The Most Common Ways Websites Fail Accessibility and How to Fix Them

Overview of Text Alternatives

Image does not provide a text alternative

Text alternative does not provide a sufficient description

Decorative image is not hidden from screen readers

Text alternative creates a stutter effect

Audio-only or video-only transcript not provided

Audio-only or video-only transcript is not sufficient

Captions are not provided for prerecorded audiovisual content

Captions omit some dialogue or important sound effects

Captions contain errors

Multimedia transcript not provided

Multimedia transcript is not sufficient

Live captions are not provided

Audio description is not provided for prerecorded audiovisual content

Audio description contains errors

Elements visually displayed as a list are not correctly expressed as such programmatically

Individual radio button options are not programmatically associated to a group

Meaning is conveyed through an appearance that is not explained (emphasize, speaker, etc.)

Not all text is readable by a screen reader

Data table does not provide programmatic association between data and headers

Data table's programmatic association between data and headers is not accurate/complete

Information is conveyed to screen readers as a data table when it isn’t

Content does not specify landmarks for major regions

Programmatic heading structure does not match the visual layout

Data table is missing a caption

Error message is not programmatically associated to the control with the error

Control has unassociated label

Programmatic reading order doesn’t match the visual layout

Not all text is readable by a screen reader

Visual effect degrades the programmatic readability (D o n ‘ t D o I t !)

Relies on single sensory characteristic (shape, size, visual location, orientation, or sound)

Does not support viewers choice in portrait or landscape

Known input field type missing autocomplete

Info and Relationships

Element relies on color alone to convey meaning

Link is not visually distinguishable from text

No way to stop automatically started audio

Does not meet the contrast minimum of 4.5:1 for regular text

Does not meet the contrast minimum of 3:1 for large text

UI does not support high contrast settings

Large text settings not supported

Zoom is not supported up to 200%

Image of text is used instead of text

Content doesn’t support reflow, to allow single column reading

User interface component does not have sufficient contrast with background

Does not support user defined text spacing

Content that appears on focus or hover cannot be dismissed without moving pointer or keyboard focus

Hover content is itself not hoverable

Images of Text

Page Titled

Control does not receive keyboard focus

Control does not follow traditional keyboard behavior

Action is not available from the keyboard

Site does not have help documentation for keyboard behavior

More than one control uses the same keyboard shortcut

Keyboard users cannot navigate away from element once it receives focus

No method provided to turn off keyboard shortcuts or customize keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard Accessibility

Information is displayed only for a predefined time limit and is not adjustable

Content has no mechanism to pause, stop, or hide

Element contains flashing or blinking content

No mechanism is provided to bypass blocks of content or controls

Mechanism designed to bypass blocks of content/controls is not working properly

Not supported by unique or accurate title

Focus moves to a non-interactive control

Logical focus order isn’t provided

Focus does not move to newly requested dialog/control

Link purpose is not provided as part of the link text or the surrounding context

There is only one way to access the content

Heading content is not descriptive

Element does not change its appearance when it has focus

Focus indicator is inaccurate

Headings are not unique

Decorative image link creates a stutter effect

Focus moves to a control that is completely obscured

Bypass Blocks

Focus Visible

Interactive content is styled to look like text or other static content

Single pointer user is unable to perform multipoint or path-based gestures

Element is activated on initial touch rather than final touch location

Visible label does not map to the programmatic name used for voice control

Functionality that can only be activated via device motion events (e.g., shaking or tilting)

Motion actuation cannot be disabled

Dragging operation does not provide an alternative

Overview of Pointer Gestures

Language is not defined programmatically

Meaningful Reading Sequence

Language changes are not expressed programmatically

Focus is unexpectedly moved to a new window/dialog

Action is unexpectedly performed on focus vs on user action

Focus is programmatically removed

Context is changed unexpectedly based on input

Form submission process does not allow for review or editing

Form submitting automatically after changing a value

Navigation controls are not consistent

Controls with the same functionality are not described consistently

Links with the same destination use different link text

Complete list of errors is not provided

Control has no visible label

Language of Parts

Consistent Identification

Consistent Navigation

Overview of Error Identification

Error message is erroneously generated

Control has no visible label (placeholder text is not considered a label, as it is replaced with a value)

Instructions are not provided

Phone number fields rely on visual layout to explain Area Code, Prefix and Extension

Error message should be clearer

User cannot review legal or financial data before submitting it

Labels or Instructions

Information updated visually on screen is not announced by screen reader

Control does not provide role, state, and value information

Inaccurate role, state, or value information supplied

Additional programmatic description needed

Control does not provide role, state, and value information

Control’s programmatic name/label is inaccurate

Authentication prevents the user from pasting or auto-filling the entire password or 2FA code

Scenario has information that has to be redundantly entered

Provide Live Region Notifications for Information Updates

Help is not consistently provided

Does not meet the target size minimum of 24x24 px

Error notification is not announced by screen reader

Status updates or confirmation messages are not announced by screen reader

Name, Role, Value

Inspect invalid ARIA attributes

Accessibility Statement is missing important information

No response to user accessibility request