WAVE Guide

Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool

What is WAVE?

WAVE is a web evaluation tool that provides feedback about the current accessibility of your web pages. The feedback you receive is based on Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 A and AA standards and can make diagnosing your accessibility issues easier.

While WAVE provides plenty of good feedback, it can never replace manual testing of your page content.

How do I use this tool?

There are two ways to use this tool:

  1. Go to the official WAVE website and enter a web address in the provided search bar
  2. Install the WAVE browser extension and scan any web page you are visiting

Many people find the browser extension to be the most convenient option, but there are times when you won't have access to install a browser extension, so the official website still serves a purpose.

WebAIM provides their own quick reference for using WAVE for website testing.

Training

The EIRAC created a WAVE training course in Canvas that can be bookmarked and used as reference for website managers and editors.

Still having trouble?

This topic and more are covered in our accessibility training course. Continue to our training page for more information.