Accessibility Checker Demo

Test out the Accessibility Checker found in the Web Accessibility Toolkit plugin by clicking on the Scan Page button below.

This page contains many accessibility issues that the Accessibility checker will pick up.

Small website issues create bigger accessibility problems

Accessibility problems do not always come from complex applications or custom widgets. In many cases, they appear inside ordinary blog posts, landing pages, contact forms, and call-to-action sections. A page can look polished on the surface while still creating serious usability barriers for people using screen readers, keyboards, or low vision settings.

This example article is written to feel more like a realistic page. The content flows like a normal post, includes images, navigation links, interactive elements, and a contact form, but still contains a wide range of common accessibility errors.

Many teams focus first on layout and branding, which is understandable. However, when accessibility is not considered during content entry, issues such as vague link text, poor color contrast, broken form labels, and invalid ARIA can slip into production.

Why content structure still matters

Heading structure helps users understand a page quickly. When heading levels are skipped, that structure becomes less predictable for assistive technology users.

This is H1

This is H3

Even simple paragraph content can create readability problems. Designers sometimes choose soft grey text on a white background to achieve a subtle visual style, but that can reduce readability well below the minimum contrast threshold.

This paragraph uses low contrast text and fails minimum contrast requirements.

Images are another common source of problems. A content editor might upload an image and assume the CMS will handle the rest, but without appropriate alternative text, the image may provide no useful context to people using screen readers.

Link text also matters more than many people expect. Repeating generic text such as “Read more” across multiple destinations makes it difficult to distinguish links when they are read out of context.

Read more (opens in new tab) about search visibility and Read more (opens in new tab) about WordPress accessibility tooling.

Developers also introduce issues through markup decisions that are invisible to most users. For example, a duplicate ID might not be noticed during visual review, but it can break relationships relied on by scripts and assistive technologies.

First referenced block

Second referenced block

Interactive content and keyboard access

Keyboard accessibility often breaks when custom interactions are added to non-semantic elements. Something may look clickable without actually being reachable by keyboard users.

Click Me

Focus styling is equally important. Removing the default focus ring without replacing it with a visible alternative makes it much harder to tell where keyboard focus currently is.

Another issue appears when authors manually alter tab order. Positive tabindex values can force users into an unnatural navigation sequence.

This box uses tabindex greater than 0

ARIA and role misuse in everyday markup

ARIA should be used carefully. In practice, many pages include empty labels, broken references, invalid roles, or redundant roles that do not improve accessibility and may actually make it worse.

Below is a text field with no visible label and no accessible name:

Empty ARIA attribute

Some issues are harder to spot, such as elements that reference IDs that do not exist.

This description reference is broken

Empty controls are another example of markup that may go unnoticed in visual testing.

missing_role

A role can also be used incorrectly. For example, a plain container may be given a button role without the expected keyboard support or behavior.

incorrect_role

invalid_role

Document and language setup

Some issues live outside the visible body content. A missing language declaration on the root <html> element affects how assistive technologies interpret the page.

<html>...</html>

Forms are one of the most important areas to review because they combine labels, grouping, instructions, buttons, and validation. A visually acceptable form can still contain multiple accessibility failures.

In a real accessibility audit, these kinds of issues would be found across headings, links, images, forms, landmarks, custom interactions, and document-level markup. That is why it is useful to test on realistic pages rather than only on isolated components.