Quick Checklist For Web Accessibility Compliance

♿💻 Accessibility isn’t just “nice to have” — it’s what makes a website usable for everyone. When we design or build, every detail matters: 🔹Text: readability, contrast, resize without breaking layout 🔹Headings (H1–H6): logical hierarchy, one H1 per page 🔹Alt text: meaningful descriptions for images 🔹Hover & focus states: visible indicators, no “hidden focus” 🔹DOM order: ensure keyboard navigation follows a logical path 🔹ARIA labels: add context where HTML alone isn’t enough To guide us, WCAG uses 3 compliance levels: 🔹 A (Must have) – The basics. Without this, many people simply cannot use your product.
 Examples: keyboard navigation, alt text for images, sufficient text contrast. 🔹 AA (Should have) – The standard most organizations aim for. It balances inclusion with practicality.
 Examples: focus visibility, resizable text, clear headings, captions for live audio. 🔹 AAA (Nice to have) – The gold standard. Harder to achieve everywhere but amazing if you can.
 Examples: sign language interpretation, extended audio descriptions, very high contrast text. #Accessibility #A11y #WCAG #UXDesign #UI #InclusiveDesign #WebDevelopment #ProductDesign

Your AI-generated code is probably excluding many people. "a11y" is shorthand for accessibility — building digital products that anyone can use, including people with visual, motor, cognitive, or hearing disabilities. Over 1 billion people worldwide. But lots of existing websites aren't taking them into consideration. In 2025, WebAIM found that 94.8% of the top one million home pages have detectable accessibility failures. Sadly, AI does not fix this. Because AI coding tools learn from existing code on the web. And 95% of that code is already inaccessible. The models are reproducing a broken baseline. A 2025 study from Carnegie Mellon found three problems when developers use AI coding assistants: → AI doesn't give you accessible code by default (if you don't ask, AI won't prioritize it) → AI omits many important a11y attributes → AI doesn't verify compliance. Many a11y flows have to be verified at runtime The result is missing keyboard navigation, broken focus management, ARIA attributes sprinkled in for show but wired up wrong — which is actually worse than no ARIA at all. This isn't about AI being bad. It's about a knowledge gap that AI inherits rather than solves. As AI generates more of our frontend code, inaccessible patterns are scaling faster than ever. Every vibe-coded app shipped without accessibility review is another site that excludes people. If you're building for the web, start with these basics: → Use semantic HTML. A button should be a <button>, not a styled div. → Test with your keyboard. Tab through your page. Can you reach everything? → Use headless UI components like Radix, Ariakit, Base UI, etc., they have a11y features built in. → Run a11y checkers like axe DevTools or WAVE. They catch the low-hanging fruit in seconds. → Don't trust AI output blindly. Review it specifically for accessibility. Accessibility isn't charity, it's quality engineering. It should not be an afterthought.

Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day everyone! It's a great day to remind people, that, accessibility is the responsibility of the whole team, including designers! A couple of things designers can do: - Use sufficient color contrast (text + UI elements) and don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning. - Ensure readable typography: support text resizing, avoid hard-to-read styles, maintain hierarchy. - Make links and buttons clear and distinguishable (label, size, states). - Design accessible forms: clear labels, error help, no duplicate input, document states. - Support keyboard navigation: tab order, skip links, focus indicators, keyboard interaction. - Structure content with headings and landmarks: use proper H1–Hn, semantic order, regions. - Provide text alternatives for images, icons, audio, and video. - Avoid motion triggers: respect reduced motion settings, allow pause on auto-play. - Design with flexibility: support orientation change, allow text selection, avoid fixed-height elements. - Document accessibly and communicate: annotate designs, collaborate with devs, QA, and content teams. Need to learn more? I got a couple of resources on my blog: - A Designer’s Guide to Documenting Accessibility & User Interactions: https://lnkd.in/eUh8Jvvn - How to check and document design accessibility in your mockups: a conference on how to use Figma plugins and annotation kits to shift accessibility left https://lnkd.in/eu8YuWyF - Accessibility for designer: where do I start? Articles, resources, checklists, tools, plugins, and books to design accessible products https://lnkd.in/ejeC_QpH - Neurodiversity and UX: Essential Resources for Cognitive Accessibility, Guidelines to understand and design for Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD https://lnkd.in/efXaRwgF - Color accessibility: tools and resources to help you design inclusive products https://lnkd.in/dRrwFJ5 #Accessibility #ShiftLeft #GAAD

You don’t need an overhaul. You don’t need a task force. Just start. Here’s how to get started today… 1. Fix Your Deck Take 15 seconds and add alt text to each image. Describe what’s important, that’s it. “Person smiling.” that’s weird. And not that helpful or contextual. Colleague laughing during a team meeting with a coffee mug in hand.” That’s way, way better. Alt text not your thing? Build your deck to make sense without images. AccessAbility Pro Tip. Check your contrast. Black text on a grayish background is less edgy and more exclusionary. 2. Stop Breaking PDFs Before sending PDFs you drafted into the wild… Make sure they’re accessible. Can you highlight the text? Can a screen reader navigate it without crying? Go ahead. I dare you. I double dog dare you! Control + Alt + Enter key turns on Narrator for Windows machines. See how long it takes you to read that pdf… Before you start crying… BTW… Accessibility checkers in Adobe Pro don’t catch all violations. Not even close. Digital equity is about meeting people where they are, online! Ask yourself. Is this content better on the world wide web or within the enterprise grip of Adobe? 3. Create Links That Don’t Suck You know what’s cool? A website with a bunch of repeated links… Click here, Click here, Click here, and  Read more, Read more, Read more… #Riveting Why not… Just tell people where the link is taking them? Download our accessibility checklist Register for the webinar Watch Tanner spill coffee during a live presentation 4. Lose Your Mouse Ever lost your mouse? Let’s pretend. Try navigating your website or app only using your keyboard. Keep tabbing like your life depends on it. If you can’t get to the end without rage-quitting, guess what? Neither can someone using a screen reader. 5. Caption Everything Videos… Zoom meetings… Instagram Reels… Everything. Auto-captions are okay, but don’t trust them. What’s the point of putting them there if your beautiful voice can’t clearly be read? You don’t want your big point to get missed in the dust cloud of automation… That’s the point of accurate captions. You don’t need to be perfect… You just need to start. So start. People you include will notice… And so will everyone else. #ThingsTannerSays #Daily #Journaling #Accessibility #A11yTips #Inclusion #JustDoIt

Let’s take a look at the most common accessibility issues and how to fix them. 1️⃣ Low-contrast button labels The buttons with low-contrast labels are harder to read, especially for users with visual impairments. ✅ How to fix: Ensure that the minimum contrast ratio for normal text size (less than 24px) is at least 4.5 : 1. If the text is large (≥ 24px or ≥ 18.66px bold), the contrast ratio should be at least 3 : 1. 2️⃣ Low-contrast icons When an icon has low contrast against the background, it becomes more difficult for users to recognize it. ✅ How to fix: Ensure that icons have a contrast ratio of at least 3 : 1 against the background. 3️⃣ Small target areas When interactive elements have small target areas (less than 24px) and there is not enough space between them, the user can accidentally click or tap the wrong element. ✅ How to fix: A target area should be at least 24×24px, with certain exceptions, such as sufficient spacing or inline text links. 4️⃣ Using placeholder text instead of labels If input fields don’t have visible labels, it will be more difficult for users to recognize the purposes of the fields. It is a bad practice to rely on placeholder text alone, as it’s often low contrast and disappears when users type. ✅ How to fix: Input fields should have labels or instructions so that users know what data is expected. 5️⃣ Missing error message When an input error occurs, it’s not enough to simply highlight the input field in red without showing an error message, because users won’t be able to understand what’s wrong. ✅ How to fix: When an input error is detected, an error message should appear and clearly describe what’s wrong. Check out the Accessibility Checklist here: https://lnkd.in/d_HACYBy #Accessibility #WCAG #AccessibilityChecklist  #WebAccessibility #InclusiveDesign #ProductDesign #UXDesign

Designing accessible UIs isn’t just about compliance—it’s about creating better experiences for everyone. And importantly, building accessibility into your designs doesn’t have to be complicated. With a few mindful practices, you can make your work more inclusive without adding a lot of extra effort. Here are 5 quick wins to boost accessibility in your designs: 1️⃣ Use a contrast checker Use a plugin like Color Contrast Checker so your text is readable for users with visual impairments. ↳ Aim for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for body text. ↳ For smaller text or secondary elements, prioritize higher contrast whenever possible. 2️⃣ Stick to global styles Consistent text and color styles make your designs more cohesive and easier to tweak for accessibility. ↳ Set up global styles early for typography, colors, and spacing. ↳ Adjustments made at the system level will flow through your entire design, saving time and effort. 3️⃣ Label layers clearly Screen readers rely on descriptive layer names to guide users. ↳ Rename buttons, images, and interactive elements meaningfully (e.g., “CTA Button” instead of “Rectangle 23”). ↳ This small habit makes a big difference for users relying on assistive technologies. 4️⃣ Include focus indicators Add visual cues like highlights or outlines to show which element is selected or active. ↳ Essential for users navigating with keyboards or assistive devices. ↳ Ensure these indicators are both visible and consistent throughout your design. 5️⃣ Test with simulated impairments Put yourself in your users’ shoes by using simulation plugins like: ↳ Sim Daltonism: Visualize color blindness and how it affects your design. ↳ Color Blind: Test how your designs appear to users with different types of color vision impairments. Accessibility isn’t just about meeting standards—it’s about creating designs that work for everyone. Inclusive design improves usability, builds trust, and makes a lasting impact. What’s your go-to method for building accessibility into your designs? Drop your tips below—I’d love to learn from your approach. 👇 #FigmaFriday #accessibility #uxdesign #designstrategy #figmatips #inclusivedesign ---------------- 👋 Hi, I'm Dane—I share daily design tools & tips. ❤️ If you found this helpful, consider liking it. 🔄 Want to help others? Consider reposting. ➕ For more like this, consider following me.