Accessibility that comes with the craft
Accessibility is not a compliance checkbox bolted on at the end; it is the floor for interface craft. Most of it is free if you use the platform: native elements ship with keyboard support, real labels announce themselves, and a visible focus ring is one CSS rule. Apply these principles when building or reviewing UI code, and match the project's existing styling system (Tailwind vs. plain CSS vs. CSS-in-JS) when applying fixes.
When reviewing, walk the interface as a keyboard-only user first (every flow must complete without a mouse), then as a screen-reader user: does each control announce a name, a role, and its state? When unsure, prefer the platform default over a custom rebuild, and remove ARIA rather than add it.
Contrast math (APCA thresholds, fixing contrast in OKLCH) is covered by the
skill; text sizes, iOS input zoom, and RTL are covered by the
skill.
Quick Reference
| Category | When to Use |
|---|
| Focus & Keyboard | Focus rings, skip links, tabindex, focus trapping, APG keyboard patterns |
| Semantics & ARIA | Native elements first, button vs link, landmarks, accessible names, disabled states |
| Forms | Labels, autocomplete, error messaging, input types |
| Screen Readers | Visually hidden content, live regions, toasts, alt text, SVG |
| Hit Areas | Target sizes, expanding hit areas, collision rules |
| Motion & Zoom | , autoplay and timed UI, 200% zoom, reflow, rem vs px |
Core Principles
1. Native Elements First
The first rule of ARIA: don't use ARIA when a native element exists.
for actions,
for navigation (it must support Cmd/Ctrl/middle-click), never
. No ARIA is better than bad ARIA.
2. Visible Focus Rings
Style
, not bare
, so keyboard users get a ring and mouse users don't. The browser's default ring (
) renders the focus color the user configured in their OS and browser; prefer keeping it and only adding
. If the design needs a custom ring, use
with no color (it renders
, never a hardcoded brand color) at
contrast against adjacent colors. Never
without a visible replacement.
3. Full Keyboard Support
Every pointer interaction needs a keyboard path, following the ARIA APG patterns: Escape closes overlays, arrow keys move within composite widgets (tabs, menus, listboxes), Tab moves between widgets, Enter and Space activate. Only
(join the natural tab order) and
(programmatic focus), never positive values, which break the natural order. Composite widgets use roving tabindex: the active item is
, all others
.
4. Trap and Restore Focus
Modals set
on the background content, move focus inside on open, and return focus to the trigger on close. Add
overscroll-behavior: contain
so background content doesn't scroll.
5. Minimum Hit Area
Interactive elements need a 44×44px hit area for touch or mobile contexts, at least 40×40px on desktop; WCAG 2.5.8's hard floor is 24×24px. Extend with a pseudo-element if the visible element is smaller. Never let hit areas of two elements overlap.
6. Label and Type Every Control
Every input gets a
or wrapping
; a placeholder is never a label, and label and control share one hit target: no dead zones between a checkbox and its text. Add
with a meaningful
, and the correct
and
for the keyboard. Never block paste; users paste passwords and one-time codes.
7. Errors That Announce
Keep submit enabled until the request starts, then disable with a spinner while keeping the original label. Validate on submit: mark failing fields with
, point
at the inline error text, and focus the first invalid field. Use native
when a native control is genuinely unavailable. Use
only when retaining focusability or discoverability is intentional; then block pointer, keyboard, and form behavior in code and style the state explicitly.
8. Accessible Names Everywhere
Icon-only buttons need a descriptive
. Visible label text must appear in the accessible name. Decorative elements get
, never on a focusable element.
9. Don't Rely on Color Alone
Status needs a redundant cue: icon, text, or underline alongside the color. Contrast floors:
for text,
for UI components and focus indicators (the WCAG 2 minimums;
prefers APCA thresholds). When contrast fails, report the failing pair and the threshold it misses; don't change the project's colors unless asked, as the
skill covers measuring and, on request, fixing.
10. Honor prefers-reduced-motion
Wrap motion in
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference)
so it is opt-in. Under reduced motion, replace slides and scales with opacity crossfades; kill parallax and autoplay entirely. Independent of the preference: autoplaying media needs a visible pause control, and toasts carrying actions or errors stay until dismissed.
11. Announce Dynamic Content
Toasts and inline validation use
(
); reserve
(
) for errors. The live region must exist empty in the DOM before its content is injected, or it won't announce.
12. Alt Text by Purpose
Decorative images get
, informative images describe the meaning, functional images describe the action: a search icon button is
, not
.
13. Structure Is Navigation
One
per page, no skipped heading levels, exactly one
. A "Skip to content" link is the first focusable element, and anchored headings get
.
14. Survive Zoom and Text Resize
The page must work at 200% zoom and reflow at 320px width without horizontal scrolling. Use
instead of fixed
on text containers, prefer
breakpoints where they fit the codebase's conventions, and never use
or
.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|
| to remove the focus ring | Style instead; mouse clicks won't show it |
| Hardcoded brand color on focus rings | Keep the default ring () or use colorless () |
| for a button or link | for actions, for navigation |
| Placeholder used as the only label | Add a visible ; placeholders disappear on input |
| Positive to fix focus order | Fix the DOM order; only use and |
| Live region injected together with its message | Pre-render the empty region, inject text afterwards |
| live region for a routine toast | Use ; reserve for errors |
| on a focusable element | Remove it or make the element non-focusable |
| Functional icon alt describes the picture | Describe the action: , not |
| to stop iOS input zoom | 16px input font on mobile (see ); never block zoom |
| Submit disabled until the form is valid | Keep it enabled; validate on submit and focus the first error |
Review Output Format
Present every review in two parts.
Findings
Group findings by principle. Use a markdown table with Severity, Location, Before, After, and Why columns. Include every change made or proposed, not a subset. Never use separate "Before:" / "After:" lines.
- Severity: prevents a task, hides content from assistive technology, or creates a systemic accessibility failure; makes an interaction meaningfully harder; is isolated polish.
- Location: cite . If the artifact has no source files, cite the exact screen and component instead.
- Before / After: show the current implementation and an actionable replacement.
- Why: name the violated principle and its user impact.
Consolidate a repeated systemic issue into one row and list every affected location. Omit principles with no findings.
Example
Accessible names everywhere
| Severity | Location | Before | After | Why |
|---|
| HIGH | | <button><XIcon /></button>
| Add ; mark the icon | The icon-only control has no accessible name |
| HIGH | | <a href="/settings"><GearIcon /></a>
| Add | The link destination is unavailable to screen readers |
Visible focus rings
| Severity | Location | Before | After | Why |
|---|
| HIGH | | button:focus { outline: none; }
| button:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid; outline-offset: 2px; }
| Keyboard users cannot see focus |
| HIGH | | | focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2
| Menu navigation has no visible focus indicator |
Errors that announce
| Severity | Location | Before | After | Why |
|---|
| HIGH | | Error shown only as | Add + aria-describedby="email-error"
| Color alone neither explains nor announces the error |
| MEDIUM | | Submit disabled until the form is valid | Keep submit enabled; on failure, focus the first invalid field | A disabled action hides what must be fixed |
Minimum hit area
| Severity | Location | Before | After | Why |
|---|
| MEDIUM | | icon-only button | Extend the hit area to 44×44px with after:absolute after:size-11
| The target is too small for reliable touch input |
Verification and Verdict
After the findings:
- Verification: list the exact checks run and their observed results, including keyboard traversal, accessible-name inspection, and screen-reader or automated checks when applicable. If a check was not run, state what still needs verification.
- Verdict: if any finding remains, if only or findings remain, and only when no actionable findings remain.
When there are no findings, omit the tables, state "No actionable accessibility findings", report verification, and end with
.