Checklist

The practical website accessibility checklist

A no-nonsense WCAG 2.2 Level AA checklist you can actually work through. Start at the top, fix what you can, and use the free scanner to verify the machine-detectable items.

Images & media

Every informative image has descriptive alt text.
Decorative images use empty alt (alt="") so they’re skipped.
Videos have captions; audio has a transcript.
No content flashes more than three times per second.

Structure & content

Each page has exactly one clear <h1>.
Headings are used in order without skipping levels.
Lists, tables and quotes use real semantic elements.
Data tables have <th> header cells with scope.
Reading order in the markup matches the visual order.

Forms

Every field has a visible, programmatically associated label.
Required fields and formats are explained in text, not colour alone.
Errors are described in text and point to the field.
Personal-data fields use appropriate autocomplete values.

Links, buttons & navigation

Links and buttons have meaningful, unique text (no “click here”).
Icon-only controls have an accessible name.
A skip-to-content link lets keyboard users bypass the menu.
Navigation is consistent across pages.

Keyboard & focus

Everything works with the keyboard alone.
Focus is always visible and follows a logical order.
No keyboard traps; modals can be closed with Esc.
No positive tabindex values.

Colour & visual design

Text contrast is at least 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text).
UI components and focus indicators meet 3:1 contrast.
Colour is never the only way meaning is conveyed.
Content reflows to one column at 320px and zooms to 200%.

Robustness & assistive tech

The page declares its language with a lang attribute.
Each page has a unique, descriptive <title>.
ARIA is valid and used only where native HTML can’t do the job.
Status messages are announced without moving focus.

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