According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately [1 in 4 adults](https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html) in America live with a disability. Whether that disability relates to hearing, vision or comprehension, companies throughout the country are taking notice of the fact that their products and services may not be as accessible to these individuals as they should be.

## Why should my company be concerned with accessibility?
Accessibility for all individuals is mandated by a variety of federal antidiscrimination laws and regulations. From a legal standpoint, your company needs to be protected from the risk of a lawsuit should your products and services come into question.
From a practical standpoint, you want all of your stakeholders to [access your information and feel included](https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-usability-inclusion/) in your company's processes. Your company can address some accessibility issues easily, such as by providing an audio version of your website for the visually impaired. Conversely, you can also provide written transcripts of the audio portions of your website for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Inclusivity takes these considerations and many others a step further in working on web design for all. Universal website design incorporates accessibility issues and includes methods to address socioeconomic gaps, culture, age and language among other potential barriers.

## How can my company include accessibility in website design?
Many common content management systems include accessibility features out of the box. These features often incorporate automatic captioning and the ability to choose user- friendly templates and themes. Your DevOps team is able to direct you regarding the appropriate choices.
Some website elements require additional programming for accessibility. For these elements, [embedding accessibility into the DevOps process](https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/web-accessibility) ensures that forms, tables, comment sections and any other interactive portions of your website can be navigated in a logical manner.
Choose your colors carefully. Color can enhance your site, but it can also distract some individuals or be completely invisible to the color-blind. Be especially mindful of color if your site asks the user for information, such as to complete an order form. Many companies only highlight the required fields. Consider using an asterisk or some other symbol in addition to color to indicate required information.

## How do I maintain accessibility on my company website?
Once you are certain your entire website is accessible, [maintain that accessibility](https://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/taking-proactive-approach-to-digital-accessibility) through integrated, regular testing. Just as all of your pages were tested for accessibility as they were created or as your company recognized the need, continuous, integrated testing ensures that all content added to your site meets current accessibility standards.
Your company refreshes its website constantly as content, products and services, and technology change. Even something as simple as adding routine blog posts to your site changes its content. The person making the changes may or may not be capable of running an accessibility test on the content.
Many organizations choose to partner with a company that can provide continuous testing services. Some organizations are simply too small to have a dedicated IT staff. Some organizations are too large to want to undertake accessibility testing on their own.
Rio Global is the partner of choice for many companies. We track changes in accessibility laws and regulations and provide continuous monitoring of all of your web pages. Our proprietary [Accessbot](https://accessbot.io) is an ISO 205010:2011 certified accessibility tool. Accessbot helps you find Section 508 and WCAG accessibility violations in your web applications. It's easy to use, well documented and available as either an on-prem or cloud solution.
Contact one of our friendly, knowledgeable [RioGlobal](https://rioglobal.io/) staff members today to see how we can begin to make your website compliant.
Regardless of your company's approach, accessibility testing not only keeps you in compliance with the law, it makes your company more user-friendly for people of all abilities.

Regardless of your company’s approach, accessibility testing not only keeps you in compliance with the law, it makes your company more user-friendly for people of all abilities.

small_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610746753/5451897212_5328d884ab_o_e442781773.jpg

thumbnail_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610746753/5451897212_5328d884ab_o_e442781773.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610746753/5451897212_5328d884ab_o_e442781773.jpg

Embedding accessibility into the DevOps process

## Achieving Section 508 compliance with intelligent automation
Over [61 million](https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/1in4.php) Americans, one in four, have a disability that affects their normal daily activities. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has established guidelines for website and application accessibility. These [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/) are continually updated and outline how to remain compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
[Rio Global](https://rioglobal.io/) has developed the open-source accessibility tool Accessbot to help government agencies, educational institutions and other organizations utilize time-saving Section 508 compliance automation testing, which takes 10 seconds to determine compliance for 100 pages of content versus the average 3 months for manual testing.
But accessibility isn't limited to these entities. Retail and service industries can preemptively create accessible websites, and Rio Global will help you obtain the accessibility icon that lets consumers know your company cares about equal access for everyone.
Here we provide an overview of disability and accessibility issues, the requirements listed in the WCAG guidelines, the importance of preemptive conformity to the standard and how the Rio Global team and Accessbot make compliance easy.

## Why accessibility is important
Where law requires barrier-free access to websites and applications, violations by published sites can lead to sizable remediation costs. Access to the site may be blocked and court cases that are not settled for years can damage a business.
Where there is a disparity of accommodation, an organization's reputation can suffer negative consequences. Loss of business and boycotts could also result, creating a public relations (PR) nightmare that may not be defined in the playbook.
Most importantly, a staggering number of people in the U.S. and around the globe will be left unable to enjoy the liberties afforded people without barriers to information in the digital age. Compliance shows that you care about your end user, your customer and the millions of people with varying degrees of disability.

## Accessibility overview
The biggest problem with accessibility is the breadth of information that is affected and how to easily and effectively ensure compliance. A good solution should reduce labor hours while creating a vibrant website and application for users.
The scope of disabilities that require 508 compliance is immense. With so many things to consider, it's difficult for development teams to try to complete the task alone. There are a few general areas used to classify the types of [barriers](https://www.w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/abilities-barriers/) that must be considered when creating content.
This is not an all-inclusive list; there's more, which is another reason employing automated rather than manual testing makes sense.
- **Auditory.** People with auditory disabilities may have partial or complete hearing loss that may affect one ear or both. They may or may not use assistive devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, and may or may not rely on sign language or lipreading. Barriers for deaf/hard-of-hearing people include:
  - Lack of written transcripts for audio and video clips.   - Background noise that may make it difficult to understand all the content, such as if it contains dialogue and background music.   - Media players that lack closed captioning or volume controls.   - Lack of visible sign language interpretation to supplement difficult-to-read text such as conversations or to emphasize important information.   - The use of voice command in apps and sites that do not offer non-audio options.
- **Cognitive, learning and neurological.** This category includes people with learning disabilities, memory impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), multiple sclerosis and seizure disorder. This is not an exhaustive description of this category but should illustrate its complexity. A few examples of barriers include:
  - Pages that are difficult to navigate or have confusing layouts.   - Use of unusual words and complex sentences.   - Text-only sections that lack visual examples, including pictures, graphs or other content to break up the words.   - Flashing, blinking or moving content or background audio that cannot be shut off. This includes any sounds or animation that browsers may utilize.   - Pages that cannot be converted to different formats to overcome all the barriers to access.
 - **Physical.** People who have missing limbs; bone, joint and muscle disorders; reduced dexterity; and tremors or spasms must be considered for compliance also. Barriers for this group include:
  - Lack of keyboard support that forces people to use a mouse to click on items. Control boxes that have links with no keyboard option are a good example.   - Imposed time limits to complete tasks like filling out forms or taking a test.   - Navigation functions that are complex and inconsistent.
 - **Speech.** The lack of ability to cognitively understand speech or the inability to produce clear speech are barriers to effective communication if phone or voice is the only way to get help or communicate with someone.
- **Visual.** Mild-to-moderate vision loss in one or both eyes, complete blindness or low vision affects the ability to view content. Color blindness makes it difficult to distinguish between color combinations or see images devoid of color. Here are a few barriers for those with visual difficulties:
  - Missing functionality to adjust screen size of font and video content.   - Lack of audio content for text.   - Lack of color contrast between background of site and color of text and video content.   - Development of web pages that cannot be converted to custom color combinations with assistive devices.
 Keep in mind also that these categories may overlap. Individuals could have several barriers, requiring further assistance to gain access to content. As an example, someone may be hard of hearing and have color blindness, so transcripts of audio recordings must have contrasting colors that make them easy to read.

## Section 508 compliance and the WCAG
Rio Global complies with the standards supplied by W3C for CSS, HTML 5 and XHTML along with the WCAG 2.0 and Section 508. When you partner with us, you gain access to expert disability consultants with powerful tools to make accessibility compliance easy.
This includes the subsections of WCAG 2.0 and incorporates new versions as guidelines change and additional requirements are implemented. The simple overview ideology encompasses the need for uniform accessibility and equal access where integrations can be made.
The WCAG uses the acronym P.O.U.R. (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust) to define what constitutes compliance for each area. Keep in mind that the goal is to create the same experience of using the website and app for every person, regardless of how the content is presented.
- **Perceivable.** Provide text, captions and other alternatives for non-text content and multimedia and develop audio options for the text portions. You should also ensure that if an end-user is experiencing the content through assistive devices, the content transfer does not alter the meaning from the original intent. - **Operable.** The option for keyboard navigation is necessary, but it must also be accessible without a keyboard. Make sure content doesn't stream too fast or, if there are controls, adequate time to complete functions is given. Ensure user-friendly navigation and assistance to move throughout information. Refrain from including flashing or strobing content that could cause a seizure reaction. - **Understandable.** Use understandable language that is readable. Maintain consistency in how content is presented across all platforms and devices and allow for correction of errors or mistakes when interacting with data. - **Robust.** Guidelines will be updated and more assistive devices created, so you must be able to adjust as needed.
This provides your development team with a broad example of the four areas defined by WCAG and the importance of each one.

## Section 508 compliance testing as part of development
It may be tempting to allow development teams to create your ideal website and app content based on brand messaging, logos and aesthetics. However, ensuring compliance at the end of the development process is difficult for developers due to the breadth of disabilities and requirements for each P.O.U.R. category. Waiting until the content has already been created costs money and developer resources, essentially more than doubling the work required to complete a project.
A best practice [Technology Accessibility Playbook](https://www.section508.gov/tools/playbooks/technology-accessibility-playbook-intro) by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) outlines that, from planning to publication, it is much easier to incorporate the requirements at the beginning of the process. Don't worry if you are reading this and need to conduct compliance testing for existing sites and apps - that is why we created Accessbot automation. It's the perfect application for both scenarios. These are the steps you'll need to take:
- **Project planning.** Identify how tools, hosting environments and enterprise architecture decisions potentially create barriers. Development teams should allocate funding and project time for WCAG compliance and others. The addition of a qualified accessibility consultant is beneficial from the start. - **Requirements gathering and design.** Define and identify areas where alternative adjustments need to be incorporated using standard rules and accessibility tools. Appropriate Section 508 guidelines should be included in the design process, including proof of concept and pilot design. - **App and site development.** Ensure your development team understands why compliance is important and the reasoning behind incorporation of inclusive access for all users. Utilize testing tools like Accessbot to simplify the testing process and save time. Keep in mind that it takes about 10 seconds to scan and identify issues across 100 pages with automation versus 3 months of manual planning. - **Testing process.** Ensure your testing process includes procedures and tools to track any shortcomings in accessibility as well as standard rules for how to fix the issue. This can be achieved with easy-to-use automated programming that allows custom or standard rule creation to scale the severity of the error, explain the code violation and offer suggestions for how to fix the issue. - **Deployment.** Verify functionality with a go-live. Although to this point care has been taken to continually test and fix issues, unforeseen problems can arise when publishing content outside of your organizational level. - **Maintenance.** Include a plan and platform that will grow and adapt as the guidelines change, technology improves and new assistive devices are created. Continued collaboration with accessibility consultants who have expertise in these changes helps maintain proper compliance.

## How automation solves the problem of complexity
The Accessbot software easily integrates with content management systems (CMS) to scan and identify violations in compliance before publishing. The scan usually takes around 10 seconds to complete for approximately 100 pages of screened content.
The dashboard and reporting produces a pair of graphs showing an overview of violations, separated by rule and severity, to give you a real-time picture of any compliance insufficiencies. The graph can be toggled between pie and chart types for preferred viewing and readability.
The corresponding report separates each violation by URL and supplies specific information about the incident, with a total number of violations under each level of extremity. The violations are categorized according to these criteria:
- **Severity.** This indicates whether a critical, major or minor violation has been identified. - **Rule name.** The system states what category the error falls under. - **Issue description.** The report describes the specific error that has been identified in the content and links it to the area of violation in the WCAG section or other parameter. - **Remediation suggestion.** A solution for fixing the barrier is provided and a drop-down page displays the exact element containing the error, making auto-remediation of the issue simple and easy. - **Source.** The report indicates whether the information was found within the main content or sub-content, further assisting remediation.
Managing the rules for errors is easy with the user-friendly dashboard. Under the &quot;More Options&quot; function, the rule information can be edited for customization purposes or as requirements change. This section also fleshes out rule classes, where additional classes of violations can be added if any insufficiencies are noted or you need to create classes specific to your organization.
Scripts for login credentials or other information are separate from the code source and rules element. This helps save time by providing the necessary information to access the violation point without manually hunting down passwords or other encryptions.
The Accessbot web crawler tool allows you to schedule site scans and utilizes an application program interface (API) for tight, continuous integration; continuous delivery and deployment flows (CI/CD); and DevOps. This creates cohesive compliance assessment throughout all stages of development and testing that empowers you to create a compliant site or app before deployment.

## Working with Rio Global
We have created a unique product that can be housed in the cloud for scalability or on-premises for versatility-whatever you need to keep your organization running efficiently. The open-source accessibility tool Accessbot provides free Google Chrome, Internet Explorer (IE) and other browser plugins, so your team can access it from most browsers for ease of use.
Because we're an accessibility consulting company, you'll get more than just Section 508 compliance automation testing. You gain a partner who understands the importance of accessibility for end-users around the world. We will help you go beyond correcting accessibility issues with current websites to create an engaging experience.
We work with you to create an easy onboarding plan that provides your organization with experts on disability compliance. We help educate staff and provide the latest updates to assistive devices and guidelines. We also strive to help sites remove barriers to access and create solutions that aren't just perfunctory, but relay your content's information as part of a rich narrative that supplies a user experience similar to that of the original content.

## Rio Global services and benefits
We recognize the challenges organizations face in attempting to create accessible products. They lose access to a large population by failing to convert information into usable formats, and most teams lack expertise in accessibility evaluation methods (AEM).
You receive many additional benefits when we work together to build websites and apps that are compatible with assistive technology tools:
- **Automated testing.** These are some of the aspects of your website that we will evaluate:
  - Ensure alternative options are created to work as well as the original information.   - Test all methods of access for harmony with all versions of website and app content.   - The goal is to provide alternative access, so each barrier has a solution that provides the same level of performance with accommodations like point-and-click or keyboard access, text and audio editions, and adjustable sounds and images.   - Extra device access could potentially lead to increased risk due to the method of entry. Testing for secure access with alternative login methods helps limit exposure to harmful threats.   - Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Testing the tools you use to do business helps employees who require reasonable accommodations and end-users who access points of contact within the ERP.
- **Accessibility tools compatibility.** We verify that devices like screen readers and braille keyboards function effectively on your site. As new equipment is created, testing is completed and the required adjustments are made.
 - **Universal accessibility icon.** Your organization will be eligible to advertise that your content is accessible, increasing the number of people you can reach. - **Violation reports and remediation.** One of the best features of Accessbot is the interactive dashboard and reporting functionality. As the platform is customized to your organization, the remediation of errors can be automated. This makes it easy for DevOps to fix issues and continue working on the project. - **Patches.** There will inevitably be some areas that are not defined in automated remediation. To address this issue, we provide patches for every undefined error you encounter. These issues can be incorporated into custom rules for future testing. - **Audit reports.** Accessbot provides audit reports and a history of testing and remediation so every violation encountered can be traced. This can be helpful if a glitch is identified post publishing or in future programming updates. - **Color conversion tools.** These special programming alterations change the contrast of light and color to assist with color blindness or low vision access.
All these features are available along with Section 508 compliance automation testing with Accessbot.

## Next steps toward Section 508 compliance
Hopefully this guide has shown that manual testing for Section 508 compliance extends the timeline of project completion and requires expertise most development teams don't have. The addition of an open-source accessibility tool like Accessbot creates integration within your CMS and throughout the project scope.
You can see our short product [demo](https://youtu.be/uULMAC70XK8) recording here for an overview of Accessbot's simple but effective dashboard and reporting functions, not to mention the platform's testing speed, customizable rules and other benefits.
You can also try [Accessbot](https://accessbot.io/login) for free if you'd like to test it out yourself. We are here to help guide you through Section 508 and WCAG compliance. [Contact us](https://rioglobal.io/#contact) to learn more.

Over 61 million Americans, one in four, have a disability that affects their normal daily activities. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has established guidelines for website and application accessibility. These Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are continually updated and outline how to remain compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

thumbnail_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748402/work_1_3e9d3eb5f4.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748402/work_1_3e9d3eb5f4.jpg

Achieving Section 508 Compliance with Intelligent Automation

Section 508 compliance is mandatory across state and local governments, as well as public and private sectors including healthcare, educational institutions, IT product companies and non-profit organizations. Essentially, you must test your websites and applications to ensure people of all abilities can sufficiently access your site.
Traditional manual testing takes an average of three months to identify compliance requirements per 100 pages. Since [61 million Americans](https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/1in4.php) live with disabilities that fall under Section 508, it is necessary to test your site as quickly and accurately as possible so that everyone can access it easily.
Fortunately, Rio Global has created the [Accessbot.io](https://rioglobal.io/) automated solution that can test the same 100 pages of content in 10 seconds instead of three months. As such, you can ensure that your organization provides adequate accessibility and can easily comply with updated laws as needed.

## How it works
Accessbot.io is fast and powerful. It scans the website or app through a series of customizable rules engines with either an on-demand or scheduled scan. After reviewing the site, Accessbot.io creates graphs and reports in a dynamic dashboard. Within seconds, you know where barriers exist in compliance as well as their severity. For example, your webpage may have a link that connects back to indiscernible text.
The report maps out where the error is located, identifies and explains the barrier, and automates the correction. Any compliance issues that are not able to be fixed automatically then have patches created to cover the gap.
Ultimately, Accessbot.io addresses the biggest industry challenges. It reduces costs by removing the need for manual auditing, and it identifies and corrects errors throughout the development phases of the project. The application programming interface (API) also allows integration between the modern development environment to run tests with continuous integration. Additionally, Accessbot.io is updated to constantly improve user interface and experience design on peripherals or mobile devices to ensure the effectiveness of the compatibility solutions.

## Couple automation with accessibility consulting
Rio Global goes beyond simply automating compliance audits. We also offer a range of accessibility tools to fix areas that are missed by the platform. Here are a few of the areas where you will benefit:
- **Screen readers and other accessibility tools:** Our experts ensure that the translation of content across assistive devices maintains the integrity of the original view and that nothing is cut out. - **Universal accessibility icon:** Your pages and apps will display the icon to show that you are compliant. - **Audit reports:** You will receive a complete assessment of any rule or violation including web content accessibility guidelines. - **Additional tools:** As recognition of the need for disability access grows, more tools can be added to make your web content user friendly. These include color inversion for color blindness or vision contrast disability.

## Get started today
Accessbot.io is quick, adaptable and cost-effective. It can even be accessed via the cloud or within your infrastructure for added flexibility. The RESTful API offers intuitive information that doesn't require developers to utilize the platform, but the API is there for developers if needed.
[Contact Rio Global](https://rioglobal.io/#contact) today to learn more about how you can improve your 508 compliance testing time. Ask about our free trial of [Accessbot.io](https://accessbot.io/login) so you can see the product in action.

Section 508 compliance is mandatory across state and local governments, as well as public and private sectors including healthcare, educational institutions, IT product companies and non-profit organizations. Essentially, you must test your websites and applications to ensure people of all abilities can sufficiently access your site.

thumbnail_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748563/work_2_5f48640214.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748563/work_2_5f48640214.jpg

Automatic 508 Compliance Testing: Three months of work in 10 seconds

Whether you run a healthcare facility, a bank, a school or a government agency, you want everyone to have equal access to your website and other pertinent information. Fortunately, the [Accessbot](http://Accessbot/) Browser Extension can help you address Section 508 compliance with a user-friendly diagnostic and repair dashboard, as well as many other features. Best of all, the plug-in for Accessbot is free.


## A better way of Section 508 testing
[RioGlobal](https://rioglobal.io/) has developed an easy and convenient method to ensure that your website and its content remain Section 508 compliant, regardless of how many changes you make. In fact, you can scan uploaded documents before they are even added to your page. As a result, you'll know that you are reaching 100% of your potential client base, rather than ignoring [one in four of your clients](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html) who are living with a disability covered by these regulations.
More importantly, you will know that you are guiding your company in the right direction by being as inclusive as possible with all of your communications.


## How the Accessbot Browser Extension works
The Accessbot plug-in is available for free on the Chrome Web Store. Click [here](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/accessbot-web-accessibili/fhpfpnaebpfboamjoafjaadlpahoafga) to download the Accessbot Browser extension.
Once the Accessbot plug-in is installed, its icon appears at the top right corner of your browser. Open any web page using the development tools and navigate to the Accessbot dashboard.
Accessbot will then complete its Section 508 diagnostic run of your selected web page, and the dashboard will return your results in easy-to-interpret graphics.

## Acessbot.io features
The Accessbot dashboard is one of its most powerful features as it allows you to gain a complete overview of your company's 508 compliance. Equally powerful is the Accessbot plug-in's Fix Errors capability.
Select the Fix Errors function to view a split screen containing a breakdown of each violation. The left side shows your website's compliance errors in order of decreasing severity. When you select a specific violation, Accessbot presents a suggestion for fixing the error at the top right of the screen. It also provides the HTML and issue tag of that error.
You can view the violation in a few different ways. Click the Highlight Element button to see the error as it appears on your web site. This will give you a more comprehensive understanding of the violation and how it may negatively affect readers. You can also click the Inspect Node button to view the code section of the error.
The developers of the Accessbot Browser Extension are also working on new features like enabling the user to download its findings so that they can view the errors via a report.
For additional information about our new [Accessbot](http://Accessbot/) Browser Extension, please visit our website or [contact us](https://rioglobal.io/#contact) today. We would be happy to provide a quote or schedule a demo!

Watch the following video to find out more about our product!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvMFALC1TCM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>


## Links


Click [here](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/accessbot-web-accessibili/fhpfpnaebpfboamjoafjaadlpahoafga) to download the Accessbot Browser extension


Click [here](https://rioglobal.io/blog) to read our blog


Contact us at: info@rioglobal.io / +14437610655





Whether you run a healthcare facility, a bank, a school or a government agency, you want everyone to have equal access to your website and other pertinent information. Fortunately, the [Accessbot.io](http://accessbot.io/) Chrome plug-in can help you address Section 508 compliance with a user-friendly diagnostic and repair dashboard, as well as many other features. Best of all, the plug-in for Accessbot.io is free.

large_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748929/sigmund_4_Mo_Ip_Dc_Slr4_unsplash_001c88fc59.jpg

medium_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748929/sigmund_4_Mo_Ip_Dc_Slr4_unsplash_001c88fc59.jpg

small_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748929/sigmund_4_Mo_Ip_Dc_Slr4_unsplash_001c88fc59.jpg

thumbnail_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748929/sigmund_4_Mo_Ip_Dc_Slr4_unsplash_001c88fc59.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1610748929/sigmund_4_Mo_Ip_Dc_Slr4_unsplash_001c88fc59.jpg

The Accessbot Browser Extension Can Keep You in Compliance

The internet is inevitable. Despite its stark origins and initially-spartan purpose, the World Wide Web has become entirely ubiquitous in modern life. Whether for business, for educational purposes, or simply for leisure, almost everyone across the globe uses the Internet, wherever possible. That said, a sad fact is that the Internet is not always accessible to everyone. For some, barriers exist that keep them from using online content or resources. These can be physical disabilities or conditions.

15 percent of the world’s population or an estimated 1 billion people live with disabilities. They are the world’s largest minority, according to the World Health Organization. Eighty percent of persons with disabilities live in developing countries, and around 7 million people with a visual disability in the United States, according to the National Federation of the Blind. Many of them find the modern web to be lacking. One study by an accessibility software company in August 2020 found that 70 percent of the websites it surveyed, ranging from e-commerce to news to government services, contain “accessibility blocks,” or quirks in the design that make them unreadable with assistive technology. Another accessibility report analyzing the top million homepages on the web estimates that just 1 percent meet the most widely used accessibility standards. People who use screen readers are regularly confronted with readouts like “unlabeled button” or “image1.jpg” in place of the descriptive information they need to navigate.

To prevent or mitigate this, nations laid out policies to make web content accessible to all their citizens. By making the website accessible, we can ensure that all potential users, including people with disabilities, have a decent user experience and can easily access information. By implementing accessibility best practices, we can also improve the usability of the site for all users.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), are the most widely known and adopted web accessibility standards. Most country-specific accessibility standards are based on WCAG 2.0 and related bodies of work. WCAG 2.0 explains, in broad terms, how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities. When a website meets the WCAG 2.0 standards, users with disabilities will generally have access to the same functionality and information as the users without disabilities. According to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Hearing Aid Compatibility Act, it is a legal requirement to provide equal website accessibility to all people, including people with disabilities. It is mandated by law, especially for banks/government entity websites, that they are ADA and 508 compliant. Companies need to ensure that their websites are equally accessible to everyone regardless of their physical challenges. RioGlobal is a web accessibility company that provides website accessibility solutions to everyone by finding issues and optimizing search engines to offer accessibility compliance for businesses and a more significant user web experience. Its mission is to provide equal opportunity to people regardless of their disability and empower them to participate actively and contribute to websites.

RioGlobal offers an automated testing software product called AccessBot, which is an accessibility automation tool. It is a web-based pluggable tool and browser extension designed to meet the 508 standards and WCAG Compliance of the company’s websites and is also offered on a freemium basis. Accessbot performs diagnostic testing, checks for violations, and produces a statistical and an easy to understand report with the severity of those violations so that the company knows the extent to which the website is out of compliance. It crawls through the 100 pages of the website 75% faster than its competitors enabling the web development teams to detect accessibility issues upfront in their production lifecycle. But in this, the developer has to manually change the code to fix the problem. Now, RioGlobal has added a new feature known as AutoFix.

AutoFix is a tool for the automated repair of violations for making the website pages compliant for all. AutoFix is a cloud-based program that reviews the page that one is currently viewing. It searches for violations, and if any are found, it automatically corrects them. The operation of AutoFix is effortless. The user doesn’t have to do anything, everything happens in the background; AutoFix works its magic behind the scene without causing any interruptions to the user. Using AutoFix, people with disabilities can effectively perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the web. They can utilize the internet to the optimum.

AutoFix benefits not only the user but also the developers by reducing their efforts to make the website accessible to everyone. They just have to embed one line javascript snippet on their website. This helps to auto remediate and automatically make the website and its page complaint. It saves developers time and is also highly efficient.

### More about Accessbot:

What is Accessibility consulting? Accessibility consulting is the process in which a client hires consulting firms that can go through a system, test it for accessibility issues, and submit a report. In short, accessibility means making sure the client website, web application, or mobile app is user-friendly for all users.

Companies interested in taking advantage of the fast, innovative, and cost-effective website accessibility services from accessbot.io can visit the Rio Global website.

Customer service and continuous improvement guide Rio Global's team. Accessbot.io is its star product, offering scalability, configurability, customization, security, integration, and ease of use. Whether Accessbot.io is used as a cloud-based system or installed internally, companies relying on it know their websites. All collateral materials remain error-free and completely compliant with Section 508. Rely on the best in the business. Rely on Rio Global's [accessbot.io](accessbot.io).

RioGlobal offers an automated testing software product called AccessBot, which is an accessibility automation tool. It is a web-based pluggable tool and browser extension designed to meet the 508 standards and WCAG Compliance of the company’s websites and is also offered on a freemium basis.

large_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1611073009/sigmund_HE_1z_W44_Zm_Y_unsplash_c3e4697ae6.jpg

medium_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1611073009/sigmund_HE_1z_W44_Zm_Y_unsplash_c3e4697ae6.jpg

small_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1611073009/sigmund_HE_1z_W44_Zm_Y_unsplash_c3e4697ae6.jpg

thumbnail_https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1611073009/sigmund_HE_1z_W44_Zm_Y_unsplash_c3e4697ae6.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/valsatech-corp/image/upload/v1611073009/sigmund_HE_1z_W44_Zm_Y_unsplash_c3e4697ae6.jpg

Achieving Website Accessibility Through AutoFix

>Accessibility drives traffic and growth in technology. That's a proven trend in technology.


Our goal to build a boundaryless world has witnessed tremendous success in the last decade, all thanks to the internet. But one must not forget, this progress is futile if every citizen of the world, irrespective of their shortcomings, is not able to make good use of it. We evolve as a society and must ensure inclusivity. Therefore, we at **[RioGlobal](https://rioglobal.io/)** are stern followers of the *“Leave no one behind”* mission and ensure that differently-abled individuals deserve to be able to access a website in the same way any other person would.  

Realizing the importance and the gravity of this cause, governments around the world mandate an accessible web experience for regulated industries, and one can be penalised for non-compliance. Web accessibility plays a significant role in both improving user experience and also for brands to improve their image and attain new opportunities, thus propelling us to become a more inclusive world, all marching towards a path to development and success.

Have you ever come across a website that didn’t work quite as you predicted it to? Did a form ever leave you confused on how to fill it? Ever witnessed low color contrast between text and backgrounds of web pages that you visit? If anything remotely resembling the aforementioned has ever happened to you, you have also had fallen prey to a website with poor accessibility.
According to the **Centers for Disease Control**, [approximately 1 in 4 adults in America](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html) live with a disability. Whether that disability relates to hearing, vision, or comprehension, companies throughout the country are noticing the fact that their products and services are not as accessible to these individuals as they should be.

The perfect example of accessibility is if you can use your site without looking at it. If you take a tumble playing ball and find yourself with your dominant arm in a sling for seven weeks, any website that is keyboard-friendly will be your best friend. Blindness is also a whole spectrum, from people who have been blind since birth, to people with  limited sight that use a screen reader, to aging users whose eyes aren’t what they used to be. We at [**RioGlobal**](https://rioglobal.io/)  have thoroughly analyzed this situation and developed a product- **Accessbot** whose primary motive is to help companies identify gaps in the websites they deploy to ensure a hassle-free and uniform web experience for every individual. 


The perfect example of accessibility is if you can use your site without looking at it. If you take a tumble playing ball and find yourself with your dominant arm in a sling for seven weeks, any website that is keyboard-friendly will be your best friend. RioGlobal has developed an easy and convenient method to ensure that your website and its content remain Section 508 compliant, regardless of how many changes you make.

medium_3d1d76ad9e0a1730ad7c0c6212762977.png

small_3d1d76ad9e0a1730ad7c0c6212762977.png

thumbnail_3d1d76ad9e0a1730ad7c0c6212762977.png

3d1d76ad9e0a1730ad7c0c6212762977.png

Accessbot- a tool to enhance user experience!

#### Accessbot- a tool to facilitate a developer’s job!

In recent times, many companies have started realizing the risks associated with the failure to comply with website accessibility standards. These risks can add up to greater costs than government fines or civil litigation. Apart from this, your brand will also suffer inevitable damage since persons with disabilities represent a growing demographic. At least 20% of the population has a disability, and with increasing life expectancy, an aging customer base means more and more of your company’s website visitors will have physical limitations. It is unlikely that this trend will decline, and the voice of persons with disabilities is gaining momentum. Companies that willfully ignore the needs of this demographic are sure to suffer damage to their brands and reputation. Moreover, the lack of an accessible web experience brings with it other problems like missing out on opportunities to gain more customers and increase revenue. If your company is one of the first in your industry to become web-accessible, you can win customers and easily reap the increasing numbers of persons with disabilities who couldn’t use your competitors’ inaccessible websites. Accessibility is doable, and it’s less costly than taking the risk of willful inaccessibility. To combat these inefficiencies, **RioGlobal** has developed an easy and convenient method to ensure that your website and its content remain **Section 508** compliant, regardless of how many changes you make. 

#### The sheer brilliance of Accessbot

It is a general belief that it's easier to incorporate accessibility knowledge on the design front in the beginning than it is on the development front. Many websites made a long time ago, though currently optimized with web accessibility features, are still laden with numerous violations and, consequently, have low compliance scores. Furthermore, several organizations choose to partner with a company that can provide continuous testing services. Some organizations are simply too small to have a dedicated IT staff, while others are too large to want to undertake accessibility testing on their own. This is where RioGlobal comes in. **RioGlobal** is the trusted partner of choice for many companies. We track changes in accessibility laws and regulations and provide continuous monitoring of all your web pages. Our proprietary **Accessbot** is an **ISO 205010:2011** certified accessibility tool. **Accessbot**, with its easy-to-use dashboard interface, provides an appealing solution in a matter of seconds. Accessbot lists out all the violations found along with where they were located in the page source. Along with the severity of the violation and the issue description, our product also provides suggestions for remediation. Additionally, it helps you find [**Section 508 and WCAG**](https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/) accessibility violations in your web applications. t's easy to use, well documented, and available as either an on-prem or cloud solution.
Web accessibility through a government-mandated policy still carries incredible scope for organizations to revolutionalize their way of business and build their brand image. If one thinks about it, things that a company does to improve accessibility to help disabled people help everybody. Everybody is "temporarily disabled" at least some of the time. By improving contrast to help partially-sighted people, you also just made your site much easier to read for somebody with perfect vision who happens to be looking at your site on a shiny phone screen outside on a sunny day. By adding captions to videos for deaf people, you also actually improved engagement for people with perfect hearing who happen to have their phone on mute in the library. Accessibility is not only a way for differently-abled people to use the internet, but also a means for brands to increase their efficiency, customer satisfaction, and overall image.

### Tips for companies to make more accessible websites:

- Unique page titles, descriptive link texts. and alt images tag will enhance search engine optimization.
- If you have an E-commerce site then optimizing for screen readers can improve conversion rates.
- Adding captions to videos for deaf people
- Good color contrast between text and backgrounds of webpages
- Ensure  Easily Accessible Content
- Use Headers to Structure Your Content Correctly
- Enable Resizable Text That Doesn’t Break Your Site
- Make JavaScript widgets accessible with the keyboard.


RioGlobal has developed an easy and convenient method to ensure that your website and its content remain Section 508 compliant, regardless of how many changes you make. In fact, you can scan uploaded documents before they are even added to your page.

thumbnail_hiring-manager-for-codility_4x.png

hiring-manager-for-codility_4x.png

Become a better developer with Accessbot

In our attempt to create a world without boundaries, a world that doesn’t judge a person's abilities by their physical or mental limitations, which realizes how important it is to be inclusive of differently abled people, RioGlobal created Accessbot. Had it not been for products like Accessbot, we would be losing on so many valuable ideas from several people who couldn’t use a particular product due to a lack of accessibility features. With its wide array of features and user-friendly interface, our product Accessbot has proved itself to be revolutionary in the field of accessibility compliance. With an aim to further this goal, we are proud to introduce the Accessbot Browser extension, a chrome plugin that assists in accessibility checking. Accessbot Browser Extension is a DevTools extension that helps developers, testers, and designers find potential accessibility problems with their web applications.


Accessbot browser extension is tailored to check if your website meets 508 standards and WCAG Compliance rules. It is powered by the world’s most trusted accessibility testing engine, Axe. Accessbot performs diagnostic testing, checks for violations, and produces a statistical and an easy to understand report. Accessbot aims to help companies identify gaps in the websites they deploy to ensure a hassle-free and uniform web experience for every user.


At RioGlobal, we pride ourselves on providing our customers with an incredible user experience across all our products. Like our website, Accessbot.io, the Accessbot browser extension also comes with an elegant yet powerful interface to provide our users with the best options to fulfill their requirements. Finding one’s way around this extension is a piece of cake. The intuitiveness of the product just makes one work with it. Here’s a short tutorial to get you up and running with Accessbot Browser Extension.


•	Click [here](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/accessbot-web-accessibili/fhpfpnaebpfboamjoafjaadlpahoafga) to install the Accessbot extension from the Chrome Web Store.

•	After the installation is complete, open Chrome Developer Tools from the browser menu or use the keyboard shortcut `Ctrl+Shift+I`.

•	Click on the Accessbot tab in the developer tools toolbar.

•	Scan your webpage with the click of just one button.

•	Obtain reports, filter your results and perform many other tasks by interacting with our easy-to-use and user-friendly interface.

•	Scan as many pages as you’d while taking full advantage of features like highlighting and other visual feedback, remediation, suggestions, and much more!

Watch this video to see how our product works!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tvMFALC1TCM" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

For the sake of our more inquisitive readers, let’s take a deep dive and understand how our product works. Accessbot is driven by a fast, secure, and lightweight accessibility testing engine, Axe. It offers a set of rules called, Axe-core rules. Axe- core rules comprise of different types of rules, for WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 on level A and AA, as well as several best practices that help a developer, designer, or a tester to identify common accessibility practices. Axe-core enables us to find up to 57% of WCAG issues automatically! Accessbot also provides suggestions for issues it could not be certain about and recommends the user to undertake manual reviewing. With the push of just one button, Accessbot allows the user to drill down into each issue, inspect the source of the problem, and leverage extensive free remediation guidance to fix it quickly and accurately.

Along with endorsing good development practices, the Accessbot browser extension will undoubtedly help many brands and companies identify gaps in the websites they deploy to ensure a hassle-free and uniform web experience for every individual.

## Links

Read more about Accessbot on [RioGlobal](https://rioglobal.io)

Click [here](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/accessbot-web-accessibili/fhpfpnaebpfboamjoafjaadlpahoafga) to download the Accessbot Browser extension

Click [here](https://rioglobal.io/blog) to read our blog

Contact us at: info@rioglobal.io / +14437610655






We are proud to introduce the AccessBot Browser extension, a chrome plugin that assists in accessibility checking. AccessBot Browser Extension is a DevTools extension that helps developers, testers, and designers find potential accessibility problems with their web applications.

large_https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1519389950473-47ba0277781c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1170&q=80

medium_https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1519389950473-47ba0277781c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1170&q=80

small_https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1519389950473-47ba0277781c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1170&q=80

thumbnail_https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1519389950473-47ba0277781c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1170&q=80

https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1519389950473-47ba0277781c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1170&q=80

Accessbot Browser Extension - Accessibility Testing Made Easy

RioGlobal has long endeavoured to create a world free of boundaries, where physical limitations do not impede an individual's potential. To this end, we have developed Accessbot, a revolutionary tool for accessibility compliance. Boasting an extensive array of features and a user-friendly interface, Accessbot has demonstrated its efficacy. Today, we are proud to announce the launch of Accessbot’s new dashboard. Built in collaboration with CXscore, this dashboard is a one-stop solution for users to check for web compliance across all their projects.

What this dashboard offers? 

The dashboard provides users with a comprehensive overview of their website’s accessibility status, including a summary of the number of issues found, the severity of the issues, and the number of pages tested. It also provides detailed information about each issue, including the source code, the type of issue, and the recommended remediation.

<img width="430" alt="Screen Shot 2022-12-06 at 4 13 46 PM (1)" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/63326129/206510174-f677104f-3c54-47c8-b77e-f54555386afd.png">

The platform offers a range of features to help users test and diagnose accessibility issues. 

Axe-Core Rules: With Accessbot's new Dashboard, users can quickly and easily view all Axe-core rules, including rules for WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 on levels A and AA, as well as best practices. This helps users to identify accessible practices quickly and easily.

Report Generator: Accessbot's Dashboard features a report generator that automatically generates accessibility reports. This report generator provides users with a detailed overview of their website's accessibility issues, allowing them to easily identify where improvements are needed.

Project-Based Setup: The dashboard provides project-based monitoring, allowing users to easily monitor multiple websites and keep track of their progress in one centralized location.

Role-Based Access: Project heads can assign different roles to different users, allowing them to access certain features based on their role. This feature is especially useful for teams or organizations who wish to exercise granular control over a user’s access list.

User-Friendly Design: Accessbot's new dashboard has a brand new look with sleek and elegant design. This makes it easy for users to quickly monitor their website's compliance status, and it looks great too!

Apart from these key features, the dashboard comes equipped with a powerful filtering system, allowing users to quickly and easily identify and prioritize the most important issues. This makes it easier to focus on the most critical accessibility issues first and to quickly identify and fix any issues that may be impeding a WCAG-compliant web experience.

The dashboard also provides users with a comprehensive overview of their scans, including the number of violations, the severity of the violations, and the number of pages scanned. It also keeps track of the historical data and provides a comparative analysis of scans carried out over a period of time. This feature is especially useful for teams or organizations who want to keep track of a website's progress over time.

We are confident that Accessbot’s new dashboard will help users quickly and accurately identify and fix accessibility issues on their websites. With this new dashboard, users can now easily keep track of their scans and ensure their websites are compliant with the latest accessibility standards. 

We invite you to try out Accessbot’s new dashboard and experience the power of automated accessibility testing.



RioGlobal has long endeavoured to create a world free of boundaries, where physical limitations do not impede an individual’s potential. To this end, we have developed Accessbot, a revolutionary tool for accessibility compliance. Boasting an extensive array of features and a user-friendly interface, Accessbot has demonstrated its efficacy. Today, we are proud to announce the launch of Accessbot’s new dashboard. Built in collaboration with CXscore, this dashboard is a one-stop solution for users to check for web compliance across all their projects.

Rio Global's Blog