Manual testing
Also known as: Expert testing
Manual testing is a trained person checking a site by hand — with a keyboard, a screen reader and judgement — to find the accessibility problems tools can't.
In plain terms
A human tester tabs through the whole page, listens to it with a screen reader, zooms to 400%, and asks "could someone actually complete this task?". This is where the real barriers turn up: confusing focus order, meaningless link text, a modal you can't escape.
Why it matters
Because automated tools miss most issues, manual testing is what stands between a passing scan and a genuinely usable product. It's also what a proper audit and certification require.
Automated tools flagged nothing on a date-picker, but manual keyboard testing showed you can open it and never get back out — a keyboard trap.
Related terms
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