Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.

SCORE

GRADE

FIX

REVIEW

PASS

INFO

Checks

4 PASS 4 REVIEW 5 FIX

Favicon & Branding

Action

1 icon(s) detected

FIX

1 icon(s) detected

No favicon.ico at site root

Some older browsers, bookmark tools, and RSS readers look for /favicon.ico. Add one as a fallback.

HTML icon links detected

No apple-touch-icon detected

iOS devices use this when users add your site to their home screen. Add <link rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='180x180' href='/apple-touch-icon.png'>.

✗ favicon.ico Missing

✓ PNG Icons Present

✗ Apple Touch Missing

✗ SVG Favicon Missing

✗ Manifest Icons Missing

✗ Multiple Sizes Missing

Web Manifest

Action

Not found

FIX

Not found

No web manifest found

No manifest at standard paths (/manifest.json, /site.webmanifest). A manifest is optional but enables PWA features like home screen installation and standalone display.

No web manifest found.

Dark Mode Support

Action

No dark mode signals

FIX

No dark mode signals

No dark mode signals detected

Consider adding CSS with @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) and <meta name='color-scheme' content='light dark'>.

Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles

External CSS files may contain prefers-color-scheme rules not visible to this scan.

Dark ModeNo Dark Mode Detected

color-scheme meta Not set ✗Dark theme-color Not set ✗CSS indicators Not detected ✗

Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles.

Print Stylesheet

Action

No print styles

FIX

No print styles

No print-specific styles detected

When users print this page, they get the screen layout including navigation and non-essential elements. Add @media print rules to hide navigation and optimize layout for paper.

Print Stylesheet No Print Styles

Print stylesheet Not found ✗Inline @media print Not detected ✗

Landmark Structure

Action

1 landmarks

REVIEW

1 landmarks

No <main> landmark found

Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to the primary content. Wrap your main content in <main>.

1 <nav> landmark(s) found

No banner (header) landmark

No contentinfo (footer) landmark

Skip navigation link present

Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it

Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to the primary content. Wrap your main content in <main>.

Why this matters

Without a <main> landmark, screen-reader users can't skip past the navigation to the page content — every page starts with re-reading the menu.

Learn more ▾

The <main> element marks the page's primary content area. Assistive tech offers a 'jump to main' shortcut — but only if <main> exists. Without it, every page navigation forces re-reading the header. Wrap your primary content in a single <main>.

Source: WAI-ARIA / WCAG 2.4.1

Link & Button Quality

Action

2 issue(s) across 77 links and 4 buttons

REVIEW

2 issue(s) across 77 links and 4 buttons

2 link(s) with generic text

Generic link text like 'click here' doesn't describe the destination.

Got: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-ref=homepage-signpost ("Learn more"); https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-ref=homepage-signpost ("Learn more")

13 image-only link(s) without alt text

2 link(s) open in new tab without warning

Add '(opens in new tab)' to link text or aria-label.

Got: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHVtIL_jiE; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qc4k3g4shU

60 link(s) with descriptive text

77 links

0 empty

2 generic text

2 new tab

0 empty buttons

Element	Text	Issue	Suggested Fix
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.u…	Learn more	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Learn more Suggested: ?Ucam Ref=Homepage Signpost
https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk…	Learn more	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Learn more Suggested: ?Ucam Ref=Homepage Signpost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHVtIL_…	Play video on YouTube (opens i…	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://www.libraries.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-re…	Libraries	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-ref=…	Museums	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research?ucam-ref=…	Research	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.cam.ac.uk/business-and-enter…	Business and enterprise	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-ref=h…	Alumni	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-ref=ho…	Sport	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/pepys-slav…	Features - Samuel Pepys ce…	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/new-…	News - New computer chip m…	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-blu…	News - Cambridge Blue Boat…	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://sedgwickmuseum.cam.ac.uk/whats	Family - Earth Sciences Fa…	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.u…	Admissions - Subject Maste…	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/stories/living…	Exhibitions - Living Water…	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qc4k3g4…	Play video on YouTube (opens i…	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
http://www.cam.ac.uk	University of Cambridge	img no alt	Add alt attribute to the image

64 links and buttons have descriptive text

Generic link text like 'click here' doesn't describe the destination.

https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-ref=homepage-signpost ("Learn more"); https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/?ucam-ref=homepage-signpost ("Learn more")

Why this matters

Generic anchor text ('click here', 'read more', 'learn more') tells screen readers and search engines nothing about the destination.

Learn more ▾

Out-of-context lists of links read by AT (one navigation pattern) become useless when every link says 'click here'. Use the destination's title or topic as anchor text. Doubles as SEO win — Google passes anchor-text relevance to the destination.

Source: WCAG 2.4.4 / Google Search Central

Add '(opens in new tab)' to link text or aria-label.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NHVtIL_jiE; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qc4k3g4shU

Why this matters

Links with target="_blank" without rel="noopener" leak the originating page's window context — security and UX issue.

Learn more ▾

Without rel="noopener", the new tab can navigate the original tab via window.opener (tab-nabbing attack). Modern browsers default to noopener for target=_blank but only since recent versions. Always set rel="noopener noreferrer" explicitly.

Source: MDN target / OWASP

404 Error Page

HTTP 404, custom page

REVIEW

HTTP 404, custom page

Correct 404 status code returned

Got: HTTP 404

Custom styled 404 page

Navigation links present on 404 page

Homepage link present on 404 page

404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page

Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title Page not found: we need time to evolve | University of Cambridge ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✗

Color Contrast (Screenshot)

Action

20 text elements analyzed, 13 fail WCAG AA

REVIEW

Analyzes text contrast against the actual rendered page, including background images, gradients, and overlays that CSS-based tools cannot detect.

7 pass 13 fail WCAG AA 1 pass AA only

h3 Features -

1.68:1

#000000

#133844

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 News -

1.68:1

#000000

#133844

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 News -

1.68:1

#000000

#133844

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Family -

1.68:1

#000000

#133844

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Admissions -

1.68:1

#000000

#133844

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Exhibitions -

1.68:1

#000000

#133844

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 University of Cambridge

1.68:1

#000000

#133844

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

span Search

3.06:1

#000000

#675844

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · top of page (header area) · over background image/gradient

span Menu

2.69:1

#000000

#5F5036

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · top of page (header area)

span Close

1.70:1

#000000

#3E3324

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

a Undergraduate study

1.46:1

#000000

#36271D

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

a Postgraduate study

4.07:1

#000000

#756C5F

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

a Professional study

2.53:1

#000000

#594C3E

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

1 contrast failures on background images/gradients

These failures are invisible to CSS-based accessibility tools like Lighthouse. The text may be fine on a solid background, but fails when rendered over an image or gradient.

Show all checked elements (20)

Element	Ratio	Required	FG	BG	Result
h3 Features -	1.68:1	3.0:1	#000000	#133844	Fail
h3 News -	1.68:1	3.0:1	#000000	#133844	Fail
h3 News -	1.68:1	3.0:1	#000000	#133844	Fail
h3 Family -	1.68:1	3.0:1	#000000	#133844	Fail
h3 Admissions -	1.68:1	3.0:1	#000000	#133844	Fail
h3 Exhibitions -	1.68:1	3.0:1	#000000	#133844	Fail
h3 University of Cambri…	1.68:1	3.0:1	#000000	#133844	Fail
title University of Cambri…	7.37:1	4.5:1	#000000	#999999	Pass
a Skip to main content	5.27:1	4.5:1	#000000	#887E70	Pass
span Search	3.06:1	4.5:1	#000000	#675844	Fail
span Menu	2.69:1	4.5:1	#000000	#5F5036	Fail
span Close	1.70:1	4.5:1	#000000	#3E3324	Fail
a Undergraduate study	1.46:1	4.5:1	#000000	#36271D	Fail
a Postgraduate study	4.07:1	4.5:1	#000000	#756C5F	Fail
a Professional study	2.53:1	4.5:1	#000000	#594C3E	Fail
a Alumni	7.37:1	4.5:1	#000000	#999999	Pass
a Business and enterpr…	7.37:1	4.5:1	#000000	#999999	Pass
a Cambridge students	7.37:1	4.5:1	#000000	#999999	Pass
a News	7.37:1	4.5:1	#000000	#999999	Pass
a Jobs	7.37:1	4.5:1	#000000	#999999	Pass

Methodology: The top 20 text elements by font size were checked. Background color was sampled from the desktop screenshot using a 5-point pattern. WCAG 2.1 AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

A+

Heading Hierarchy

20 headings

PASS

20 headings

Single H1 present

H1 Investing in
H2 University of Cambridge launches Executive and Professional Education
H2 Why Cambridge?
H2 How to apply
H2 News
H3 Features - Samuel Pepys censored his links to slavery
H3 News - New computer chip material could slash AI energy use
H3 News - Cambridge Blue Boats revealed for The Boat Race
H2 Events
H3 Family - Earth Sciences Fair: Saturday 11 April
H3 Admissions - Subject Masterclasses: Tuesday 5 to Thursday 21 May
H3 Exhibitions - Living Water: poetry, art and the fight for clean rivers: until Saturday 5 December
H2 Student perspectives
H2 Architecture at Cambridge
H2 Cambridge on Instagram
H2 Follow us
H3 University of Cambridge
H3 Study at Cambridge
H3 About the University
H3 Research at Cambridge

A+

Alt Text Quality

All 22 images OK

PASS

All 22 images OK

13 decorative image(s) correctly marked

9 image(s) with good alt text

22 images 9 good alt text 13 decorative

All images have appropriate alt text.

A+

Form Accessibility

No form controls

PASS

No form controls

No form controls on this page

No form controls found.

A+

Lighthouse Accessibility Audits

Score 96/100 — 1 failing, 27 passed

PASS

Accessibility

These checks highlight opportunities to improve the accessibility of your web app. Automatic detection can only detect a subset of issues and does not guarantee the accessibility of your web app, so manual testing is also encouraged.

Names and labels

Link text (and alternate text for images, when used as links) that is discernible, unique, and focusable improves the navigation experience for screen reader users. Learn how to make links accessible.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Samuel Pepys censored his links to slavery `div.row > div.col-lg-4 > div.wrapper > a`
New computer chip material could slash AI energy use `div.row > div.col-lg-4 > div.wrapper > a`
Cambridge Blue Boats revealed for The Boat Race `div.row > div.col-lg-4 > div.wrapper > a`

These are opportunities to improve the semantics of the controls in your application. This may enhance the experience for users of assistive technology, like a screen reader.

○Interactive controls are keyboard focusable

○Interactive elements indicate their purpose and state

○The page has a logical tab order

○Visual order on the page follows DOM order

○User focus is not accidentally trapped in a region

○The user's focus is directed to new content added to the page

○HTML5 landmark elements are used to improve navigation

○Offscreen content is hidden from assistive technology

○Custom controls have associated labels

○Custom controls have ARIA roles

●`[aria-*]` attributes match their roles

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` is not present on the document `<body>`

●`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes

●`[role]` values are valid

●`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values

●`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled

●Buttons have an accessible name

●Image elements have `[alt]` attributes

●`[user-scalable="no"]` is not used in the `<meta name="viewport">` element and the `[maximum-scale]` attribute is not less than 5.

●ARIA attributes are used as specified for the element's role

●Elements with `role="dialog"` or `role="alertdialog"` have accessible names.

●`[aria-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents

●Elements use only permitted ARIA attributes

●Background and foreground colors have a sufficient contrast ratio

●Document has a `<title>` element

●`<frame>` or `<iframe>` elements have a title

●`<html>` element has a `[lang]` attribute

●`<html>` element has a valid value for its `[lang]` attribute

●Links are distinguishable without relying on color.

●Lists contain only `<li>` elements and script supporting elements (`<script>` and `<template>`).

●List items (`<li>`) are contained within `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` parent elements

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order

●`<html>` element has an `[xml:lang]` attribute with the same base language as the `[lang]` attribute.

●Document has a main landmark.

●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

●Identical links have the same purpose.

○`[accesskey]` values are unique

○`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names

○ARIA input fields have accessible names

○ARIA `meter` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `progressbar` elements have accessible names

○Elements with an ARIA `[role]` that require children to contain a specific `[role]` have all required children.

○`[role]`s are contained by their required parent element

○Elements with the `role=text` attribute do not have focusable descendents.

○ARIA toggle fields have accessible names

○ARIA `tooltip` elements have accessible names

○ARIA `treeitem` elements have accessible names

○The page contains a heading, skip link, or landmark region

○`<dl>`'s contain only properly-ordered `<dt>` and `<dd>` groups, `<script>`, `<template>` or `<div>` elements.

○Definition list items are wrapped in `<dl>` elements

○ARIA IDs are unique

○No form fields have multiple labels

○Input buttons have discernible text.

○`<input type="image">` elements have `[alt]` text

○Form elements have associated labels

○The document does not use `<meta http-equiv="refresh">`

○`<object>` elements have alternate text

○Select elements have associated label elements.

○Skip links are focusable.

○No element has a `[tabindex]` value greater than 0

○Cells in a `<table>` element that use the `[headers]` attribute refer to table cells within the same table.

○`<th>` elements and elements with `[role="columnheader"/"rowheader"]` have data cells they describe.

○`[lang]` attributes have a valid value

○`<video>` elements contain a `<track>` element with `[kind="captions"]`

○Tables have different content in the summary attribute and `<caption>`.

○All heading elements contain content.

○Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements

○Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.

○Elements with visible text labels have matching accessible names.

○Tables use `<caption>` instead of cells with the `[colspan]` attribute to indicate a caption.

○`<td>` elements in a large `<table>` have one or more table headers.

All checks on this page are automated. Results are estimates - run targeted manual reviews when the score affects a release decision.