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Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Accessibility and Usability Information
Get help
- Contact the Public Cloud Team for help with using Amazon Web Services (AWS) at UW–Madison.
- Contact the DoIT Help Desk for general technical assistance or to report an accessibility or usability barrier.
Additional resources
- Refer to UW–Madison's Public Cloud KnowledgeBase for more help documentation related to AWS.
- For information on how to access the vendor's accessibility documentation, refer to the Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) document in the Public Cloud KnowledgeBase.
Accessibility and usability evaluation findings
The following barriers were identified in a December 2025 accessibility evaluation of four AWS services. This is not an exhaustive list of the barriers a user may encounter while using AWS.
Test conditions
- Device: Dell Latitude 5550
- Operating system: Windows 11 Education
- Browser: Google Chrome
- Screen reader: NVDA and JAWS
Services tested
- EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) - Compute/Virtual Machine Management
- SES (Simple Email Service) - Email sending service
- Lambda - Cloud functions
- S3 (Simple Storage Service) - Static file storage
Summary of barriers found in EC2
EC2 partially supports screen reader access. There is at least one instance where buttons with visual labels (numbers) on a dashboard are not labeled appropriately to provide the same information to screen reader users.
Detailed information on barriers found in EC2
Numbers on dashboard are not announced
When navigating the EC2 Global View dashboard with a keyboard and screen reader, “resource count, button” is announced for each resource category (Compute, Storage, Networking, and Security). However, the numbers aren’t being announced. The buttons are being read by the screen reader, but the numeric values are not.
For resources with a count above zero, the numeric value will be announced only after the user selects the button, which then opens the Global search page with the relevant search filters applied and the number announced as part of the page heading. For any category where the number is zero, this information is not directly conveyed to a screen reader user.
Expected behavior: All content and interactive elements should be labeled meaningfully so that screen readers announce them in context when users navigate to the elements.
This barrier primarily relates to the following accessibility guidelines:
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Perceivable: Information about elements, like labels, are communicated via screen reader. (WCAG 1.3.1)
Summary of barriers found throughout AWS
AWS partially supports screen reader access. Throughout the four AWS services tested, links that open in a new tab are announced inconsistently, and some links lack context.
Detailed information on barriers found throughout AWS
Inconsistent announcements for links that open in a new browser tab
Some links in AWS that open in a new browser tab are announced by screen readers as “opens in a new tab,” while many other links with the same behavior are not announced with a prior warning. This inconsistency makes it difficult for screen reader users to predict what will happen when they activate a link. This may cause confusion for users who rely on assistive technologies, as they cannot reliably anticipate when activating a link will trigger a change in context.
Expected behavior: All links that open in a new tab should consistently announce this behavior to screen reader users, so they can anticipate the change in context.
This barrier primarily relates to the following accessibility guidelines:
- Understandable: Selecting an interactive element has predictable effects. (WCAG 3.2.4)
Some link text is not descriptive
Link text that does not convey the destination of the link may be unclear and difficult to use, particularly for users of assistive technology such as screen readers. Throughout AWS some links lack descriptive link text, such as links labeled only “Learn more.”
This barrier primarily relates to the following accessibility guidelines:
- Operable: Users can determine the destination of a link by the link text. (WCAG 2.4.4)