Guides: the 55 accessibility failures we look for, and how to fix them

Every barrier explained in plain language: who it shuts out, what it costs, and how to fix it, with the code before and after.

• Buttons with no name

  Critical · WCAG 4.1.2

  Some buttons have no visible text and no accessible name.

• Form fields with no label

  Critical · WCAG 1.3.1

  Some form fields have no accessible name: no <label>, no aria-label, no aria-labelledby.

• Image button with no alternative text

  Critical · WCAG 1.1.1

  There is an <input type="image"> with no alt.

• Images with no alternative text

  Critical · WCAG 1.1.1

  Some images have no alt attribute.

• Links with no name

  Critical · WCAG 2.4.4

  Some links have no visible text and no accessible name.

• Alternative text that carries no information

  Serious · WCAG 1.1.1

  Some images have alt text that is a file name, a code, or a generic word like "image" or "photo".

• ARIA reference to an id that does not exist

  Serious · WCAG 4.1.2

  The attribute {attr} points at the ids {ids}, which are not on the page.

• Clickable element unreachable by keyboard

  Serious · WCAG 2.1.1

  There is a <{tag}> with a click handler but no role and no place in the tab order.

• Content hidden from screen readers but reachable by keyboard

  Serious · WCAG 4.1.2

  An element with aria-hidden="true" contains elements that can receive focus.

• Data table with no header cells

  Serious · WCAG 1.3.1

  There is a table with data but no <th> cells.

• Element marked decorative but actually interactive

  Serious · WCAG 4.1.2

  An element with role="presentation" or role="none" can receive focus or has a name.

• Element with an interactive role but no name

  Serious · WCAG 4.1.2

  An element has role="{role}" and no accessible name.

• Embedded frame with no title

  Serious · WCAG 4.1.2

  There is an <iframe> with no title attribute.

• Image map area with no name

  Serious · WCAG 1.1.1

  There is an <area> inside an image map with no alternative text.

• Insufficient colour contrast

  Serious · WCAG 1.4.3

  There is {fontSize} text with a contrast ratio of {ratio} against its background, where the standard requires {required}.

• Links with no destination, driven by JavaScript

  Serious · WCAG 2.1.1

  There are <a> elements with no href that still respond to clicks.

• Missing document language

  Serious · WCAG 3.1.1

  The <html> element declares no valid language.

• Missing or empty page title

  Serious · WCAG 2.4.2

  The page has no <title>, or it is too short to identify it.

• Moving content that cannot be stopped

  Serious · WCAG 2.2.2

  The page uses <marquee> or <blink>.

• No accessibility statement found

  Serious

  We found no link to an accessibility statement on this page.

• Sound that plays by itself

  Serious · WCAG 1.4.2

  There is a <{tag}> with autoplay and no mute.

• The focus indicator is switched off

  Serious · WCAG 2.4.7

  CSS removes the focus outline ({selector}) without putting anything visible in its place.

• The page blocks zooming

  Serious · WCAG 1.4.4

  The viewport tag blocks zoom ({value}).

• The page has no headings

  Serious · WCAG 1.3.1

  There is substantial content but no headings at all.

• The placeholder is doing the label’s job

  Serious · WCAG 3.3.2

  Some fields get their only accessible name from the placeholder attribute.

• Timed automatic redirect

  Serious · WCAG 2.2.1

  The page redirects itself after a delay ({content}).

• Video with no captions

  Serious · WCAG 1.2.2

  There is a <video> with no captions track.

• An accessibility overlay is installed

  Moderate

  This page loads an accessibility overlay from {vendor}.

• Audio with no transcript we could locate

  Moderate · WCAG 1.2.1

  There is an <audio> element on the page. We cannot check automatically whether a transcript exists.

• Embedded content with no name or fallback

  Moderate · WCAG 1.1.1

  There is an <object> or <embed> with no accessible name and no fallback content inside.

• Empty headings

  Moderate · WCAG 1.3.1

  Some headings contain no text.

• Heading levels skipped

  Moderate · WCAG 1.3.1

  The page jumps from one heading level to another, skipping the ones in between (h{from} to h{to}).

• Links with generic text

  Moderate · WCAG 2.4.4

  Some links read "read more", "click here", "learn more" or similar.

• Meaningful SVG icon with no name

  Moderate · WCAG 1.1.1

  There is an SVG marked as an image (role="img") or otherwise meant to have a name, but with no accessible name.

• Missing main content region

  Moderate · WCAG 1.3.1

  The page has no <main>, or has more than one.

• Missing main heading, or more than one

  Moderate · WCAG 1.3.1

  The page has no h1, or has several.

• Missing skip-to-content link

  Moderate · WCAG 2.4.1

  The page has extensive navigation but no link to bypass it.

• Non-existent ARIA attribute

  Moderate · WCAG 4.1.2

  An element has the attribute {attr}, which is not part of the specification.

• Non-existent ARIA role

  Moderate · WCAG 4.1.2

  An element has role="{role}", which is not a valid role.

• Option group with no group label

  Moderate · WCAG 1.3.1

  Related checkboxes or radio buttons are not wrapped in a <fieldset> with a <legend>.

• Personal data fields with no autocomplete

  Moderate · WCAG 1.3.5

  Some fields asking for common personal data (email, phone, address) have no autocomplete attribute.

• Positive tabindex value

  Moderate · WCAG 2.4.3

  Some elements use tabindex="{value}".

• Required field marked visually only

  Moderate · WCAG 3.3.2

  The field label says it is required (with an asterisk or the word), but the field itself declares neither required nor aria-required.

• The statement offers no way to report a barrier

  Moderate

  We found your accessibility statement, but no clear channel for reporting a problem.

• The title attribute is doing the label’s job

  Moderate · WCAG 4.1.2

  Some controls get their only name from the title attribute.

• Duplicate ids

  Minor · WCAG 4.1.1

  The id "{id}" appears {count} times.

• Duplicate keyboard shortcuts

  Minor · WCAG 2.1.1

  The access key "{key}" is assigned to {count} elements.

• Extremely small text

  Minor · WCAG 1.4.4

  There is text below 10px ({fontSize}).

• Links opening a new window without warning

  Minor · WCAG 3.2.5

  Some links use target="_blank" without warning that a new tab will open.

• Links that display the full URL

  Minor · WCAG 2.4.4

  Some links use a long URL as their visible text.

• List items outside a list

  Minor · WCAG 1.3.1

  There are <li> elements whose parent is neither <ul> nor <ol>.

• Missing landmark regions

  Minor · WCAG 1.3.1

  The page does not mark up some of its main regions: {missing}.

• Redundant alternative text

  Minor

  Some images have alt text that repeats adjacent text, or starts with "image of".

• Table with no title

  Minor · WCAG 1.3.1

  There is a data table with no <caption> and no accessible name.

• Text in another language not marked up

  Minor · WCAG 3.1.2

  Some links point at another language (hreflang="{hreflang}") without declaring the language of their own text.