Common Accessibility Issues to Avoid

The list of topics to pay close attention to:

Planning eliminates problems. Before writing a single line of code, apply three quick visual tests to your design: view the page without images, read all the text as if it were one long paragraph with no structure, and try to complete every task without using a mouse. If the experience breaks down at any of these steps, you have found your starting point.

Insufficient Color Contrast

Low color contrast is one of the most common and most easily avoided accessibility failures. Users with low vision, color blindness, or aging eyesight all depend on sufficient contrast between text and its background to read content comfortably.

WCAG 2.2 requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. This applies to body copy, navigation, form labels, error messages, and any text overlaid on images or video. Test your palette across devices — colors that look fine on a calibrated monitor can fail on a mobile screen in bright sunlight.

Improper Heading Hierarchy

Headings are not just visual styling — they are the outline of your page. Screen readers allow users to navigate by heading level, jumping from <h1> to <h2> to <h3> to move efficiently through long pages. When heading levels are skipped, used decoratively, or applied only for font size, that navigation breaks down.

Keep headings in a logical sequence. Every page should have exactly one <h1>. Sub-sections use <h2>, nested sub-sections use <h3>, and so on. Never skip a level for visual reasons alone.

Inaccurate or Missing Alt Text for Images

Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers. Users who are blind or have low vision receive no information about the image — they may not even know it exists. Images with inaccurate or placeholder alt text (such as “image001.jpg” or “photo”) are worse than useless; they actively mislead users.

Every informative image needs a concise, meaningful description in the alt attribute. Decorative images that add no content should use alt="" so screen readers skip them entirely. Charts and infographics often need a longer text description in addition to alt text.

Lack of Keyboard Accessibility and Navigability

Every interaction on your site — forms, surveys, checkout flows, dropdown menus, modal dialogs, and date pickers — must be fully operable with a keyboard alone. Many users with motor disabilities cannot use a mouse or track pad.

Test your most important user journeys using only Tab, Shift+Tab, arrow keys, Enter, and Space. Check that focus is always visible, that it never gets trapped inside a component, and that interactive elements can be activated without a pointer device. Pay special attention to custom-built widgets: carousels, autocomplete fields, and rich text editors frequently fail keyboard users.

A navigation menu with dozens of links is overwhelming for screen reader users and users with cognitive disabilities. Every link must be announced before the user reaches the main content. Sites with bloated navigation force these users to listen through or tab through an enormous list on every page load.

Simplify your navigation. Group related items under clear headings. Use skip links — a “Skip to main content” link at the top of every page — so keyboard and screen reader users can bypass the navigation entirely and get straight to the content they came for.

Want to gain accessibility but not sure where to start?

With over 1.3 billion people worldwide living with some form of disability, the business case for accessibility is clear — and since June 2025, the legal case under the European Accessibility Act is too.

QualiBooth offers a free URL scan so you can see exactly where your site stands today. No setup required. No obligation.