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Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
58
GRADE
D
FIX
7
REVIEW
1
PASS
5
INFO
0
Checks
13
5 PASS 1 REVIEW 7 FIX
D
Landmark Structure
Action
No landmarks
FIX
No landmarks
Critical::
No <main> landmark found
Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to the primary content. Wrap your main content in <main>.
Warning::
No <nav> landmark found
Info::
No banner (header) landmark
Info::
No contentinfo (footer) landmark
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.

No landmarks detected

Screen reader users have no way to navigate by region.

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

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
Favicon & Branding
Action
1 icon(s) detected
FIX
1 icon(s) detected
Info::
favicon.ico present at site root
Info::
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 Present
✗ PNG Icons Missing
✗ Apple Touch Missing
✗ SVG Favicon Missing
✗ Manifest Icons Missing
✗ Multiple Sizes Missing
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
No navigation patterns
FIX
No navigation patterns
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
Back to Top
Hamburger Menu
Sticky Navigation Cannot reliably detect (CSS-based)
0 of 6 testable patterns navigation patterns detected. Limited navigation support. Consider adding breadcrumbs, search, and skip link.
D
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Action
Score 66/100 — 5 failing, 8 passed
FIX
66

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.

Contrast

Low-contrast text is difficult or impossible for many users to read. Learn how to provide sufficient color contrast.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
SUBSCRIBE div.nieman-footer-deck1-right > ul > li > a
TWITTER div.nieman-footer-deck1-right > ul > li > a
FACEBOOK div.nieman-footer-deck1-right > ul > li > a
RSS div.nieman-footer-deck1-right > ul > li > a
ABOUT div.nieman-footer-deck1-right > ul > li > a
CONTACT div.nieman-footer-deck1-right > ul > li > a
ARCHIVES div.nieman-footer-deck1-right > ul > li > a
Walter Lippmann House      One Francis Ave.      Cambridge, MA 02138      617 4… body > div.nieman-footer > div.nieman-footer-deck-red > div.nieman-footer-deck5

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
by making a donation body > div.nieman-footer > div.nieman-footer-deck2 > a

These are opportunities to improve the legibility of your content.

Internationalization and localization

If a page doesn't specify a `lang` attribute, a screen reader assumes that the page is in the default language that the user chose when setting up the screen reader. If the page isn't actually in the default language, then the screen reader might not announce the page's text correctly. Learn more about the `lang` attribute.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
html html

These are opportunities to improve the interpretation of your content by users in different locales.

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
div.simple-siteheader > div.simple-siteheader-inner > div.simple-siteheadermobile-menubutton > a#simple-siteheadermobile-menubutton-trigger div.simple-siteheader > div.simple-siteheader-inner > div.simple-siteheadermobile-menubutton > a#simple-siteheadermobile-menubutton-trigger

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.

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-hidden="true"]` is not present on the document `<body>`
●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.
●Document has a `<title>` element
●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
○`[accesskey]` values are unique
○`[aria-*]` attributes match their roles
○`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names
○ARIA attributes are used as specified for the element's role
○Deprecated ARIA roles were not used
○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 use only permitted ARIA attributes
○`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes
○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
○`[role]` values are valid
○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
○`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values
○`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled
○Buttons have an accessible name
○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 a valid value for its `[lang]` attribute
○`<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.
○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.
○Identical links have the same purpose.
○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.
B
404 Error Page
HTTP 404, custom page
REVIEW
HTTP 404, custom page
Info::
Correct 404 status code returned
Got: HTTP 404
Info::
Custom styled 404 page
Info::
Navigation links present on 404 page
404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title Page not found | Nieman Journalism Lab ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✗Search Form ✗
A+
Heading Hierarchy
4 headings
PASS
4 headings
Info::
Single H1 present
  • H1 Sorry, you have been blocked
  • H2 You are unable to access niemanlab.org
  • H2 Why have I been blocked?
  • H2 What can I do to resolve this?
A+
Alt Text Quality
No images
PASS
No images
Info::
No images on this page
No images on this page.
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)
18 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.

18 pass
Show all checked elements (18)
ElementRatioRequiredFGBGResult
h1 Sorry, you have been…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 niemanlab.org21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Why have I been bloc…19.43:13.0:1
#000000
#F6F6F6
Pass
h2 What can I do to res…17.62:13.0:1
#000000
#EBEBEB
Pass
title Attention Required! …21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
div Please enable cookie…21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
span You are unable to ac…21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
p This website is usin…17.62:14.5:1
#000000
#EBEBEB
Pass
p You can email the si…17.62:14.5:1
#000000
#EBEBEB
Pass
span Cloudflare Ray ID:17.62:14.5:1
#000000
#EBEBEB
Pass
strong 9f08697b194972a717.62:13.0:1
#000000
#EBEBEB
Pass
span •18.76:14.5:1
#000000
#F2F2F2
Pass
span Your IP:21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
button Click to reveal21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
span 2a03:90c0:177::6921.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
span •21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
span Performance & securi…21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
a Cloudflare21.00:14.5:1
#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.

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