How We Automate Accessibility Testing with Playwright and Axe

"And since we already rely on Playwright for visual regression testing and our end-to-end suite, adding accessibility checks right on top of that felt like the obvious next step. No new tools to learn, just extending a setup we know well with Axe's engine running inside the same Playwright workflows. Configuration First, we created a helper to get a pre-configured Axe instance. Our configuration focuses on WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA criteria."

"What is WCAG? The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines ( WCAG are developed by the W3C to make web content more accessible. Level A: The minimum level of conformance. Level AA: The mid-range level we (and many others) target, as it addresses more advanced barriers. Level AAA: The highest, most stringent level. We also explicitly exclude certain elements that are outside our direct control, such as third-party advertisements positions, to avoid false positives."

Subito integrates Axe with Playwright to automate accessibility testing within existing end-to-end and visual regression workflows. A pre-configured Axe helper targets WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA criteria and excludes out-of-control elements like third-party ad positions to reduce false positives. A generateAxeReport helper runs Axe analysis and saves results as JSON reports for later inspection or CI consumption. Adding an accessibility check to Playwright tests requires invoking the helpers, producing consistent, automated scans across the test suite. The approach leverages familiar tooling, avoids introducing new systems, and embeds accessibility checks directly into continuous integration pipelines.

Read at DEV Community