Why a Manual Accessibility Testing Tool?
WCAGWeb Content Accessibility GuidelinesManual Accessibility TestingAutomated Accessibility TestngGuided Accessibility Testing
Many of you might be wondering why we've created a guided web app for manual accessibility testing while most other accessibility companies have gone all-in on automated testing. There are a few short answers to that question, and many longer ones.
- There are enough solutions for automated testing and they all fail to spot 60-80% of a11y issues.
- While looking for alternatives to logging issues in spreadsheets our searches came up fruitless.
It's widely understood now that automated accessibility testing only catches a minority of issues - often quoted somewhere in the 20–40% range - so manual testing is still essential if you actually want an accessible product. The question for us became: how do we create a truly lightweight solution for manual accessibility audit workflows? Something better than the so‑called "manual" tools we kept running into in our research. And also superior to spreadsheets.
What we found was that most options were built as big accessibility platforms: automation‑first, heavy, and opinionated. Their manual testing features often tried to force you back into running more scans, and they weren't really designed around the day‑to‑day needs of accessibility testers. They are marketed to business owners and, sometimes, developers - not to the people actually doing the audits. So we set out to create Labrador, if not only to serve our own purposes (we currently run our accessibility audits in Labrador). What started as a prototype using agentic coding ended with a production grade product with enterprise interest.
The Reality of Manual Accessibility Testing
Here's what we discovered when we talked to accessibility professionals: they were cobbling together workflows using spreadsheets, browser extensions, and note-taking apps. Some auditors might have systems involving three different tools just to track progress through a single WCAG 2.2 compliance assessment. Another had built elaborate Excel templates with dropdown menus for each success criterion.
The existing accessibility testing software market seemed to have a blind spot. Companies like Axe and WAVE had perfected automated scanning, but when it came to the manual accessibility testing that catches the remaining 60-80% of issues, the solutions felt like afterthoughts.
What we were seeing here was a fundamental mismatch between what accessibility auditors actually needed and what the market was providing. The big platforms assumed that if you were doing manual testing, you were probably doing it wrong. That you should be automating more. But seasoned auditors know better. You can't automate your way to WCAG conformance.
Building for the People Doing the Work
This becomes even more fascinating when you consider who's actually conducting these audits. It's not usually the executives buying the enterprise accessibility platforms. It's specialized testers, often contractors or consultants, who need to move efficiently through criterion-by-criterion WCAG testing without getting bogged down in unnecessary complexity.
We realized we needed to build an accessibility audit tool that respected this workflow. Something that understood that manual testing isn't a fallback when automation fails. It's a different discipline entirely, requiring different tools and different thinking.
The breakthrough came when we stopped thinking about Labrador as a "manual testing add-on" to automated tools and started designing it as a dedicated WCAG compliance testing tool from the ground up. We focused on three core principles:
Efficiency without shortcuts. Every click should move the audit forward. No forcing users through automated scans they don't need. No trying to upsell them on features that slow down their manual accessibility audit workflow.
Collaborative by design. Real accessibility work happens in teams. Designers, developers, and testers need to see the same issues, understand the same context, and track progress together.
Export everything. Your audit data shouldn't be trapped in our platform. Whether you need a polished accessibility audit report for clients or raw data for developers, it should be simple to get what you need in the format you need.
What This Looks Like in Practice
The result is something that feels remarkably different from existing accessibility testing software. Instead of dashboards full of automated scan results, you get a clean interface that walks you through WCAG success criteria systematically. Instead of trying to interpret machine-generated accessibility compliance reporting, you're building a comprehensive manual WCAG testing guide as you work.
The fascinating thing is how this has changed our own accessibility audit process. We're not just building a tool anymore; we're using it daily for client work, which means every feature decision gets tested against real-world manual accessibility testing scenarios.
The Bigger Picture
What we are seeing here is a broader shift in how the industry thinks about WCAG compliance testing. The early promise of automation was seductive. Who wouldn't want to push a button and get a complete accessibility assessment? But the reality is more nuanced.
Automated tools are remarkable at what they do: catching the technical, rule-based issues that follow clear patterns. But accessibility isn't just about technical compliance. It's about human experience. It's about whether someone using a screen reader can actually accomplish their goals on your site, not just whether your code validates.
This is why manual accessibility testing isn't going anywhere. And it's why the accessibility auditor tools that support this work matter more than ever. The goal isn't to replace automation. It's to give equal attention and equal quality tooling to the human judgment that automation can't replicate
Building Labrador has reminded us that the best solutions often come from understanding the work itself, not just the market opportunity. Sometimes the most innovative thing you can do is build something straightforward that just works the way people need it to work.
Ready to streamline your manual accessibility audits? Try Labrador free and see why accessibility professionals worldwide are switching from spreadsheets to guided WCAG testing.