Terms

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing is the practice of ensuring that digital products, such as websites and mobile apps, are usable by people with disabilities, including those with visual, hearing, mobility, or cognitive impairments. This process involves evaluating an application against established standards and its compatibility with assistive technologies, like screen readers, to remove barriers and create an inclusive digital experience for all users.

Importance of Accessibility Testing

Beyond the ethical imperative, accessibility testing is a legal necessity in many regions. Failure to comply with regulations can result in costly lawsuits and substantial fines. Proactively testing for accessibility is crucial for mitigating these significant legal and financial risks.

Embracing accessibility also unlocks a larger market, reaching millions of potential users with disabilities. This commitment to inclusivity strengthens brand reputation and fosters customer loyalty. Ultimately, creating an accessible product improves usability for all users, enhancing the overall experience.

Tools for Accessibility Testing

A wide array of tools exists to help teams with accessibility testing, ranging from simple browser add-ons to enterprise-level platforms. These tools can automate checks, simulate user experiences, and provide detailed compliance reports to identify and fix barriers.

  • Extensions: Browser-based tools that offer quick, on-page analysis and feedback for developers during the coding process.
  • Platforms: Comprehensive solutions that provide automated scanning, workflow testing, and centralized reporting for web and mobile applications.
  • Screen Readers: Essential software that reads on-screen content aloud, allowing for testing from the perspective of visually impaired users.
  • Simulators: Specialized tools that help designers understand how users with various impairments interact with their product.

Accessibility Testing vs. Usability Testing

While related, accessibility and usability testing serve distinct purposes in product development.

  • Accessibility: This focuses on making products usable for people with disabilities, ensuring legal compliance to avoid fines. It expands market reach but can be time-consuming. This is crucial for enterprises and mid-market firms to mitigate legal risks and demonstrate social responsibility.
  • Usability: A broader practice that evaluates how easy and satisfying a product is for all users. It improves overall user experience and product quality but can be resource-intensive. It's preferred for enhancing general product effectiveness and should ideally incorporate accessibility.

Common Challenges in Accessibility Testing

Navigating accessibility testing presents several hurdles for development teams. The process is often complex, requiring specialized knowledge and significant resources to execute effectively. Key difficulties stem from a lack of familiarity with disabilities and the tools used to test for them.

  • Complexity: Addressing the wide range of disabilities and their unique requirements makes comprehensive testing intricate and demanding.
  • Resources: Manual testing is time-consuming, while automated tools often miss nuanced, context-specific issues that require human evaluation.
  • Integration: Accessibility is frequently treated as an afterthought, rather than being embedded into the development lifecycle from the start.

Best Practices for Accessibility Testing

To effectively integrate accessibility, teams should adopt a proactive and continuous approach. This involves embedding accessibility checks throughout the development lifecycle, not just at the end. Following established best practices ensures that digital products are truly inclusive and compliant.

  • Integrate: Embed accessibility testing early and continuously throughout the entire development lifecycle.
  • Automate: Use automated tools to catch common issues quickly, complementing manual tests for nuanced problems.
  • Validate: Test across diverse browsers, devices, and assistive technologies to ensure broad compatibility.
  • Comply: Adhere to established standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for a clear framework.
  • Remediate: Document findings clearly and provide actionable recommendations to help developers fix issues efficiently.

Frequently Asked Questions about Accessibility Testing

How often should we test for accessibility?

Accessibility testing should be a continuous process integrated throughout the development lifecycle, not a one-time check. Regular testing, especially after major updates, ensures ongoing compliance and usability for all users.

Is automated testing enough for compliance?

No, automated testing is not sufficient on its own. It catches many common issues but misses nuanced, context-dependent problems that require manual testing and evaluation by human experts to ensure full compliance.

What's the difference between WCAG A, AA, and AAA?

WCAG has three conformance levels. Level A is the minimum accessibility standard. Level AA is the most common target for legal compliance, while Level AAA is the highest, most stringent standard, often applied to specific content rather than entire sites.

Other terms

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Warm Email

A warm email is a message sent to a prospect with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact or a prior interaction.

Warm Email

Bounce Rate

Learn about bounce rate, including understanding bounce rate implications, key factors affecting bounce rate, & reducing your bounce rate effectively.

Bounce Rate

Freemium Models

A freemium model offers a product's basic features for free, enticing users to upgrade to a paid version for more advanced capabilities.

Freemium Models

Sales Lead

A sales lead is a potential customer—an individual or organization that has shown interest in your company's products or services.

Sales Lead

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

A Representational State Transfer (REST) API is a web service that uses a simple, stateless architecture for systems to communicate online.

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

Cloud-based CRM

A cloud-based CRM is a customer relationship management tool hosted online, letting teams access and manage customer data from anywhere.

Cloud-based CRM

Dark Social

Dark social is the sharing of content through private channels like messaging apps or email. This traffic is hard to track as it lacks referral data.

Dark Social

Lightning Components

Lightning Components is a UI framework for building dynamic web apps for mobile and desktop devices on the Salesforce Lightning Platform.

Lightning Components

Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

Product-Led Growth

Demand Capture

Demand capture is the strategy of engaging potential customers who are already actively looking for a solution that your company provides.

Demand Capture

Always Be Closing

“Always Be Closing” (ABC) is a sales mantra meaning every action a salesperson takes should be with the ultimate goal of closing the sale.

Always Be Closing

Bulk Application Programming Interface

Learn about bulk API, including how it works, the advantages of using it, common use cases, and tips for optimizing it.

Bulk Application Programming Interface

Market Intelligence

Market intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing data about your target market, competitors, and industry to guide business strategy.

Market Intelligence

HTTP Requests

An HTTP request is a message sent by a client, like a web browser, to a server to ask for a resource, such as a web page or an image.

HTTP Requests

XML

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

XML

Buyer's Journey

The buyer's journey maps the path a potential customer takes, from first becoming aware of a problem to making a final purchase decision.

Buyer's Journey

Digital Contracts

Digital contracts are legally binding agreements created, signed, and stored electronically, offering a faster, more secure alternative to paper.

Digital Contracts

Intent Data

Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.

Intent Data

Digital Sales Room

A Digital Sales Room is a private online space where sellers share all relevant content with buyers to streamline the sales cycle.

Digital Sales Room

Marketing Attribution

Marketing attribution is the process of identifying which touchpoints contribute to a conversion and assigning value to each of them.

Marketing Attribution

Direct-to-Consumer

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) is a business model where companies sell products directly to customers, bypassing traditional retail middlemen.

Direct-to-Consumer

Closing Ratio

Closing ratio is a key sales metric that shows the percentage of leads or proposals that result in a successful sale.

Closing Ratio

Buying Cycle

The buying cycle is the journey a customer takes from first realizing they have a need to making the final purchase decision.

Buying Cycle

Sandboxes

A sandbox is an isolated testing environment where new or untrusted code can be run safely without affecting the host device or network.

Sandboxes

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium tool helping sales teams find and engage with the right leads and accounts on the LinkedIn network.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Inbound leads

Inbound leads are potential customers who proactively reach out after finding your business through content, social media, or search.

Inbound leads

Tokenization

Tokenization is the process of breaking down text into smaller units called tokens, such as words or characters, for AI to process.

Tokenization

User Interface

A User Interface (UI) is the point where humans and computers interact. It encompasses all visual elements like screens, icons, and buttons.

User Interface

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

Sales Script

A sales script is a pre-written guide of talking points that helps salespeople navigate conversations with potential customers.

Sales Script

Sales Conversion Rate

Sales conversion rate is the percentage of prospects who take a desired action, like making a purchase, turning them into customers.

Sales Conversion Rate

Business Development Representative

Learn about business development representative, including skills and qualifications for BDRs, & roles and responsibilities of a BDR.

Business Development Representative

Consumer Relationship Management

Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy for managing all of a company's relationships and interactions with its customers.

Consumer Relationship Management

Sales Automation

Sales automation uses software to streamline and automate repetitive, manual sales tasks, freeing up reps to focus on selling.

Sales Automation

BAB Formula

Learn about BAB formula, including implementing BAB in sales strategies, crafting an effective BAB pitch, & comparing BAB with other sales frameworks.

BAB Formula

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

Revenue Operations (RevOps) is a business function that aligns a company's sales, marketing, and customer service teams to drive predictable revenue.

Revenue Operations (RevOps)

ETL

ETL, short for Extract, Transform, Load, is a data integration process for moving raw data from various sources to a central data warehouse.

ETL

Microservices

Microservices is an architecture where apps are built as a collection of small, independent services that communicate with each other over APIs.

Microservices

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is the process of assigning points to leads based on their attributes and actions to determine their sales-readiness.

Lead Scoring

Sales Key Performance Indicators

Sales Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable metrics used to measure how effectively a sales team is achieving its key objectives.

Sales Key Performance Indicators

Fulfillment Logistics

Fulfillment logistics is the entire process of getting an order to a customer, from storing inventory to picking, packing, and final shipment.

Fulfillment Logistics

Brand Awareness

Learn about brand awareness, including understanding its importance, building an effective strategy, key metrics to track, & examples in the real world.

Brand Awareness

Software as a Service

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based model where users subscribe to an application and access it over the internet.

Software as a Service

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a web security vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into trusted websites.

Cross-Site Scripting

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation uses rule-based logic to run a sequence of tasks that would otherwise require manual human effort to complete.

Workflow Automation

Order Management

Order management is the end-to-end process of tracking customer orders from placement to fulfillment, ensuring a seamless customer experience.

Order Management

Customer Lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is the journey a person takes from first becoming aware of your brand to becoming a loyal, repeat customer.

Customer Lifecycle

Docker

Docker is a tool that packages applications and their dependencies into isolated environments called containers for easy deployment and scaling.

Docker

No Forms

No Forms is a method for capturing lead data directly from your website visitors' profiles without requiring them to fill out any forms.

No Forms

Sales Territory

A sales territory is a specific group of customers or a geographic area that a salesperson or sales team is responsible for managing.

Sales Territory

Git

Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in code, allowing developers to collaborate and manage project history effectively.

Git

Intent-Based Leads

Intent-based leads are potential customers whose online actions—like searches or content engagement—signal a clear interest in buying a solution.

Intent-Based Leads

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is a popular online tool that lets entrepreneurs easily build sales funnels to guide potential customers through the buying process.

ClickFunnels

Service Level Agreement

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract defining the level of service between a provider and a client, including metrics and penalties.

Service Level Agreement

Inside Sales Metrics

Inside sales metrics are quantifiable measures used to track the performance, activities, and effectiveness of an internal sales team.

Inside Sales Metrics

Marketing Performance

Marketing performance is the process of measuring a campaign's effectiveness against set goals using key metrics like ROI and conversion rates.

Marketing Performance

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is the set of marketing tools a company uses to sell products, defined by the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Marketing Mix

Customer Retention

Customer retention refers to the strategies and activities a company uses to prevent customer churn and encourage them to continue buying.

Customer Retention

SEM

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that uses paid tactics to increase a website's visibility in search engine results.

SEM

Freemium

Freemium is a business model offering a product's basic features for free, while charging for advanced or supplemental features.

Freemium

Progressive Web Apps

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are websites that look and feel like native mobile apps, offering features like offline access and push notifications.

Progressive Web Apps

Headless CMS

A headless CMS is a back-end content repository that delivers content via API to any front-end, decoupling the content from its presentation layer.

Headless CMS

Incident Response

Incident response is an organization's systematic approach to managing and mitigating the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack.

Incident Response

Account

An account is a company or organization that you're targeting for sales. It can be a prospective, current, or even a past customer.

Account

Virtual Private Cloud

A Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is a secure, isolated section of a public cloud. It lets you provision your own logically isolated resources.

Virtual Private Cloud

Closed Opportunities

Closed opportunities are potential deals that have concluded. They are categorized as either 'closed-won' (a sale was made) or 'closed-lost'.

Closed Opportunities

Awareness Buying Stage

The awareness stage is the first step in the buyer's journey, where a potential customer realizes they have a problem or an opportunity to explore.

Awareness Buying Stage

Lead Conversion

Lead conversion is the process of turning a prospect into a customer by getting them to complete a desired action, such as making a purchase.

Lead Conversion

Hadoop

Hadoop is an open-source framework designed for the distributed storage and processing of extremely large data sets across clusters of computers.

Hadoop

Business Intelligence

Learn about business intelligence, including key components of business intelligence, the role of BI in decision making, business intelligence tools and techniques.

Business Intelligence

Buying Committee

A buying committee is a group of stakeholders within an organization who are jointly responsible for making major purchasing decisions.

Buying Committee

Closed Question

A closed question is a type of query that elicits a simple, often one-word answer like 'yes' or 'no,' or a specific, factual response.

Closed Question

Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is the process of creating a visual story of your customers' interactions with your brand across all touchpoints.

Customer Journey Mapping

Ballpark

Learn about ballpark, including estimating with ballpark figures, understanding ballpark estimates in sales, & ballpark estimates vs. precise quotes.

Ballpark

80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule, or Pareto Principle, posits that 80% of results come from just 20% of the effort. It's a key concept for prioritization.

80/20 Rule

Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is the continuous process of tracking a computer network's performance and health to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Network Monitoring

Field Sales Rep

A field sales representative, or outside sales rep, travels to meet prospects in person, selling products or services directly within their territory.

Field Sales Rep

Data Mining

Data mining is the process of discovering patterns, trends, and useful information from large datasets to make better business decisions.

Data Mining

Performance Plan

A performance plan is a formal document outlining an employee's goals, expectations, and metrics for success over a specific period.

Performance Plan

Conversational Intelligence

Conversational intelligence (CI) is AI technology that analyzes customer conversations to find insights that help sales and support teams improve.

Conversational Intelligence

Latency

Latency is the delay between a user's action and a system's response. It's the time it takes for a data packet to travel to its destination.

Latency

Closed Won

Closed Won is a CRM status for a sales deal that has been successfully concluded, resulting in a signed contract and a new customer.

Closed Won

Compliance Testing

Compliance testing ensures a product or system adheres to specific regulations, standards, or policies set by governing bodies or organizations.

Compliance Testing

C-Level or C-Suite

The C-suite, or C-level, refers to a company's most senior executives. Their titles usually start with 'Chief,' such as CEO, CFO, or CTO.

C-Level or C-Suite

Sales Operations

Sales Operations, or Sales Ops, streamlines sales processes, manages tools, and analyzes data to help sales teams sell more effectively.

Sales Operations

Psychographics

Psychographics categorizes people by their attitudes, interests, and lifestyles, revealing the 'why' behind their purchasing decisions.

Psychographics

Gamification

Gamification applies game mechanics like points, badges, and leaderboards to non-game activities to boost engagement and motivate users.

Gamification

Sales Dashboard

A sales dashboard is a visual tool that centralizes and displays key sales data, metrics, and KPIs to help teams track performance and goals.

Sales Dashboard

Unique Selling Point

A Unique Selling Point (USP) is the distinct feature or benefit that sets your product, service, or brand apart from the competition.

Unique Selling Point

MOFU

MOFU, or Middle of the Funnel, is the crucial evaluation stage in the buyer's journey where leads compare solutions to their known problem.

MOFU

Robotic Process Automation

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) uses software bots to mimic human actions and automate repetitive, rules-based tasks on digital systems.

Robotic Process Automation

Remote Sales

Remote sales is selling from a distance. Reps use digital tools to connect with prospects and close deals without meeting them in person.

Remote Sales

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is a service model where data is stored on remote servers and accessed from the internet, rather than on a local drive.

Cloud Storage

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method where all expenses are re-evaluated and must be justified from scratch for each new budget period.

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

Adobe Analytics

Adobe Analytics is a leading web analytics solution for gaining real-time insights into user activity across websites and mobile applications.

Adobe Analytics

Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics is the process for goods moving from the customer back to the seller, covering returns, repairs, recycling, and disposal.

Reverse Logistics

Sales Intelligence Platform

A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.

Sales Intelligence Platform

Low-Hanging Fruit

Low-hanging fruit are the most obvious and easy-to-tackle tasks or goals that provide a quick, valuable return for minimal effort.

Low-Hanging Fruit