Google's
Chrome extension
platform offers a wide range of
utilities
for users to optimize their browsing experience. Among these
tools
, one stands out for its focus on accessibility and inclusivity - ChromeLens. Rated 3.92 out of 5, ChromeLens is a powerful tool that aids web developers in creating websites accessible to all users, including those with visual disabilities.
Unveiling ChromeLens
ChromeLens is a Google Chrome extension that provides a suite of
chrome extension development tools
to assist in web accessibility development. This
browser
tool extends the capabilities of the existing DevTools within
Chrome
and has been praised by users as an excellent addition.
Unpacking the Features
ChromeLens offers three main features: The Lens (Vision Simulator), Accessibility Audit, and Tab-tracker.
Lens (Vision Simulator):
This feature enables users to interact with a website as a completely/partially blind or colorblind person, simulating different types of color blindness.
Accessibility Audit:
Run a website through a series of accessibility rules and easily identify the elements in your website that do not comply with them. This feature is crucial for ensuring your website meets accessibility standards.
Tab-tracker:
With the tab-tracker, you can visually track the flow of navigation through a website. This feature ensures key website features are navigable solely via the keyboard (tab button), optimizing user experience.
User Opinions
ChromeLens has received a mix of reviews from its users. Many users appreciate the extension's capability to simulate different types of color blindness, with some even deeming it a must-have for front-end web developers and designers. Other users value its ability to guide the development of accessible websites with its accessibility audit feature.
However, some users pointed out that the extension could be hard to use at first, especially when it comes to activating the features. One user noted that the extension could be improved by updating its reflection of ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) from version 1.0 to 1.1. Despite these criticisms, the aggregate rating of ChromeLens remains high, indicating that the majority of users find the extension to be a useful tool.
Conclusion
In the field of chrome extension development, ChromeLens stands out for its focus on accessibility. Its ability to simulate the browsing experience of various visual disabilities is a valuable tool for web developers in their effort to make the internet more inclusive. Despite the suggested improvements on ease of use and updating to the latest ARIA version, ChromeLens remains one of the
top chrome extensions
for creating accessible websites.
10 Reviews For This Extension
how to activate and how to use it?
Doesn't work. The shortcut CHrl Shif I also doesn't activate it.
Absolutely useless ! Never worked, even once. Real sh** extension !
Really great if a bit unclear how to use at first. Once installed, you need to hit Ctrl+Shift+I as others have said in this thread. Then for me I had to click more tabs before ChromeLens appeared and I was able to activate the features
Absolute Garbage! it denies me the ability to actually find a picture quickly and easily. If I could give Negative Stars it would have negative 10,000 and that's me being kind. It's only made a perfectly functioning search for images a nightmare. now I have to try to disable this garbage just to find an image. delete it Google. I can't search for images with this trash programming. it was so much easier to search google for an image and now I can't do any image searching at all because of Google lens.
best extension
I like this extension because it gave me lots of good results. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be measuring against the WCAG "AA" standard.
I can't find how to actually activate any of the options, I've got the extension but i can't work out how to use the avaliable things it provides. tl;dr How do I activate and deactivate the provided tools?
Nice free extension which lets you simulate the different kinds of color blindness. Perfection.
May have been useful, however it reflects ARIA 1.0 which was superseded by 1.1 some reporting is wrong. Case in point it does not recognize aria-current="page"