WCAG checklist: test your website yourself

Thirty points you can check without prior knowledge. Tick off what your website already gets right. The ticks are stored only in your browser; nothing leaves your device. The list does not replace a full WCAG audit; it is the practical core for everyday work, the points where most websites fail.

Perceivable

• Every informative image has an alternative text.

  Switch images off in the browser or use WAVE: does the message survive?

• Decorative images have an empty alt attribute.

  Check the source: decoration should be skipped by the screen reader.

• Body text reaches a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1.

  Put the colour values into WebAIM's Contrast Checker instead of guessing.

• Controls and meaningful graphics reach at least 3 to 1.

  Button borders, icons and charts need measurable contrast too.

• No information relies on colour alone.

  Do a greyscale test: do you still understand errors, links and status?

• Videos have subtitles.

  Watch once without sound: do you understand everything?

• Audio content has a transcript.

  The content must be readable as well, not only audible.

• The page stays usable at 200 percent zoom.

  Ctrl and Plus up to 200 percent: nothing overlaps, nothing disappears, no sideways scrolling.

• Text is real text, not baked into images.

  Try to select the text: what cannot be selected is an image.

Operable

• Every function can be reached and triggered with the keyboard.

  Put the mouse away and go through the page with Tab and Enter only.

• The keyboard focus is visible at all times.

  During the Tab test you must always see where you are.

• There are no keyboard traps.

  You can leave every dialog, menu and banner with the keyboard.

• A skip link leads straight to content or navigation.

  First press of Tab on the page: does a skip link appear?

• The tab order follows the visible order.

  The focus must not jump criss-cross over the page.

• Click targets are at least 24 by 24 pixels, better 44.

  Test on the phone with your thumb, not at the desktop with a mouse.

• Nothing flashes more than three times per second.

  Fast flashing can trigger seizures and is off limits.

• Motion can be paused, and the system setting is respected.

  Enable reduced motion in the operating system: does the page calm down?

• No time limits without warning and extension.

  Forms and sessions must not throw anyone out under time pressure.

Understandable

• The language of the page is declared in the code.

  Look for the lang attribute in the html element of the source code.

• Every page has its own meaningful title.

  Read the browser tab: does it say where you are?

• The headings form a clean hierarchy.

  One H1 per page, no skipped levels; WAVE shows the structure.

• Every link text names its destination.

  A link must make sense without the sentence around it.

• Every form field has a visible, connected label.

  Click the label: if the cursor jumps into the field, it is connected.

• Error messages say what is wrong and where.

  Submit the form incorrectly on purpose and read the message.

• The navigation is built the same on every page.

  Menu items change neither place nor order.

Robust

• Interactive elements are real HTML elements.

  Buttons are button, links are a, lists are ul: spot-check the source.

• Contact fields have autocomplete attributes.

  Browsers should be able to fill in name, email and address.

• ARIA is used sparingly and correctly.

  What native HTML can do needs no ARIA; wrong ARIA does harm.

• Status messages are announced as well.

  Success and error messages need an aria-live region.

• The quick screen reader test is passed.

  Listen to your homepage with VoiceOver or NVDA: order, links and headings make sense.

Everything ticked? Then your website is in better shape than most. The moves for the open points are explained in my guide. What an audit with blind testers looks like is shown in the BSVSH case study. And if you would like support: accessible web design is exactly my subject.