1. Introduction

The goal of this tutorial is to guide you through the process of testing Bootstrap applications for accessibility. Accessibility is a vital aspect of any application as it ensures that your application is usable by all, including those with disabilities.

By the end of this tutorial, you will learn how to:

• Understand the importance of accessibility in web development.
• Test your Bootstrap applications for accessibility both manually and using automated tools.
• Implement best practices to improve the accessibility of your applications.

Prerequisites:

• Basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
• A working knowledge of Bootstrap.
• A text editor and a modern web browser.

2. Step-by-Step Guide

Understanding Accessibility

Accessibility means making your website usable for everyone, including people with disabilities. This includes those with visual, hearing, cognitive, and motor impairments. Ensuring your website is accessible not only provides a better user experience but it is also a legal requirement in many jurisdictions.

Manual Testing

Manual testing involves going through your application and checking if it meets various accessibility standards.

1. Keyboard Navigation: Try navigating your website using only the keyboard. All functionality should be accessible using a keyboard.

2. Color Contrast: Check if there's enough contrast between text and background colors.

3. Text Resize: Ensure your website is still usable when the text is resized to 200%.

Automated Testing

Automated testing involves using tools to test the accessibility of your website. One popular tool is the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool.

1. Visit the WAVE website.
2. Enter the URL of the website you want to check.
3. Analyze the results and make necessary adjustments.

3. Code Examples

Example 1: Keyboard Navigation

<!-- This is a button which is accessible by keyboard -->
<button tabindex="0">Click me!</button>

tabindex="0" makes sure that the button is included in the tab order.

Example 2: Color Contrast

/* This is a good color contrast combination */
body {
    color: #000000; /* black text */
    background-color: #ffffff; /* white background */
}

Black text on a white background provides a high contrast.

4. Summary

In this tutorial, we discussed the importance of accessibility in web development and how to test your Bootstrap applications for accessibility. We also discussed various manual and automated testing methods and provided examples of accessible code.

Next, you could learn more about advanced accessibility concepts and how to make your applications more inclusive.

5. Practice Exercises

1. Exercise 1: Create a Bootstrap form and test its accessibility manually.
2. Exercise 2: Implement changes to improve the accessibility of the form based on your findings.
3. Exercise 3: Use an automated tool to test the accessibility of your form.

Solutions:

1. A Bootstrap form can be created using the <form> tag and various form control classes provided by Bootstrap.
2. Improving the accessibility could involve adding labels to form controls, ensuring good color contrast, and making sure the form is navigable using a keyboard.
3. The WAVE tool can be used to test the accessibility of the form. It will provide feedback on any accessibility issues detected.