15. Free Tools & Resources
Everything in this handbook can be done with free tools. Here are reliable starting points.
Test your content
| Tool | Use it for |
|---|---|
| WebAIM Contrast Checker webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker | Check text contrast against AA |
| WAVE wave.webaim.org | Scan a web page for accessibility issues |
| NVDA (Windows), VoiceOver (Mac/iPhone), TalkBack (Android) Built-in / free screen readers | Hear your content the way a blind user does |
| Browser zoom (Ctrl/Cmd +) | Check that text stays readable at 200% |
- New to testing? The Appendix has a 10-minute hands-on walkthrough — “Run the manual checks yourself” — covering the keyboard test, trying a screen reader, and the zoom and high-contrast checks.
Caption & transcribe
| Tool | Use it for |
|---|---|
| YouTube Studio | Auto-captions and downloadable transcripts |
| Otter.ai | Transcribing meetings, podcasts, voice notes |
| CapCut / Veed | Adding accurate, styled captions to videos |
| Microsoft Word – Dictate / Transcribe | Turning audio into editable text |
Learn more
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): w3.org/WAI
- How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference): w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref
- What’s New in WCAG 2.2: w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-22
- WebAIM articles and tutorials: webaim.org
- WHO disability fact sheet (the 16% / 1.3 billion figure): who.int
- UN CRPD (rights context): un.org/disabilities