Accessibility Compliance Checklist

Inventory every public URL

Include marketing, help docs, blog, product pages, and any legacy subdomains. A sitemap or crawl export works.

Flag authenticated views that must also be accessible

Customer portals and logged-in dashboards are rarely optional when a law or a contract applies to your org.

Note third-party embeds and who owns them

Chat widgets, video players, consent banners, and booking tools live on your page even if someone else ships the code.

Pick an owner for accessibility decisions

One name, not a committee. Escalation path from that person to legal and engineering is written down.

Agree on a sign-off process for material changes

A new template, a redesign, or a launch should not go live without a scan and a reviewer.

Write the scope and owner into your accessibility statement

A public page that names your target standard and contact point builds trust and, in many jurisdictions, is required.

Text meets WCAG contrast ratios (4.5:1 normal, 3:1 large)

Apply the same rule to placeholder text, disabled states, and icons that carry meaning.

Every interactive element has a visible focus style

Keyboard users need to see where they are. A default browser outline is fine; an invisible one is not.

Information is never conveyed by color alone

Status, required fields, chart series, and form errors need a second cue (icon, label, text).

Animation respects the reduced-motion preference

Wrap non-essential motion in a `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` rule. Autoplay video and parallax are the usual suspects.

Body text is at least 16px by default

Smaller than 14px is a user-testing failure; 12px mono is a contrast-plus-size trap.

Touch targets meet 24×24px minimum (WCAG 2.2)

Buttons, links, and form controls on mobile. Spacing counts; adjacent targets must not overlap.

Every page has one h1 that names the page

Not the company. The page. A visually-hidden h1 is fine when the visible design has a different header.

Heading levels cascade logically (no skipping h2 → h4)

Screen-reader users navigate by heading. Out-of-order headings make them backtrack.

Landmarks are explicit: header, nav, main, footer

Use the semantic HTML elements, not divs with role attributes.

Every image has alt text that serves its purpose

Decorative images get alt="". Informative images get a description. Functional images describe the action.

Every form input has a programmatically bound label

Either `<label for>` or wrapping `<label>`. Placeholder-as-label breaks autofill and screen readers.

Link text is meaningful on its own

Lists of “Read more” and “Click here” are announced out of context by assistive tech.

Every interactive element is reachable with Tab

Menus, modals, carousels, and custom widgets included.

Focus order matches the visual reading order

If the eye goes left-to-right, top-to-bottom, focus should too.

A skip-to-main-content link appears on Tab

Keyboard users should not Tab through the entire nav on every page.

There are no keyboard traps

Modals close with Escape. Carousels do not swallow Tab. Third-party embeds are the usual offenders.

Dynamic UI changes are announced to screen readers

Use `aria-live` regions for toasts, validation errors, and progress updates.

Run at least one manual pass with a screen reader per release

VoiceOver on macOS, NVDA on Windows, or TalkBack on Android. Automated tools miss cognitive and label issues.

Pick the target standard and write it down

WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the modern default. See the coverage library for which regulation points at which version.

Publish an accessibility statement

Name your target standard, known limitations, feedback path, and update cadence. We have one at /accessibility for reference.

Schedule scans on a recurring cadence

Weekly or monthly full-site scans catch regressions before anyone complains.

Archive scan evidence — do not overwrite

Immutable history is the record auditors and regulators actually want.

Define a remediation SLA per severity

Critical within 7 days, serious within 30, and so on. Put it in writing; measure against it.

Brief legal counsel on the evidence you keep

Your lawyer should know where the scan reports live and what they can prove.