Skip to content
https://clevelandclinic.org

Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
48
GRADE
F
FIX
8
REVIEW
3
PASS
2
INFO
0
Checks
13
2 PASS 3 REVIEW 8 FIX
D
Landmark Structure
Action
10 landmarks
FIX
10 landmarks
Critical::
No <main> landmark found
Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to the primary content. Wrap your main content in <main>.
Info::
7 <nav> landmark(s) found
Warning::
7 of 7 <nav> elements are unlabeled
Multiple navigations need aria-label to distinguish them for screen readers.
Warning::
Skip navigation link is missing (WCAG 2.4.1)
Add a skip link as the first focusable element so keyboard users can bypass repeated navigation.
Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it
BANNER header NAV MAIN (missing!) CONTENTINFO footer

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

Multiple navigations need aria-label to distinguish them for screen readers.

Why this matters

Some <nav> elements lack aria-label — screen-reader users hear 'navigation' multiple times with no way to distinguish them.

Learn more ▾

When a page has multiple <nav> regions (primary, footer, breadcrumb), each needs aria-label or aria-labelledby. AT users navigate by landmark; identical 'navigation' announcements force them to enter each one to discover purpose.

Source: WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices

Add a skip link as the first focusable element so keyboard users can bypass repeated navigation.

Why this matters

Without a skip-nav link, keyboard users tab through every nav item before reaching content — every page, every visit.

Learn more ▾

WCAG 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks) requires a mechanism to skip past repeated content. The standard implementation is a 'Skip to main content' link that's the first focusable element, visually hidden until focused. Three lines of HTML + four of CSS.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.1

F
Alt Text Quality
Action
4 of 28 images have issues
FIX
4 of 28 images have issues
Critical::
4 image(s) missing alt attribute
Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers.
Critical::
4 image-in-link without alt text
An image inside a link with no alt creates an empty link.
Info::
24 image(s) with good alt text
28 images 24 good alt text 4 missing
IssueCount
missing4 image(s)

Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers.

Why this matters

Each image without alt text is a WCAG 1.1.1 failure — invisible to screen-reader users, lost from Google Image Search.

Learn more ▾

WCAG 2.1 Level A requires text alternatives for non-decorative images. Empty alt='' is fine for decorative; meaningful images need descriptive text. Common fixes: CMS audit + bulk add, build-time linter (alt-text-required ESLint rule), CI gate on Lighthouse a11y score.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.1.1 / WebAIM Million Report

An image inside a link with no alt creates an empty link.

Why this matters

Image-only links with no alt create empty links — screen-reader users hear 'link' with no destination context.

Learn more ▾

An <a><img></a> with no img alt is the worst-case for accessibility: AT announces the link but can't describe where it goes. Either add alt to the image OR add aria-label to the link.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.4

F
404 Error Page
Action
HTTP 404, bare page
FIX
HTTP 404, bare page
Info::
Correct 404 status code returned
Got: HTTP 404
Warning::
Bare server default 404 page
The 404 page has no custom styling. Users hitting a broken link see a generic error with no way to navigate back. Add a custom 404 page with your site navigation and a search bar.
404 Page Quality Default 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Custom Styling ✗Navigation ✗Homepage Link ✗Search Form ✗
D
Web Manifest
Action
Not found
FIX
Not found
Info::
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.

D
Dark Mode Support
Action
No dark mode signals
FIX
No dark mode signals
Info::
No dark mode signals detected
Consider adding CSS with @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) and <meta name='color-scheme' content='light dark'>.
Info::
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.

D
Print Stylesheet
Action
No print styles
FIX
No print styles
Info::
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 ✗
F
Navigation UX
Action
1 navigation pattern(s)
FIX
1 navigation pattern(s)
Info::
Back-to-top link detected
Info::
7 navigation landmark(s) detected
Info::
No breadcrumbs, search, or skip link detected
These navigation aids help users orient themselves and find content efficiently, especially on large sites.
Breadcrumbs
Search
Skip Link
Labeled Navigation 7 <nav> element(s)
Back to Top
Hamburger Menu
Sticky Navigation Cannot reliably detect (CSS-based)
2 of 6 testable patterns navigation patterns detected. Limited navigation support. Consider adding breadcrumbs, search, and skip link.
B
Heading Hierarchy
34 headings, 2 skip(s)
REVIEW
34 headings, 2 skip(s)
Info::
Single H1 present
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H1 → H3 (missing H2)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H2 → H5 (missing H3)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
  • H1 We're here when you need us — for every care in the world.
  • H3 Our Providers skipped
  • H3 Locations & Directions
  • H3 Appointments
  • H2 Get Care
  • H2 Live Healthier
  • H2 Need Help?
  • H2 Why Choose Cleveland Clinic?
  • H3 Patient-centered care:
  • H3 National recognition:
  • H3 Collaborative providers:
  • H3 Innovation and research:
  • H2 Cleveland Clinic Care Near You
  • H3 Cleveland Clinic Locations in Ohio
  • H3 Cleveland Clinic Locations in Florida
  • H3 Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
  • H3 Cleveland Clinic Canada
  • H3 Cleveland Clinic London
  • H3 Cleveland Clinic Nevada
  • H3 International Patients
  • H2 For Providers
  • H3 Institutes & Departments
  • H3 Join Our Nursing Team
  • H3 Careers
  • H3 Refer a Patient
  • H3 ConsultQD
  • H3 Education
  • H3 Research
  • H3 View All Resources for Providers
  • H2 Cleveland Clinic News & More
  • H5 Actions skipped
  • H5 Blog, News & Apps
  • H5 About Cleveland Clinic
  • H5 Site Information & Policies

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

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

C
Favicon & Branding
Action
6 icon(s) detected
REVIEW
6 icon(s) detected
Warning::
No favicon.ico at site root
Some older browsers, bookmark tools, and RSS readers look for /favicon.ico. Add one as a fallback.
Info::
HTML icon links detected
Info::
Apple touch icon present
Info::
Multiple icon sizes detected
✗ favicon.ico Missing
✓ PNG Icons Present
✓ Apple Touch Present
✗ SVG Favicon Missing
✗ Manifest Icons Missing
✓ Multiple Sizes Present
B
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Score 84/100 — 5 failing, 24 passed
REVIEW
84

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

Some ARIA parent roles must contain specific child roles to perform their intended accessibility functions. Learn more about roles and required children elements.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Institutes & Departments Join Our Nursing Team Careers Refer a Patient ConsultQ… div.homepage-content > section#home-page_for-providers > div.content-block__section > div.content-block-faq-panel

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
Our Providers div.story-panel__card > div.story-panel__card-content > a.story-panel__title-link > h3.story-panel__title
Actions footer.footer > div.container > div.footer__item > h5.footer__title

These are opportunities to improve keyboard navigation in your application.

Names and labels

Informative elements should aim for short, descriptive alternate text. Decorative elements can be ignored with an empty alt attribute. Learn more about the `alt` attribute.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
div.homepage-content > section#aenterprise_home-page-care-near-you > a.story-panel__nav-button > img div.homepage-content > section#aenterprise_home-page-care-near-you > a.story-panel__nav-button > img

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.

Contrast

Low-contrast text is difficult or impossible for many users to read. Link text that is discernible improves the experience for users with low vision. Learn how to make links distinguishable.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
800.223.2273 div.container > div.l-1col > div.footer__text > a

These are opportunities to improve the legibility of your content.

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 html

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-*]` attributes match their roles
●`[aria-hidden="true"]` is not present on the document `<body>`
●`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes
●`[role]`s are contained by their required parent element
●`[role]` values are valid
●`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values
●`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled
●Buttons have an accessible name
●`[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 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 have a discernible name
●Lists contain only `<li>` elements and script supporting elements (`<script>` and `<template>`).
●List items (`<li>`) are contained within `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` parent elements
●No element has a `[tabindex]` value greater than 0
●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-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents
○ARIA input fields have accessible names
○ARIA `meter` elements have accessible names
○ARIA `progressbar` elements have accessible names
○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
○`<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
○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.
○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.
A+
Form Accessibility
No form controls
PASS
No form controls
Info::
No form controls on this page
No form controls found.
A+
Color Contrast (Screenshot)
20 text elements analyzed, 0 fail WCAG AA
PASS

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

20 pass
Show all checked elements (20)
ElementRatioRequiredFGBGResult
h1 We're here when you …21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Get Care21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Live Healthier21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Need Help?21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Why Choose Cleveland…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Cleveland Clinic Car…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 For Providers21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Cleveland Clinic21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Our Providers21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Locations & Directio…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Appointments21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Patient-centered car…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 National recognition…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Collaborative provid…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Innovation and resea…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Cleveland Clinic Loc…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Cleveland Clinic Loc…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Cleveland Clinic Abu…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Cleveland Clinic Can…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Cleveland Clinic Lon…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
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.

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

Send Feedback