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Re: looking for pricinginformation ofvarious accessibility testing tools

for

From: Waltenberger, Lon (LNI)
Date: Dec 8, 2008 9:40AM

I agree with Cliff Tyllick. Jim Thatcher's review is excellent. And many
do have the misperception that a validation tool automatically finds and
fixes everything.

A higher end accessibility validation tool validates not only for 508
and WCAG but is also customizable to validate in-house policy and
standards. For example, on every page it needs to know whether to look
for "Skip to main content." or "Skip to content."

Mr. Thatcher's review does not include HiSoftware's AccRepair and
AccVerify. Reportedly, HiSoftware's corporate management requested Mr.
Thatcher to not include their product in his review.

I've used AccRepair and think it does a great job. As with all things,
there's a learning curve.

The beauty of a good validation tool is twofold: It's customizable and
it provides an excellent checklist for trained humans to use.

As for prices, carefully review not only the base price, but any
limitations that require add-ons at an additional expense, and
maintenance agreements.