Digital accessibility refers to websites and content being accessible to people with disabilities. Nine out of ten websites are not accessible, meaning they prevent many users from accessing information. This document outlines common web accessibility issues according to the WCAG guidelines, such as lacking captions for videos, low color contrast making text hard to read, ambiguous links, and missing indicators for keyboard focus. It recommends taking proactive steps to audit a site, identify issues, create an accessibility plan, and make necessary changes to comply with WCAG guidelines and avoid potential lawsuits.

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COMMON WEB ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
By Who Is Accessible

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INTRODUCTION
• Digital accessibility is simply when websites and other digital properties can be easily
understood and navigated by all individuals, including those disabilities.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination in the U.S. The accessibility
law, Section 508, is not extensive enough, hence, the establishment of WCAG guidelines as
the go-to standard for digital accessibility.
• 9 out of every 10 websites are not accessible, by making yours accessible, you will be
opening your products and services to over 57 million Americans and avoid the risk of a
lawsuit.
• Accessibility issues prevent users with visual, auditory, motor, and/or cognitive disabilities
from accessing web content and could represent your exposure to a lawsuit.

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WCAG 1.1.1 Level A - NON-TEXT CONTENT
Note
• If the content is a video or audio clip, provide a short text explanation of the purpose of the clip or a link
to a transcript.
• If an image is decorative, use an empty ALT attribute to ensure assistive technology ignores it without
causing confusion.
Provide text alternatives for any non-text content and should serve the equivalent purpose.
Bad ALT text - Credit cards (which ones?) Visa and MasterCard (conveys specific cards)

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No caption for users with hearing impairments Caption for users with hearing disability
WCAG 1.2.2 Level A - CAPTIONS (PRERECORDED)
Provide captions for videos with audio.
Note:
If you provide a video with sound, provide captions for hearing impaired people.

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Good – Captions provided for users with
hearing impairments
Bad – No caption for users with hearing
impairments
WCAG 1.2.4 Level AA - CAPTIONS (PRERECORDED)
Provide captions for live audio and video.
Note:
Captions should include both dialogue and important sounds, embedded as text in the video track.

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Wrong - text on the pink background has
poor contrast
Right - higher contrast text is used, the text is
much easier to read
WCAG 1.4.3 Level AA - CONTRAST (MINIMUM)
Ensure contrast ratio between text and background is at least 4.5:1 to make it easy to read.
Note:
• There should be enough contrast between text and its background to ensure it is readable by people
with moderately low vision or color deficiencies.
• Try to avoid colored text over a colored background when possible.

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Wrong - purpose of the link is ambiguous Right - the purpose of each link can be
determined from the link text
WCAG 2.4.4 Level A - LINK PURPOSE (IN CONTEXT)
Ensure every link’s purpose can be determined from the link text or its context.
Note:
• Descriptive link text helps all users decide whether they wish to follow the link.
• All links that go to the same location should use the same link text.

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Wrong - heading does not accurately
describe the purpose of the content
Right - more detailed heading that accurately
describes the content
WCAG 2.4.6 Level AA - HEADINGS AND LABELS
Headings and labels should describe topic or purpose.
Note:
• Make sure the text of each heading appropriately describes its section

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Wrong - No cursor is shown in the input fields
and users have no way to determine the current
input position
Right - Cursor is shown, the vertical bar provides
a visual indication for the users to determine the
current input position
WCAG 2.4.7 - FOCUS VISIBLE
The keyboard focus must be visible and clear to the user.
Note:
• Provide some sort of visual indicator to indicate which element has the keyboard focus
• Help users with low vision or visual impairments determine where they are on a webpage

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CONCLUSION
Now that you have seen the WCAG guidelines issues commonly found on websites, you should be thinking
about the next steps to avoid vulnerability to lawsuits. Hence, we strongly encourage you to take a proactive
approach to accessibility compliance.
Our recommended steps to updating your site to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA guidelines are:
• Determine the issues plaguing your site (you can get a free scan for common accessibility issues to get a
better idea)
• Come up with an accessibility plan (internal remediation or accessibility professionals)
• Get your site audited by accessibility professionals (a combination of software with manual reviews by
experts)
• Get comprehensive reports (problems and recommendations on how to fix each issue)
• The development team can make the necessary changes
• Get official certification as being compliant
• Perform digital accessibility integration in your organization (develop policies that account for digital
accessibility moving forward).