About this course
Learn the essential skills to conduct effective screen reader testing using VoiceOver, the screen reader built into Macs. This course is designed for developers, quality assurance professionals, UX designers, content creators, and accessibility advocates who want to ensure their websites are accessible to users with visual impairments.
Through step-by-step guidance, practical exercises, and real-world examples, you’ll gain hands-on experience navigating, understanding, and testing web interfaces with VoiceOver. No prior experience with screen readers is required—just a commitment to making the digital world more inclusive!
What you’ll learn:
- The basics of VoiceOver: activation, configuration, and keyboard shortcuts.
- How to navigate websites and applications using VoiceOver.
- How to screen reader test common web elements, such as accordions, carousels, modals, tabs, forms and more.
- Key concepts of accessibility and WCAG guidelines.
Course details:
35 lessons- Duration: 4-6 hours
- Level: Beginner
- Lifetime access
- Audience: Perfect for developers, designers, content creators, and QA specialists with Mac computers.
35 lessons
Course Content
This short lesson introduces the Accessibility Testing with VoiceOver course. In this lesson, Amber Hinds, CEO of Equalize Digital, explains that using VoiceOver to test your work helps make websites more inclusive for people with disabilities. This video briefly overviews what you can expect to learn in the course.
Sample LessonThis lesson explains the importance of screen reader testing in making digital content truly accessible. Watch the lesson now:
While keyboard navigation and automated accessibility tools are helpful, they don’t fully reflect the experience of users who rely on screen readers. Screen reader testing helps uncover issues that automated checks often miss, such as duplicate labels, missing context, or the absence of auditory confirmation for actions like form submissions.
By testing with a screen reader, developers can better understand how their content sounds and functions for users who are blind or visually impaired, leading to more inclusive and usable websites.
Sample LessonThis video outlines the most commonly used screen readers so you can decide which one to use for accessibility testing. Watch the lesson now:
Choose your screen reader to match your operating system!
- Mac: VoiceOver
- Windows: NVDA or JAWS (see our NVDA Screen Reader Testing course)
Browser choice matters. For the most accurate testing, use NVDA with Chrome or Firefox on Windows, or VoiceOver with Chrome and Safari on Mac. Testing only with Orca on Linux is not sufficient, as it has limited support and a small user base.
This section of the course includes eight lessons:
- Turn VoiceOver On or Off
- VoiceOver Modifier Keys
- How to Pause or Stop Speech in VoiceOver
- VoiceOver Help Menu
- VoiceOver Keyboard Help
- Hear Hints or Information About an Element
- Interacting with Grouped Content
- Using the VoiceOver Rotor
This section of the course includes eight lessons:
- Introduction to VoiceOver Utility
- Setting the VoiceOver Modifier
- Verbosity Settings
- Voice Settings and Speed
- Web Rotor Settings
- Sound Settings
- Increasing the Caption Panel Size
- VoiceOver Recognition
This section of the course includes three lessons:
- When to Screen Reader Test
- What to Listen For When Screen Reader Testing
- Screen Reader Testing Steps
This section of the course includes 12 lessons comparing how various components sound when tested with VoiceOver. Good and bad examples are demonstrated for the following components:
- HTML Landmark Regions
- Navigation Menus
- Breadcrumbs
- Accordions
- Carousels
- Tabs
- Tables
- Modal Dialogs and Pop-ups
- Content Groups and Pagination
- Search and Filters
- Forms
- Oddities & Things to be Aware of
Meet the Instructor
