Accessibility

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

SCORE

GRADE

FIX

REVIEW

PASS

INFO

Checks

8 PASS 2 REVIEW 3 FIX

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

Theme color only

FIX

Theme color only

Theme-color present but no dark variant

A theme-color is set but no dark-specific variant was found. The browser toolbar may not adapt for dark mode users.

Got: #010101

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 ModePartial Dark Mode

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

Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles.

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 GOV.UK ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✗Search Form ✗

Favicon & Branding

14 icon(s) detected

REVIEW

14 icon(s) detected

favicon.ico present at site root

HTML icon links detected

Apple touch icon present

Multiple icon sizes detected

✓ favicon.ico Present

✓ PNG Icons Present

✓ Apple Touch Present

✗ SVG Favicon Missing

✗ Manifest Icons Missing

✓ Multiple Sizes Present

A+

Landmark Structure

10 landmarks

PASS

10 landmarks

<main> landmark present

6 <nav> landmark(s) found

All <nav> elements are properly labeled

Skip navigation link present

Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it

A+

Heading Hierarchy

18 headings

PASS

18 headings

Single H1 present

H2 This website uses cookies
H1 The National Archives
H2 Stories from the collection
H2 On the Record Podcast
H2 15th century: houses at war
H2 More than 600 government files released under 20-year rule
H2 Exhibition to explore the making of America to feature rare Declaration of Independence
H2 Visit our reading rooms
H2 Our research & academic collaboration
H2 Archives sector
H2 Education
H2 Information management
H2 The National Archives
H3 Follow us on social media
H3 Quick links
H3 Other websites
H3 Sign up to our emails
H3 Legal information

A+

Alt Text Quality

All 6 images OK

PASS

All 6 images OK

3 decorative image(s) correctly marked

3 image(s) with good alt text

6 images 3 good alt text 3 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.

Link & Button Quality

1 issue(s) across 58 links and 5 buttons

PASS

1 issue(s) across 58 links and 5 buttons

1 link(s) with no accessible text

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

Got: a#top

1 link(s) open in new tab without warning

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

Got: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/DN07V0/?area=header&source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.n…

56 link(s) with descriptive text

58 links

1 empty

0 generic text

1 new tab

0 empty buttons

Element	Text	Issue	Suggested Fix
	(empty)	empty	Add link text or aria-label
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/DN07V0/?…	give your feedback (opens in n…	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text

61 links and buttons have descriptive text

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

a#top

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

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

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/DN07V0/?area=header&source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.n…

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

A+

Print Stylesheet

Print styles detected

PASS

Print styles detected

External print stylesheet detected

Got: /static/print.css?v=26.04.16.1630

Print Stylesheet ✓ Print Optimized

Print stylesheet /static/print.css?v=26.04.16.1630 ✓Inline @media print Not detected ✗

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)

Element	Ratio	Required	FG	BG	Result
h1 The National Archive…	16.24:1	3.0:1	#000000	#DDE5D5	Pass
h2 This website uses co…	19.09:1	3.0:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
h2 The National Archive…	16.24:1	3.0:1	#000000	#DDE5D5	Pass
h3 Follow us on social …	16.24:1	3.0:1	#000000	#DDE5D5	Pass
h3 Quick links	16.24:1	3.0:1	#000000	#DDE5D5	Pass
h3 Other websites	16.24:1	3.0:1	#000000	#DDE5D5	Pass
h3 Sign up to our email…	16.24:1	3.0:1	#000000	#DDE5D5	Pass
h3 Legal information	16.24:1	3.0:1	#000000	#DDE5D5	Pass
title Home - The National …	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
p We use some essentia…	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
p We'd also like to us…	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
button Accept cookies	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
button Reject cookies	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
a Set cookie preferenc…	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
p You have accepted op…	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
a cookies page	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
button Hide cookies message	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
p You have rejected op…	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
a cookies page	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	Pass
button Hide cookies message	19.09:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F4F4	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+

Lighthouse Accessibility Audits

Score 100/100 — 1 failing, 21 passed

PASS

100

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.

Visible text labels that do not match the accessible name can result in a confusing experience for screen reader users. Learn more about accessible names.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
X (formerly Twitter) `nav.tna-footer__social > ul.tna-ul > li.tna-footer__social-item > a.tna-footer__social-item-link`

○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>`

●`[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

●`[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

●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

●Document has a main landmark.

○`[accesskey]` values are unique

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

○Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

○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

○`[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

○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

○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.

○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.