Accessibility checks explained

RampCheck runs 98 automated checks on every page, using the open-source axe-core engine. Each one is explained here the way it is in a report: who it affects, why it matters and how to fix it.

Checks marked “best practice” are recommendations. They are not WCAG success criteria and are never counted as failures in a draft accessibility statement.

Content

• Meters have no accessible name · WCAG 1.1.1 · Level A
• Progress bars have no accessible name · WCAG 1.1.1 · Level A
• Tooltips have no accessible name · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Table header cells are empty · Best practice
• Images have no text alternative · WCAG 1.1.1 · Level A
• Image alt text duplicates nearby visible text · Best practice
• Embedded objects have no text alternative · WCAG 1.1.1 · Level A
• Elements with role="img" have no text alternative · WCAG 1.1.1 · Level A
• Table scope attributes are used incorrectly · Best practice
• SVG graphics have no accessible name · WCAG 1.1.1 · Level A
• Tables repeat the same caption and summary · Best practice
• Table cells are used as a caption · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• Data cells in large tables have no header · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• Table cells reference headers that do not exist · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• Table headers are not linked to their data · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A

Forms and controls

• Custom buttons, links or menu items have no accessible name · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Dialogs have no accessible name · Best practice
• Custom input widgets have no accessible name · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Custom checkboxes, switches or radio buttons have no accessible name · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Form fields use invalid autocomplete values · WCAG 1.3.5 · Level AA
• Buttons have no discernible text · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Form field has more than one label · WCAG 3.3.2 · Level A
• Form buttons have no accessible name · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Image buttons have no text alternative · WCAG 1.1.1, 4.1.2 · Level A
• Form fields have no associated label · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Visible button text differs from its accessible name · WCAG 2.5.3 · Level A
• Form fields are labelled only by a tooltip · Best practice
• Interactive controls are nested inside each other · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Select menus have no accessible name · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Expandable sections have no visible label · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A

Navigation

• Image-map areas have no text alternative · WCAG 2.4.4, 4.1.2 · Level A
• Tabs have no accessible name · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Tree items have no accessible name · Best practice
• Links have no discernible text · WCAG 2.4.4, 4.1.2 · Level A
• Server-side image maps are used · WCAG 2.1.1 · Level A

Keyboard

• Duplicate access keys · Best practice
• Hidden elements can still receive keyboard focus · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Elements with role="text" contain focusable content · Best practice
• No way to skip repeated navigation · WCAG 2.4.1 · Level A
• Focusable elements have no suitable role · Best practice
• Frames with interactive content cannot be reached by keyboard · WCAG 2.1.1 · Level A
• Scrollable areas cannot be reached by keyboard · WCAG 2.1.1, 2.1.3 · Level A
• Skip links point to nothing · Best practice
• Positive tabindex values disrupt focus order · Best practice

Visual design

• Text spacing cannot be adjusted · WCAG 1.4.12 · Level AA
• Text does not have enough contrast against its background · WCAG 1.4.3 · Level AA
• The page is locked to portrait or landscape · WCAG 1.3.4 · Level AA
• Links are distinguished only by colour · WCAG 1.4.1 · Level A
• Zoom is disabled on mobile · WCAG 1.4.4 · Level AA
• Zoom is limited on mobile · Best practice
• Touch targets are too small · WCAG 2.5.8 · Level AA

Page structure

• The page has no title · WCAG 2.4.2 · Level A
• Headings contain no text · Best practice
• Iframes have no title · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Several frames share the same title · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Heading levels are skipped or out of order · Best practice
• The page does not declare its language · WCAG 3.1.1 · Level A
• The declared page language is not valid · WCAG 3.1.1 · Level A
• The lang and xml:lang attributes disagree · WCAG 3.1.1 · Level A
• The page header is nested inside another region · Best practice
• Sidebars are nested inside other regions · Best practice
• The page footer is nested inside another region · Best practice
• The main content region is nested inside another region · Best practice
• The page has more than one header region · Best practice
• The page has more than one footer region · Best practice
• The page has more than one main region · Best practice
• The page has no main landmark · Best practice
• Page regions cannot be told apart · Best practice
• The page refreshes or redirects automatically · WCAG 2.2.1 · Level A
• Bold paragraphs are used instead of headings · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• The page has no level-one heading · Best practice
• Content sits outside any landmark region · Best practice
• Inline language changes use invalid codes · WCAG 3.1.2 · Level AA

Media

• Audio has no transcript or captions · WCAG 1.2.1 · Level A
• Blinking content · WCAG 2.2.2 · Level A
• Scrolling marquee content · WCAG 2.2.2 · Level A
• Audio or video plays sound automatically · WCAG 1.4.2 · Level A
• Video has no captions · WCAG 1.2.2 · Level A

Code quality

• ARIA attributes used on the wrong elements · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• ARIA roles that do not suit the element · Best practice
• Braille-only ARIA attributes have no spoken equivalent · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• ARIA attributes used in ways the role does not allow · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Deprecated ARIA roles are used · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• The page body is hidden from assistive technology · WCAG 1.3.1, 4.1.2 · Level A
• ARIA labels placed on elements that cannot carry them · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• ARIA roles are missing their required attributes · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Menus, lists or tabs are missing their required child elements · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• Items sit outside the container they belong to · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• aria-roledescription is used on elements without a suitable role · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Invalid ARIA role values · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Misspelled or non-existent ARIA attributes · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• ARIA attributes have invalid values · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Definition lists are malformed · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• Definition terms or descriptions sit outside a definition list · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• Labels point at IDs that are used more than once · WCAG 4.1.2 · Level A
• Lists contain invalid child elements · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• List items are not inside a list · WCAG 1.3.1 · Level A
• Decorative elements are not consistently hidden · Best practice