Interactive Element Testing

Monday Accessibility Tip 💡 Not everyone uses a mouse to navigate digital content. Many people rely on keyboard navigation. If your learning content is not keyboard-friendly, they may get stuck. Ensure all interactive elements are fully accessible using only the keyboard. Use the Tab key to navigate and Enter/Space to activate. Quick Keyboard Testing Shortcuts: 🔎 Tab – Move forward through interactive elements Shift + Tab – Move backward Enter – Activate links, buttons, and form fields Spacebar – Activate buttons and checkboxes, scroll down Arrow Keys – Navigate dropdowns, menus, and sliders Esc – Close modals, popups, or dropdowns Quick Check: ✔ Can you reach all links, buttons, and form fields using Tab? Can you interact with all learning content? Is there a visible focus indicator (highlight, border, or outline)? Can you close pop-ups and menus with Esc? Bonus Challenge: Try navigating your learning content without a mouse today! How does it feel? Let’s make online learning work for everyone. 🌐

🚀 Day 39: “Dynamic Elements” — The Shape-Shifters of Automation! Testing today, gone tomorrow! 😅 🧪 One of the most common challenges in automation testing is handling dynamic elements — those elements whose IDs, classes, or attributes keep changing every time the page loads. Whether you’re using Selenium, Cypress, or any other tool — if you’ve written a test that suddenly breaks because the element isn’t found… welcome to the Dynamic Club! ⸻ 🎯 Why are elements dynamic? Web developers often use: • Auto-generated IDs (input_162899) • Date/time stamps • Frameworks like React/Angular with dynamic rendering ⸻ 🛠️ How to Handle Them Like a Pro: 🔹 Use contains() or partial match strategies Instead of matching full ID: //button[contains(@id, 'submit')] 🔹 Use relative XPath or CSS selectors Find the element in relation to something static: //label[text()='Username']/following::input[1] 🔹 Avoid brittle locators (like index or text that changes) Dynamic values = unstable tests. Prefer unique attributes. 🔹 Use waits smartly (Explicit Waits > Implicit Waits) Wait for the element to become visible, clickable, or present. 🔹 Use Regex or custom attributes (like data-test-id) Talk to developers — adding stable test-friendly attributes can save lives (and scripts 😅). ⸻ ✅ Bonus Tip: 👉 Build a locator strategy before you automate. Your locators are your foundation — shaky locators = shaky automation. ⸻ 💬 Let’s Talk: What’s your go-to trick when elements refuse to sit still? Have you created custom locator helpers in your framework? Share your favorite hacks 👇 ⸻ #Day39 #AutomationTesting #SeleniumTips #Cypress #DynamicElements #XPath #CSSSelectors #TestAutomation #LocatorStrategy #WomenInTech #QACommunity #LinkedInDailyPost #TestingHacks

Focus Indicators - > Requirements - Keyboard focus must be visible on interactive elements. - The focus indicator must have at least a 3:1 contrast ratio against the surrounding background. (The contrast rule applies to the focus indicator itself, not the element it highlights.) -> WCAG 2.4.13 – Focus Appearance (AAA) Requirements - Focus indicator must be at least 2px thick. - It must have a 4.5:1 contrast ratio against its background. - The difference between the unfocused and focused state must be 2:1. -> When Should an Element Be Focused? - Interactive elements (links, buttons, inputs) must receive focus. - Custom elements should use tabindex="0" to be focusable. - Avoid focusing non-interactive elements unless necessary. -> Key Check: - If you remove default focus styles, you must replace them with an accessible alternative. - Default focus styles are often insufficient—use thicker borders, outlines, or distinct visual cues. - If the focus indicator overlaps multiple backgrounds, it must contrast with background it touches - Ensure focus is clearly distinguishable from selected states. - Do NOT Hide Focus or remove focus after clicking an element -> Focus Indicator Styles - Inside Boundary: Focus indicator appears only inside the component. Needs to contrast with adjacent color(s) within the component. - Outside Boundary: A visible outline/border around the element. Needs to contrast with the background of the page. - Border of the component: The border of the component (inside the component and adjacent to the outside) and need to contrast with both adjacent colours. - Partly Inside & Partly Outside: The focus indicator overlaps both the component and its background. Either part of the focus indicator must contrast with the adjacent colors. - Bold/Underline: The element text becomes bold or underlined when focused. - Color Change: Text or background color changes—ensure contrast is met of at least 3:1 with the default state. -> Common Developer Mistakes: - Removing outline using outline: none; without a replacement. - Using tabindex="-1" on interactive elements (makes them unfocusable). - Overriding browser default focus styles without ensuring accessibility. - Using low-contrast focus indicators (e.g., light gray on white). #w3c #ARIA #Accessibility #HTML #webaccessibility #inclusivity #webdevelopment #frontenddevelopment #frontend #section508 #digitalaccessibility #WCAG #frontendaccessibility #A11y #InclusiveDesign #frontenddevelopers

🔍 My Process for Testing a Web Page for WCAG Conformance Ensuring web accessibility goes beyond automated testing—it’s about a detailed, methodical approach. Here’s how I test a webpage for WCAG conformance: 1️⃣ Start with the Basics - Double-check I’m testing the correct URL, component, and page state. - Open the page in my browser, set the screen width to 1280px, and open developer tools. (I live in developer tools!) 2️⃣ Inspect Elements - Work top-down, element by element, component by component. - Use developer tools to inspect elements and select shortcut “Expand recursively” to easily view the complete code structure. -Check each element’s HTML semantic structure, name, role, value, aria and functionality. ***Ask questions like: *What is this element? *What’s its role? *What is it's name and where is the name coming from? *Does it have supporting attributes for different states? *Does it pass color contrast requirements? *Is this an interactive element? 3️⃣ Interactivity and State Testing - For interactive elements, test with a mouse first, then the keyboard (Tab, Enter, Space) to ensure equitable functionality. - Ensure all interactive elements have a non-obscured color contrast conforming focus indicator. - Check hover, focus, active, pressed, selected, expanded, and collapsed states. - Ensure the element remains conformant, maintains color contrast, and performs its intended functionality in all states across all input devices. 4️⃣ Comprehensive Component Review Apply this process to all elements within a chosen component or page. Switch to Accessibility Tree View for new fresh perspective. 5️⃣ Screen Reader Testing Use NVDA to do a pass-through, ensuring I haven’t missed anything important. 6️⃣ Responsive Testing Test at 1280px for desktop, zoom to 200% for resizing, and zoom to 400% for reflow to check responsiveness and look for cutoff or missing meaningful content. 7️⃣ ARC Toolkit Analysis - Use ARC Toolkit to run tests with all topics selected. Manually review errors, alerts, and best practices by toggling disclosure panels. - Use highlight tools to quickly check: Page titles, iframes, lists, forms, tables, language attributes, buttons, links, tab order, tab index values, landmarks, and headings. - Leverage the text spacing tool at 1280px, 200%, and 400% to ensure compliance with resizing and reflow requirements. Accessibility isn’t just a checkbox—it’s a commitment to inclusivity and usability for all. This thorough (but not exhaustive) testing process ensures every page and component is tested against the WCAG success criteria. Now knowing how to fix the failures... DM me for help! What’s your favorite step or tool for accessibility testing? Let’s discuss in the comments! #AccessibilityTesting #WCAG #WebDevelopment #Accessibility #A11y

5 keyboard accessibility things you can check in 5 minutes Keyboard accessibility doesn't have to be mysterious. Here are five simple tests any developer can run right now to catch the most common issues: • Tab through your entire page Can you reach every interactive element? If your focus gets stuck or jumps around unpredictably, users who rely on keyboards will get trapped or lost. • Check your focus indicators As you tab, can you always see where you are? If focus indicators are invisible or barely visible, users can't navigate effectively. Make sure they're clear and high-contrast. • Try the Enter and Space keys Both should activate buttons, but only Enter should activate links. If you've used divs or spans for interactive elements, these keys probably won't work at all. • Test your dropdown menus and modals Can you open them with the keyboard? Can you navigate through options? Can you close them with the Escape key? If any of these fail, you've got more work to do. • Test completing a form Try completing a form with just tehe keyboard. Can you reach every field, checkbox, and button? Is it clear what each field is for, even after the placeholder disappears? If you can't complete a form using only the keyboard, neither can your users. These five tests catch about 80% of keyboard accessibility issues. No special tools required – just your keyboard and a few minutes of attention. The best part? Fixing these issues usually makes your site better for everyone, not just keyboard users. #Accessibility #WebDevelopment