The Master Accessibility Checklist

Fundamental Accessibility Elements

Use this practical checklist to identify common barriers that may prevent people with disabilities from accessing, understanding, navigating or interacting with your website. The checklist uses WCAG 2.1 Level AA as its legal and regulatory baseline for state and local government websites under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Title II rule. WCAG 2.2 is the current W3C accessibility standard and serves as an appropriate best-practice benchmark for website accessibility work. Review every important page, page template, form, document and complete online process. Do not limit testing to the home page.

1. IMAGES AND NON-TEXT CONTENT

☐ Every meaningful image has accurate and concise alternative text.

☐ Alternative text explains the image’s purpose, not merely its appearance.

☐ Decorative images use empty alternative text so screen readers can ignore them.

☐ Images that function as links or buttons describe the action they perform.

☐ Charts, diagrams, maps and infographics have detailed text explanations.

☐ Logos include the organization or brand name in their alternative text.

☐ CAPTCHA systems provide an accessible alternative that does not depend on vision or hearing alone.

2. HEADINGS, STRUCTURE AND PAGE ORGANIZATION

☐ Every page has one clear H1 heading that identifies its primary subject.

☐ H2, H3 and lower-level headings follow a logical hierarchy.

☐ Headings are not selected merely for their visual appearance.

☐ Lists are coded as actual numbered or bulleted lists.

☐ Tables use proper row and column headers.

☐ Page regions use meaningful structural elements, such as header, navigation, main and footer.

☐ Content remains in a meaningful reading order when formatting is removed.

☐ Instructions do not rely only on shape, size, color, sound or location.

☐ The page language is identified in the website code.

☐ Changes in language within a page are identified when necessary.

3. PAGE TITLES AND LINK TEXT

☐ Every page has a unique and descriptive browser-page title.

☐ Link text clearly communicates its destination or purpose.

☐ Generic phrases such as “click here,” “read more” and “learn more” include enough surrounding context to be understood.

☐ Links leading to documents identify the file type when useful.

☐ Links that open a new window or application warn the user when the change may be unexpected.

☐ The same link text is not used for unrelated destinations.

4. COLOR AND VISUAL PRESENTATION

☐ Color is not the only method used to communicate information, status or required action.

☐ Normal-sized text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 against its background.

☐ Large text has a contrast ratio of at least 3 to 1.

☐ Buttons, form controls, focus indicators and meaningful graphics have sufficient contrast.

☐ Links can be distinguished from surrounding text without relying exclusively on color.

☐ Text can be enlarged to 200% without losing information or functionality.

☐ Content reflows at narrow screen widths without requiring two-directional scrolling, except where the content genuinely requires it.

☐ Users can adjust line height, paragraph spacing, letter spacing and word spacing without content becoming unreadable or unusable.

☐ Text is presented as actual text rather than an image of text, except when the appearance is essential.

☐ Content remains usable in high-contrast and forced-color display modes.

5. KEYBOARD ACCESSIBILITY

☐ Every link, button, menu, form control and interactive feature can be operated with a keyboard.

☐ Users can move forward through the page using the Tab key.

☐ Users can move backward using Shift plus Tab.

☐ Keyboard focus follows a logical sequence.

☐ Focus is always clearly visible.

☐ Keyboard users do not become trapped inside menus, pop-ups, media players or other components.

☐ Drop-down menus can be opened, navigated and closed by keyboard.

☐ Modal windows keep focus within the window while open and return focus appropriately when closed.

☐ A skip link allows keyboard users to bypass repeated navigation and reach the main content.

☐ Single-character keyboard shortcuts can be turned off, changed or activated only when the relevant component has focus.

6. NAVIGATION AND CONSISTENCY

☐ Navigation menus appear in a consistent order across the website.

☐ Repeated buttons, icons and components are identified consistently.

☐ Users have more than one way to locate important pages, such as navigation, search or a sitemap.

☐ Breadcrumbs accurately communicate the user’s location when provided.

☐ The website logo links consistently to the home page.

☐ Opening or focusing on an element does not cause an unexpected change of page or context.

☐ Users receive advance notice before a major change in context occurs.

7. FORMS AND INPUT FIELDS

☐ Every form field has a visible and programmatically associated label.

☐ Placeholder text is not used as the only label.

☐ Required fields are identified in text and not by color alone.

☐ Instructions appear before users need them.

☐ Fields collecting common personal information use appropriate autocomplete attributes.

☐ Error messages identify the specific field and explain the problem.

☐ Error messages provide a practical correction whenever possible.

☐ Errors are announced to screen-reader users.

☐ Focus moves appropriately to an error summary or the first invalid field.

☐ Users can review, correct and confirm information before completing legal, financial or other important transactions.

☐ Forms do not erase previously entered information after an error.

☐ Success messages, confirmations and other status updates are announced without requiring keyboard focus to move.

8. BUTTONS, MENUS AND INTERACTIVE COMPONENTS

☐ Buttons are coded as buttons rather than ordinary text or links.

☐ Every control has an accessible name that communicates its purpose.

☐ The accessible name includes the words shown in the visible label.

☐ The name, role, state and value of each custom component are available to assistive technology.

☐ Expandable controls communicate whether they are expanded or collapsed.

☐ Tabs, accordions, sliders, carousels and menus follow established keyboard interaction patterns.

☐ Touch and pointer functions do not depend exclusively on complex gestures.

☐ Drag-and-drop actions have an alternative method.

☐ Actions are not triggered prematurely when a pointer is pressed down.

☐ Features activated by device movement can also be operated through a standard control.

9. AUDIO, VIDEO AND ANIMATION

☐ Prerecorded videos include accurate synchronized captions.

☐ Live video containing spoken audio includes live captions when required.

☐ Prerecorded audio-only content includes a transcript.

☐ Important visual information in videos is communicated through audio description or an equivalent alternative.

☐ Media players can be operated with a keyboard.

☐ Captions can be turned on without using a mouse.

☐ Audio that begins automatically can be stopped or controlled.

☐ Moving, blinking, scrolling or automatically updating content can be paused, stopped or hidden.

☐ Content does not flash more than three times within one second.

☐ Animations triggered by interaction can be reduced or disabled when they may cause discomfort.

10. ZOOM, REFLOW AND MOBILE USE

☐ The website works in portrait and landscape orientation unless one orientation is essential.

☐ Content remains usable when text is enlarged to 200%.

☐ The page remains functional at 400% browser zoom.

☐ Text does not overlap, disappear or become clipped when enlarged.

☐ Users do not need to scroll horizontally to read ordinary text at a narrow viewport.

☐ Buttons and controls remain visible and usable on mobile devices.

☐ Mobile menus can be opened, navigated and closed with assistive technology.

☐ Touch targets are large enough and sufficiently separated to reduce accidental activation.

11. TIME LIMITS AND AUTOMATIC ACTIVITY

☐ Users can turn off, extend or adjust time limits unless the timing is essential.

☐ Users receive a warning before a session expires.

☐ Users can extend a session without losing entered information.

☐ Automatically rotating carousels can be paused.

☐ Pop-ups do not disappear before users have enough time to read or interact with them.

☐ Hover or focus content can be dismissed, remains visible while needed and can be reached with a pointer.

12. DOCUMENTS AND DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT

☐ Current PDFs, Word documents, presentations and forms are accessible.

☐ Documents have descriptive titles and a logical heading structure.

☐ PDF reading order is correct.

☐ Document images have alternative text.

☐ Tables have properly identified headers.

☐ Form fields in electronic documents have labels and a logical tab order.

☐ Scanned documents have been converted into readable text and checked for accuracy.

☐ An accessible HTML version is provided when a document cannot be made sufficiently accessible.

13. THIRD-PARTY TOOLS AND CONTENT

☐ Scheduling systems, payment portals, chat tools and other embedded services have been tested for accessibility.

☐ Cookie notices can be operated by keyboard and screen reader.

☐ Embedded maps provide accessible location information.

☐ Social-media feeds do not create keyboard or screen-reader barriers.

☐ Vendor contracts include website accessibility requirements.

☐ An accessible alternative is available when a third-party service cannot be remediated immediately.

☐ Responsibility for monitoring vendor accessibility is assigned to a specific person or department.

14. TESTING AND QUALITY CONTROL

☐ Representative pages are checked with an automated accessibility-testing tool.

☐ Every page can be completed using only a keyboard.

☐ Pages are reviewed with screen-reading software such as NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver or TalkBack.

☐ Color contrast is measured rather than estimated visually.

☐ Pages are tested at 200% and 400% zoom.

☐ Forms are tested with missing, incomplete and incorrect information.

☐ Menus, pop-ups, accordions and other interactive components are tested manually.

☐ The website is tested on desktop and mobile devices.

☐ People with disabilities participate in usability testing when possible.

☐ Accessibility is retested after significant design, content or software changes.

15. ACCESSIBILITY MANAGEMENT

☐ The website includes an accessibility statement.

☐ The accessibility statement provides an easy way to report a barrier or request assistance.

☐ Accessibility inquiries are routed to a responsible person.

☐ Reported barriers are documented, prioritized and corrected promptly.

☐ Content authors receive accessibility training.

☐ New pages and documents are checked before publication.

☐ Website redesigns and technology purchases include accessibility requirements from the beginning.

☐ The organization maintains an accessibility-improvement plan.

☐ Testing records, remediation decisions and follow-up results are documented.

☐ The website is reviewed periodically rather than treated as a one-time project.

FINAL REVIEW

A website should not be described as conforming to WCAG 2.1 Level AA merely because it passes an automated scan. Level AA conformance requires meeting all applicable Level A and Level AA success criteria across complete pages and complete user processes. Automated tools can identify some problems, but complete accessibility testing also requires manual review and human judgment.

IMPORTANT: This checklist provides general educational guidance. It is not a complete WCAG conformance report, accessibility certification or legal opinion.

Descriptive Page Titles

Logical Heading Hierarchy

Meaningful Image Descriptions

Ensure every page has a unique, clear title that accurately describes its content for screen readers and browser tabs.

Use H1 for the main page title, followed by H2s and H3s in a logical order, never skipping levels for visual effect.

Provide concise, informative alt text for every non-decorative image, conveying its purpose and content to users who cannot see it.

Interactive & Functional Audits

Move beyond static content to evaluate how users interact with your website, focusing on navigation, input, and response.

Sufficient Color Contrast

Full Keyboard Operability

Accessible Forms & Labels

Verify text and interactive elements meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA contrast ratios against their backgrounds to ensure readability for all.

Confirm all interactive elements are reachable and usable via keyboard alone, with a clear and visible focus indicator.

Ensure all form fields have visible, associated labels, clear error messages, and are navigable and usable without a mouse.

Ready to Fix Your Website?

Once you've identified areas for improvement, explore our detailed guides to learn exactly how to implement the necessary changes.