Accessibility is not a final visual check. It is a set of design, content, and engineering decisions that determine whether people can perceive, navigate, understand, and operate the interface in different ways.
Start with keyboard operation
Use the site without a mouse. Interactive controls should receive focus in a logical order, have a visible focus state, and work with the keyboard. A custom clickable div that looks like a button but does not behave like one creates avoidable problems for keyboard and assistive-technology users.
Tab through navigation, forms, dialogs, and tool controls.
Confirm focus does not disappear behind sticky headers or overlays.
Make sure dialogs can be closed and focus returns sensibly afterward.
Use native buttons, links, inputs, and labels whenever they fit the job.
Make information perceivable
Text needs adequate contrast and should remain understandable when zoomed. Images that communicate information need useful alternatives. Form errors should not rely only on color. Video and audio content can require captions, transcripts, or other alternatives depending on what information they contain.
Keep structure meaningful
Use headings to describe content hierarchy, not merely to change font size.
Associate form labels with their controls.
Give links names that make sense out of context.
Announce dynamic status changes when they matter to screen-reader users.
Test at narrow widths and high zoom without forcing horizontal reading.
Use automated tools as a starting point
Automated checks can find missing labels, contrast failures, and some structural issues, but they cannot determine whether link text is genuinely understandable or whether a workflow makes sense with a screen reader. Combine automation with keyboard testing and representative assistive-technology testing for important workflows.
Sources and further reading
Primary documentation and references used to support this guide.