Accessibility Testing

Baseline: WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA

Most legal/compliance requirements target AA. Structure the audit around the four POUR principles:

• Perceivable — alt text on images, captions on video, sufficient color contrast, content not conveyed by color alone.
• Operable — full keyboard operability, no keyboard traps, visible focus indicators, skip-to-content link, no seizure-inducing flashing.
• Understandable — clear labels, consistent navigation, error messages that say how to fix the problem (not just "invalid input").
• Robust — valid semantic HTML, correct ARIA usage (or none — wrong ARIA is worse than no ARIA), works across assistive tech.

Practical audit pass

1. Automated scan first (fast, catches ~30-40% of issues): axe-core via browser extension, or Lighthouse's accessibility category (lighthouse_audit in Chrome DevTools MCP covers this).
2. Keyboard-only pass: unplug the mouse mentally — Tab through the entire page. Every interactive element must be reachable, in a logical order, with a visible focus ring. Modals must trap focus while open and return it on close. Nothing should require a mouse-only gesture (hover-only menus, drag-and-drop with no keyboard alternative).
3. Screen reader spot-check: VoiceOver on macOS (Cmd+F5) for at least the primary flow — does it announce meaningful labels, form errors, and dynamic content changes (aria-live regions)? Icon-only buttons must have accessible names.
4. Color contrast: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text/UI components (AA). Check via browser DevTools contrast checker, not eyeballing.
5. Forms: every input has a programmatically associated <label>, required fields are announced as required (not just visually marked with an asterisk), errors are associated with their field via aria-describedby.
6. Zoom/reflow: page usable at 200% browser zoom without horizontal scroll or clipped content.

Common real bugs to specifically hunt for

• <div onclick> instead of <button> — not keyboard-focusable, no accessible role.
• Images with alt="" on content images (decorative-only pattern misapplied) vs. missing alt entirely on meaningful images.
• Custom dropdowns/modals built without ARIA roles/states (role="dialog", aria-modal, aria-expanded) — screen readers can't tell they exist.
• Placeholder text used as the only label — disappears on focus, not a real label.
• Low-contrast disabled-looking buttons that are actually clickable, or vice versa.

Reporting

File via [[bug-reporting]], citing the specific WCAG success criterion violated (e.g. "1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)") — this makes severity/priority unambiguous and ties directly to compliance requirements when they apply.