Site Unseen: A Screen Reader Emulator for Web Accessibility Testing
Site Unseen is a Chrome browser extension developed by Pedal Point Enterprises. It is a valuable tool for understanding how blind people interact with web pages and promoting web accessibility. With this extension, users can experience the web from the perspective of a blind person by obscuring the page and providing a screen reader emulator.
By using Site Unseen, individuals can develop empathy and awareness for the challenges faced by blind users while browsing the web. It also helps to advocate for accessible web design and test for web accessibility issues. The extension can be easily toggled on and off by pressing its logo in the browser toolbar.
Site Unseen not only visually obscures page content but also provides captions that display the role, name, value, and state of the current element. Users can navigate through page elements using various methods such as Tab, Enter, Spacebar, arrow keys, swipe gestures, and double taps. Keyboard shortcuts are available to jump to headings, links, lists, form fields, buttons, images, and landmarks on the page.
In addition, the extension offers a helpful "Help" feature that lists all keyboard commands for easy reference. For users who need to temporarily reveal the page content visually, the "Peek" feature allows them to do so.
Overall, Site Unseen is a powerful tool for promoting empathy, advocating for web accessibility, and testing for accessibility issues. It provides a unique perspective on web browsing for both individuals and communities.
