perfect.
  • 🚨 NOTE: This is destructive, there is no 'undo' feature (just reload page).

List in pop-up window

Important: the following load in pop-up windows, so you will need to allow pop-ups for the page that you are testing for some of these to work.

• 🔖anchor for List images bookmarklet List images
  [Related to 1.1.1 Non-text Content]
  Details for 'List images'

  

  • Lists all images, shows any alt attribute issues.
• 🔖anchor for List links bookmarklet List links
  [Related to 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context), 2.5.3 Label in Name, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value]
  Details for 'List links'

  

  • Searches for all real links on the page, and any element given a role=link.
  • Reports on the visible text, the accessible name (so you can compare side-by-side).
  • Flags any issues that might affect usage, such as keyboard focusability, Label in Name and more.
  • Notes any superfluous elements that could be removed.
• 🔖anchor for List Buttons bookmarklet List Buttons
  [Related to 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value]
  Details for 'List Buttons'

  

  • Searches for all real buttons on the page, and any element given a role=button.
  • Reports on the visible text, the accessible name (so you can compare side-by-side).
  • Flags any issues that might affect usage, such as keyboard focusability, Label in Name and more.
  • Notes any superfluous elements that could be removed.
• 🔖anchor for List things with titles bookmarklet List things with titles
  Details for 'List things with titles'

  

  • Finds all elements that have a title attribute.
  • Warns where the title attribute is a duplicate of the visible text (can be filtered out from results).
  • Highlights where the title attribute is different from the on-screen text.
  • Automatically console.logs a phrase for each instance of an element with different title content that you can copy/paste for reporting purposes.

Non a11y-specific tools, just generally useful dev tools (one hopes)

DOM Manipulation Tools

• 🔖anchor for Attribute Stripper bookmarklet Attribute Stripper New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Attribute Stripper'

  

  • Enter any attributes you want to strip out (comma-separated).
  • Well ... then they attributes are stripped.
  • That's basically it. I mean, not sure what else I can add.
  • 🚨 NOTE: This is destructive, there is no 'undo' feature (just reload page).
• 🔖anchor for Element Stripper bookmarklet Element Stripper New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Element Stripper'

  

  • Enter HTML element (or any other valid CSS selector).
  • Poof! They're all removed from the page!.
  • 🚨 NOTE: This is destructive, there is no 'undo' feature (just reload page).
• 🔖anchor for Node Killer bookmarklet Node Killer New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Node Killer'

  

  • This tool lets you click on any node on a web page to remove it from the DOM.
  • You can also navigate using arrow keys and then remove the node using ENTER.
  • Might be handy for removing discrete parts of a page before running a diagnostic tool.
  • It is (sort of) the opposite of the Isolator bookmarklet.
  • NEW FEATURE: hold down ALT/Option key while clicking or pressing ENTER and it will keep the selected elements but remove all sibling elements (and leave rest of page intact).
  • 🚨 NOTE: This is destructive, there is no 'undo' feature (just reload page).
  • 🍿📽️ Watch the Node Killer bookmarklet in action here.
• 🔖anchor for Isolator bookmarklet Isolator
  Details for 'Isolator'

  

  • Isolates a section of a web page by hiding all sibling elements of it, and all parent elements.
  • Hover over on elements on the page, then click when the correct element is highlighted.
  • Press the arrow keys to fine tune your selection (choose parent, child and sibling elements in the DOM) and confirm that selection with Enter.
  • 🚨 NOTE: This is destructive, there is no 'undo' feature (just reload page).
  • 🍿📽️Watch the Isolator bookmarklet in action here.

Document/Node info Tools

• 🔖anchor for Selector Selector bookmarklet Selector Selector New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Selector Selector'

  

  • A tool that lets you click on multiple elements on a web page (or navigate the DOM using arrow keys, ENTER to select) and gets all nodes referenced that can be shown as XPATH, JS or CSS selector.
  • Press the 'I am done' button when you've finished capturing.
  • All captured values are shown in a dialog and easy to copy individually.
  • You can copy all values in one go, too.
  • 🍿📽️ Watch the Selector Selector bookmarklet in action here.
• 🔖anchor for Xpath getter bookmarklet Xpath getter UPDATED Dec 2024
  Details for 'Xpath getter'

  

  • Click on elements on the page.
  • As you click, the XPATH reference for each element is added to a list in console.
  • You can copy that list or click on the download link to get all the captured nodes (saved as an HTML file that includes the XPATH reference and formatted/indented HTML source.
  • After running, you can quit by pressing 'q' and the tool will remove all panels, buttons, event listeners, and restore markup back as it was before.

Miscellaneous Tools

• 🔖anchor for Outliner bookmarklet Outliner
  Details for 'Outliner'

  

  • Enter HTML element (or any other valid CSS selector).
  • Choose a colour.
  • Bam! All those bad boys are highlighted on the page. Sure it's a one-trick pony. Nothing wrong with ponies.
  • After running, you can quit by pressing 'q' and the tool will remove all highlights, restore markup back as it was before.
• 🔖anchor for Blur Everything bookmarklet Blur Everything New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Blur Everything'

  

  • Not entirely useful but hey, maybe you might just want a quick way of showing how small fonts or low contrast text is difficult for old farts like me..
  • Run the bookmarklet, everything blurs.
  • You can increase/decrease the amount of blur after that by pressing up/down arrow keys.
  • If you want to reset, just arrow down to zero blur.
• 🔖anchor for Blur Everything Except... bookmarklet Blur Everything Except... New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Blur Everything Except...'

  

  • Click on any section of a web page and everything else on the page becomes a blur, while the selected portion gets a clear border.
  • You can also navigate and select using arrow keys and then remove the node using ENTER.
  • Possibly a handy tool to use when indicating a part of a page in documentation, error reporting and such like.
• 🔖anchor for Grayscale Everything bookmarklet Grayscale Everything New Dec 2024
• 🔖anchor for Grayscale Images bookmarklet Grayscale Images New Dec 2024
• 🔖anchor for Smart Invert bookmarklet Smart Invert New Dec 2024
  Details for 'Smart Invert'

  

  • Inverts the whole page.
  • Does not invert images.
• 🔖anchor for Freeze the DOM (debugger) bookmarklet Freeze the DOM (debugger)
  Details for 'Freeze the DOM (debugger)'

  

  • Kick starts the dev tools debugger.
  • Provides a 3-second countdown while you 'prepare your DOM'.
  • Debugger takes over so you can then start inspecting dynamic content that might otherwise disappear (dialogs, hover content etc).
• 🔖anchor for Unframe iFrames bookmarklet Unframe iFrames
  Details for 'Unframe iFrames'

  

  • Finds all iframe elements that start with http in the src.
  • Opens each of the iframes in a new window.
  • That's it. Do whatever you need to do with those pages after that ...