Automating UI Tests for Better Accessibility

In today’s digital world, accessibility is a crucial topic, and I will explain why it matters for everyone: users, developers and organisations.

In this talk, I will introduce a testing automation solution based on the Robot Framework, a test automation tool that can improve the accessibility of user interfaces. By having accessibility testing incorporated into your development process, digital products that are inclusive, usable and compliant with modern accessibility standards can be created.

I will demonstrate how to use tools such as Lighthouse, IBM Accessibility Checker and Axe-Core, combined with the Browser Library in Robot Framework, to test accessibility effectively.

These tools provide actionable insights into issues ranging from colour contrast and keyboard navigation to semantic HTML and ARIA compliance. I will guide you through practical examples, showing how these tools detect accessibility violations and how to interpret their results to make meaningful improvements.

Additionally, I will compare these tools, highlighting their respective strengths, limitations and ideal use cases, to help you select the most suitable solution for your projects. Beyond testing, I will present strategies for integrating accessibility checks directly into the development workflow (github action).

This ensures that accessibility becomes a natural part of your software delivery process, rather than an afterthought. By the end of this session, you will have gained practical knowledge of how automation can make accessibility testing faster, more reliable and easier to maintain.

My goal is to equip developers, testers and QA professionals with the necessary tools and techniques to build more inclusive digital experiences and demonstrate how Robot Framework and modern accessibility tools can work together efficiently to achieve this. Remember, accessibility is not just a requirement — it’s an opportunity to make software usable by everyone.