Do you remember how old you were when the first personal computer came out over 35 years ago, or the first cell phone over 45 years ago? If you are younger than those numbers, maybe you remember when the internet became a big hit about 30 years ago, or when Facebook first launched just under 15 years ago.

These technologies, though relatively young in their years, have come a long way since their debut. New phones, tablets, computers, devices and social media venues are constantly developing and the days of only having a few options to choose from are far over. This means a wide variety of platforms are being used to access content around the world.

Having Google Analytics can give you a detailed peek into the usage of these platforms, providing valuable insights of your audience. As technology trends advance and generations grow, your analytics with fluctuate with it. While Internet Explorer was a popular browser many years ago, it is seldom used now that Microsoft has moved to the newer Edge browser, and has stopped supporting IE.

Breaking down the different platforms that are accessing your website will help you get to know your audience to aid in providing the best user experience possible. There is a vast amount of data available within Analytics, but as far as testing your site cross-platform, you’ll only need to look at a couple areas. You can start with an overall look or drill down to what browser is being used the most, what operating system it is on, and what screen size or device it’s being viewed from.

Note – If you have recently launched your site and added the analytics tracking, you will need to give it time to start collecting user data.

If the majority of your audience is using their mobile phone to view your website, you want to make sure everything looks good and is working properly from the mobile platform. If it is the opposite case, and everyone is viewing from a laptop or desktop computer, then it might not be as vital to put a lengthy amount of time into developing a great mobile experience… just yet.

In the analytics profile, you will find this information within the Reports menu under Audience. Starting with Technology, simply click 

. By default it will show the Browser data first, but you can flip between Operating System, Screen Resolution, Screen Colors, Flash Version, and even Java Support.

The Users data under the Acquisition columns, sorted highest to lowest, will display the number or users per data point as well as the overall percentage of the total session on the site. Typically, for Browser and Operating System at least, the top 2-4 data points will make up the majority of your user base. You could consider these as the top priorities as that is the bulk of your audience.

You can get more detailed by adding a secondary dimension, to really nail down the specifics of your audience. For example, viewing which browsers are being used on which operating systems or which version of the operating system is being used per browser.

To get a clearer look of the desktop versus device breakdown, select the Mobile option below Technology. Viewing the Overview will show you the breakdown of users between mobile, tablet and desktop, while viewing the Devices option will show which devices are being used the most.

Your website isn’t always short-term. Yes, some of your content may be more time sensitive, but your website in general is a living, breathing thing (so to speak) that will be around for awhile. Tracking the numbers, in some form or fashion that works for you, overtime could give you a historical reference point to estimate a forecast for future usage. If you notice your mobile users are steadily growing over the past few months, it’s time to review the mobile platforms in more detail.

After looking over the analytics and the details of the majority of your audience, take a moment to consider those that aren’t represented as much in the analytics. Since they could be part of a group that will gain popularity down the road, so being proactive about their experience can help in the long run.

Compare your analytics to data collected from worldwide users on Statcounter. Their stats are based on aggregate data collected on a sample exceeding 10 billion pageviews per month, from across the StatCounter network of more than 2 million websites. Check out 

 to see what usage around the world looks like, some of the number may surprise you!

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Part 1: What is Accessibility? Why should I care?

Part 2: Assessing Your Accessibility (What to Fix)

Now that you’ve assessed your website and have made some improvements on your findings, it’s time to put it to the ultimate test.

During my testing experience, I’ve grown very fond of accessibility testing tools. Not only because it can be hard to put your yourself in the shoes of every possible angle to test for, but also because it can be challenging to determine if the component in question is within the accessibility 

 or not. In this post, I’ll give you some of my ideas, tips, and tools that I’ve collected during my experience with accessibility thus far. Focusing more on the styling and functionality of the site rather than the content.

To make testing a little less intense or complicated, you can download some handy tools for Chrome to help. I have tried a handful of different extensions and kept a couple, 

, in my toolbox for future use. Though these extensions should not be your only means of determining the level of accessibility, they will give you helpful feedback without having to dig into the code in great detail – let your developer do that!

. FreshEyes will give you an idea of how a colorblind user will see the site, depending on which filter you select. When checking here, keep in mind that the color contrast has potential to be more of a concern for a user that is not color blind. You can use Siteimprove along with FreshEyes to help examine this. With Reader View, you are checking to see if all pertinent content is available, as it essentially removes the CSS and JavaScript from the page. If you have content that depends on CSS or JavaScript to display, you want to make sure there is an alternate delivery method available.

 (for free), as well as looking over the 

 capabilities for testing on an Apple product. Hearing how a screen reader presents the components of the site to a user will allow you to determine if they are getting the best experience possible. If it sounds funny to you, it can be confusing to them. Part of me suggests to get familiar with screen readers, if not already, while another part says not to. Some of the frustration you could experience while getting use to these could lend some insight into how a user interacts with a site for the first time. If you feel frustration building up while familiarizing yourself with the shortcuts and gestures, imagine that as the experience a user may have with an inaccessible website.

The last tool is knowledge. Take a look at some information about different 

 to get a better understanding of what users could be experiencing, or what other kind of 

 are used to access the web. If you know someone that may have a disability, impairment, or uses assistive technologies, ask them if they could help in inspecting; real user testing determines the level of accessibility the best.

So, now that you’ve tested your site with the tools mentioned previously, it’s time to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for another round of testing. For desktop or laptop testing, unplug your mouse and set it to the side. Find a blindfold or some DIY impairment specsâa post for these DIY specs coming soonâand go through the site using a 

It might take a few tries to get use to it, but eventually you will be able to identify which areas cause trouble. While doing so, refer back to our 

 post for the questions to keep in mind. Take notes for the areas you find confusing, such as a weird ordering of form fields while using the tab key, to discuss with a developer if further improvements are needed. Include the information provided by the accessibility extensions with the developer as well, to give them specific examples in the code to look over.

I remember a particular lesson in my 6th grade health class, where we went through the different senses and a handful of experiments for each. One of homework assignments that week was to eat dinner while blindfolded. We had to lean on our family for support – to tell us how the plate was laid out using a clock format, mashed potatoes at 12, corn at 2, etc. – and a sort of muscle memory to remember the layout. In a way, that lesson is similar to how a user interacts with a website. Relying on some support, acting as assistive technologies, and muscle memory to help build the layout or placement in a cognitive schematic. With that said, combining the tips and tools I’ve referenced, as well as a general understanding on code semantic HTML in our previous post on (

), will give you a great starting point to thoroughly test for accessibility. And with some helpful feedback from real user testing added in, your site will be an accessible champ in no time!

There are a lot of tools out there and, obviously, some are better than others since they are not all the same. Don’t rely on just one of these tools, because it may miss something that another will not. And although they may report issues, it’s ultimately up to the human perspective to recognize the priority of the accessibility.

Accessibility

Website Accessibility: Testing (Part 4 of 4)

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Whether your project is an app, a website or even a piece of collateral, it will benefit from structured user testing and the feedback it provides. We have experience with user testing at every level of fidelity, from in-person to groups to remote- and dispersed user testing. 

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Website Accessibility: Testing (Part 4 of 4)