Accessibility

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

SCORE

GRADE

FIX

REVIEW

PASS

INFO

Checks

3 PASS 5 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

4 landmarks

REVIEW

4 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

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

Heading Hierarchy

Action

9 headings, 1 skip(s)

REVIEW

9 headings, 1 skip(s)

No H1 heading found

Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.

Heading level skipped: H2 → H4 (missing H3)

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.

H3 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
H2 Helping Americans
H2 HUD Partners
H2 Researchers
H2 News
H4 HUD Delivers Disaster Aid, Financial Flexibility for Hawaii Residents Impacted by Natural Disasters skipped
H4 HUD Unveils More Than $1.1 Billion Investment for Affordable Housing Initiatives in Tribal Communities
H4 HUD Launches Fair Housing Investigation into Washington State’s Covenant Homeownership Program
H2 Opportunity Zones

Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.

Why this matters

No H1 means screen-reader users can't identify the page's primary topic, and Google's content-extraction degrades.

Learn more ▾

The H1 is the document title for assistive tech and a strong signal to search engines about page topic. Pages without one force screen readers to fall back to the <title> attribute or page chrome. Add a single H1 that names the page's primary subject.

Source: WCAG 2.4.6 / Google Search Central

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.

Why this matters

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline — screen-reader users lose track of section nesting.

Learn more ▾

Screen reader users navigate by jumping between headings (H1 → H2 → H3). Skipping (H1 → H3) breaks the sense of hierarchy. Use sequential levels even if you don't like the default styling — restyle with CSS instead. WCAG 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) treats this as an A failure.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 / W3C WAI

Link & Button Quality

7 issue(s) across 62 links and 3 buttons

REVIEW

7 issue(s) across 62 links and 3 buttons

1 link(s) with no accessible text

Links without text are announced as raw URLs by screen readers.

Got: a#main-content

6 link(s) with generic text

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

Got: /HUD-Accomplishments-2026 ("Learn More"); /HUD-Accomplishments-2026 ("Learn More"); /news/hud-no-26-025 ("Read More"); /news/hud-no-26-024 ("Read More"); /news/hud-no-26-023 ("Read More"); /opportunity-zones ("Learn More")

55 link(s) with descriptive text

62 links

1 empty

6 generic text

0 new tab

0 empty buttons

Element	Text	Issue	Suggested Fix
	(empty)	empty	Add link text or aria-label
/HUD-Accomplishments-2026	Learn More	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Learn More Suggested: Hud Accomplishments 2026
/HUD-Accomplishments-2026	Learn More	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Learn More Suggested: Hud Accomplishments 2026
/news/hud-no-26-025	Read More	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Read More Suggested: Hud No 26 025
/news/hud-no-26-024	Read More	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Read More Suggested: Hud No 26 024
/news/hud-no-26-023	Read More	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Read More Suggested: Hud No 26 023
/opportunity-zones	Learn More	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Learn More Suggested: Opportunity Zones

58 links and buttons have descriptive text

Links without text are announced as raw URLs by screen readers.

a#main-content

Why this matters

Links with no accessible text (empty <a></a>, image-only no alt, icon-only no aria-label) are unidentifiable to screen readers.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.4

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

/HUD-Accomplishments-2026 ("Learn More"); /HUD-Accomplishments-2026 ("Learn More"); /news/hud-no-26-025 ("Read More"); /news/hud-no-26-024 ("Read More"); /news/hud-no-26-023 ("Read More"); /opportunity-zones ("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

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

404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page

Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title 404 - Page Not Found | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✗Search Form ✗

Color Contrast (Screenshot)

Action

20 text elements analyzed, 18 fail WCAG AA

REVIEW

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

2 pass 18 fail WCAG AA 1 pass AA only

h2 Helping Americans

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport · over background image/gradient

h2 HUD Partners

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport · over background image/gradient

h2 Researchers

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport · over background image/gradient

h2 News

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Opportunity Zones

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h3 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Dev…

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

p An official website of the United States…

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · top of page (header area)

a Here’s how you know

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · top of page (header area)

strong Official websites use .gov

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

16px · above the fold

strong .gov

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

16px · above the fold

p website belongs to an official governmen…

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

strong Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

16px · above the fold

strong lock

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

16px · above the fold

p ) or

1.76:1

#000000

#163667

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

strong https://

2.83:1

#000000

#5D5449

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

16px · above the fold · over background image/gradient

p means you’ve safely connected to the .…

4.40:1

#000000

#6B792D

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold · over background image/gradient

a Helping Americans

3.49:1

#000000

#5E6650

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold · over background image/gradient

a Help with Homeownership

1.39:1

#000000

#2D260C

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · mid-page · over background image/gradient

7 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
h2 Helping Americans	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
h2 HUD Partners	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
h2 Researchers	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
h2 News	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
h2 Opportunity Zones	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
h3 U.S. Department of H…	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
title HUD Home \| HUD.gov /…	18.43:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F0F0F0	Pass
a Skip to main content	5.23:1	4.5:1	#000000	#6D809E	Pass
p An official website …	1.76:1	4.5:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
a Here’s how you kno…	1.76:1	4.5:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
strong Official websites us…	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
strong .gov	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
p website belongs to a…	1.76:1	4.5:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
strong Secure .gov websites…	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
strong lock	1.76:1	3.0:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
p ) or	1.76:1	4.5:1	#000000	#163667	Fail
strong https://	2.83:1	3.0:1	#000000	#5D5449	Fail
p means you’ve safel…	4.40:1	4.5:1	#000000	#6B792D	Fail
a Helping Americans	3.49:1	4.5:1	#000000	#5E6650	Fail
a Help with Homeowners…	1.39:1	4.5:1	#000000	#2D260C	Fail

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+

Alt Text Quality

All 10 images OK

PASS

All 10 images OK

2 decorative image(s) correctly marked

8 image(s) with good alt text

10 images 8 good alt text 2 decorative

All images have appropriate alt text.

A+

Form Accessibility

All 2 controls labeled

PASS

All 2 controls labeled

2 control(s) properly labeled

2 controls

2 labeled

0 placeholder only

0 unlabeled

Control	Type	Label	Method
#query-field	text	Search	for/id
#email_id	text	Sign Up	for/id

Lighthouse Accessibility Audits

Score 91/100 — 3 failing, 22 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.

ARIA

Each ARIA `role` supports a specific subset of `aria-*` attributes. Mismatching these invalidates the `aria-*` attributes. Learn how to match ARIA attributes to their roles.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Search `div.firstlinemenubar2025 > div.row > div.col-xs-9 > form#search-form`

These are opportunities to improve the usage of ARIA in your application which may enhance the experience for users of assistive technology, like a screen reader.

Navigation

Properly ordered headings that do not skip levels convey the semantic structure of the page, making it easier to navigate and understand when using assistive technologies. Learn more about heading order.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
HUD Delivers Disaster Aid, Financial Flexibility for Hawaii Residents Impacted … `div.row > div.col-xs-12 > div.feature_box > h4.headerfour`

These are opportunities to improve keyboard navigation in your application.

Best practices

One main landmark helps screen reader users navigate a web page. Learn more about landmarks.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
html.js `html.js`

These items highlight common accessibility best practices.

○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-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

●Form elements have associated labels

●`[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

●`[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

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

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

●Links are distinguishable without relying on color.

●Links have a discernible name

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

●Identical links have the same purpose.

●Elements with visible text labels have matching accessible names.

○`[accesskey]` values are unique

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

○Elements with `role="dialog"` or `role="alertdialog"` 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

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

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

○Input buttons have discernible text.

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

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

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

○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.

○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.