How to test your website with a screen reader in 15 minutes (VoiceOver, NVDA, TalkBack)

You don't need to be an expert to learn a lot from a screen reader. Fifteen minutes with the one already on your computer or phone will show you whether a blind visitor can find your phone number, use your menu and send your contact form. This guide gives you the few commands you need and exactly what to listen for. It won't make you a screen reader user, and real users move much faster, but it catches the problems that matter most.

Pick one screen reader

• Mac: VoiceOver (built in). Press Command+F5 to turn it on or off (on some laptops add fn, or triple-press Touch ID). Use Safari. In Safari's settings, under Advanced, turn on "Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage". Apple's VoiceOver User Guide has the full command list.
• Windows: NVDA (free). Download it from NV Access and use Chrome, Edge or Firefox.
• iPhone: VoiceOver. Settings, Accessibility, VoiceOver (Apple's guide). Set up the Accessibility Shortcut first so you can turn it off easily.
• Android: TalkBack. Settings, Accessibility, TalkBack (Google's guide).

The only commands you need

In NVDA, the Insert key is the "NVDA key" (you can switch it to Caps Lock). Single-letter keys like H work while you are reading the page; when you land in a text box NVDA beeps and switches to typing mode. WebAIM's VoiceOver and NVDA testing guides go further.

The 15-minute test

1. Page title (1 minute). Load your homepage. The first thing you hear should be a title that names your business and the page, not "Home" or "Untitled".
2. Headings (3 minutes). Open the rotor or elements list and look at Headings. Do they read like a table of contents? There should be one main heading that says what you do, then section headings. If the list is empty, or full of phrases like "Welcome!!" with no structure, see our heading structure guide.
3. Links and buttons (3 minutes). Look at the Links list. Would each one make sense on its own? "Click here", "Read more" six times, or a bare "button" means visitors can't tell where they go. See link text and buttons.
4. Menu (2 minutes). Tab to the menu button on a narrow window or phone. Does it say "Menu, button, collapsed" (or similar), and does it open with Enter or a double-tap? An icon that is announced only as "button" needs a name; our mobile guide has the fix.
5. Images (2 minutes). Read through your main photos. You should hear a short, useful description, or nothing at all for decorative images. File names like "IMG_2034.jpg" or "image" mean the alt text is missing. Try our free alt text checker.
6. Contact form (3 minutes). Tab through each field. Every field should announce its label ("Email, edit text, required"), not just "edit text". Submit it empty: you should hear the error, and know which field to fix. See accessible contact forms.
7. Phone number and pop-ups (1 minute). Can you reach and activate your phone number and booking button? If a cookie banner or offer pop-up appears, can you reach its close button and hear its name? See our pop-up and chat widget guide.

What to write down

For each problem, note the page, what you were trying to do, and what you heard. "Contact page: the email field is announced as 'edit text' with no label" is something your web designer can fix in minutes. A vague "the screen reader didn't work" is not.

Fair warnings

• Screen readers behave a little differently from each other, and a new user is slower and more confused than an everyday user. If something is merely awkward for you, it may be fine; if you can't do it at all, it is a real barrier.
• This test doesn't replace testing by people who use screen readers every day, and it isn't a full audit. See what an audit includes.
• Turn the screen reader off when you finish (Command+F5 on a Mac, Insert+Q in NVDA, or your phone's Accessibility Shortcut).

Where an automated scan fits

A scan like ours checks the code a screen reader relies on: missing alt text, unlabelled form fields, buttons and links with no name, empty or skipped headings, and a missing page title. It runs in about a minute, so it's a good way to find the obvious problems before you listen. It can't tell whether your alt text is accurate, whether the reading order makes sense or whether a visitor can actually finish a task, which is why the listening test above still matters. The W3C's Easy Checks page has more first-look tests.

Want the fixes written for you?

Start with a free homepage snapshot. The $149 Fix-Pack scans up to 10 pages and gives copy-paste fixes for your platform within 48 hours, with a 14-day refund promise. See a sample report first.

This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it does not certify compliance with the ADA or any law.

Related guides

• WCAG 2.2 explained for small-business websites
• Squarespace accessibility fixes: alt text, contrast, forms and more
• Wix accessibility fixes: a practical checklist
• WordPress accessibility fixes (block editor and themes)

All guides

This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.