Inclusivity Checker: A Testing Tool to Detect Inclusivity Bugs in Websites

Abstract

At the current speed of technological advancement, particularly with the pandemic driving the shift from physical to virtual, everyone must have access to the digital world. Guidelines for accessible technology exist to assist software engineers in creating websites accessible to disabled populations but are extensive and, therefore, difficult to follow completely. Additionally, no standard guidelines are available to address a wider range of human diversity beyond disabilities. In this paper, we present a browser extension tool, Inclusivity Checker, that can assist in building more inclusive websites by performing tests on checkpoints categorized into various user groups based on disability type and diversity parameters. These checkpoints are based on existing guidelines and present developers with errors, warnings, and tips. To gauge the efficiency of the developed tool, we evaluated the results manually. Furthermore, we collected the developers’ feedback on the tool to test its usability.