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https://mass.gov

Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
66
GRADE
D
FIX
5
REVIEW
2
PASS
6
INFO
0
Checks
13
6 PASS 2 REVIEW 5 FIX
F
404 Error Page
Action
HTTP 403, custom page
FIX
HTTP 403, custom page
Warning::
Unexpected status code: HTTP 403
Expected HTTP 404 but received 403. This may confuse search engine crawlers.
Got: HTTP 403
Info::
Custom styled 404 page
Info::
Search form present on 404 page
404 Page Quality Custom 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 403 Page Title Not allowed | Mass Gov 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::
Skip navigation link detected
Info::
3 navigation landmark(s) detected
Breadcrumbs
Search
Skip Link Skip link detected
Labeled Navigation 3 <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.
C
Favicon & Branding
Action
21 icon(s) detected
REVIEW
21 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
C
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
h1 Welcome to Massachusetts
1.46:1
#000000
on
#2B2A25
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
32px · bottom of viewport
h2 Popular searches
1.46:1
#000000
on
#2B2A25
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
24px · bottom of viewport
h2 Featured
1.46:1
#000000
on
#2B2A25
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
24px · bottom of viewport
h2 News & updates
1.46:1
#000000
on
#2B2A25
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
24px · bottom of viewport
span Here's how you know
3.73:1
#000000
on
#2A726D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area) · over background image/gradient
p Official websites use .mass.gov
2.73:1
#000000
on
#14558F
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
p A .mass.gov website belongs to an offici…
1.57:1
#000000
on
#283222
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
p Secure websites use HTTPS certificate
1.95:1
#000000
on
#36412E
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
p A lock icon
1.71:1
#000000
on
#2D3826
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
p or https:// means you've safely connecte…
1.51:1
#000000
on
#2A2E24
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Skip to main content
1.34:1
#000000
on
#22241E
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
span Mass.gov
1.48:1
#000000
on
#292C25
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
span Menu
1.37:1
#000000
on
#242621
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
span Close
1.65:1
#000000
on
#2C352A
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
span menu
1.66:1
#000000
on
#2C3626
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
span Access to search
1.52:1
#000000
on
#25301F
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · mid-page
span State Organizations
1.86:1
#000000
on
#333E2B
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · mid-page
span Mass.gov
1.63:1
#000000
on
#2A3523
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · mid-page

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)
ElementRatioRequiredFGBGResult
h1 Welcome to Massachus…1.46:13.0:1
#000000
#2B2A25
Fail
h2 Popular searches1.46:13.0:1
#000000
#2B2A25
Fail
h2 Featured1.46:13.0:1
#000000
#2B2A25
Fail
h2 News & updates1.46:13.0:1
#000000
#2B2A25
Fail
title Mass.gov19.09:14.5:1
#000000
#F4F4F4
Pass
span An official website …8.56:14.5:1
#000000
#7EB09A
Pass
span Here's how you know3.73:14.5:1
#000000
#2A726D
Fail
p Official websites us…2.73:14.5:1
#000000
#14558F
Fail
p A .mass.gov website …1.57:14.5:1
#000000
#283222
Fail
p Secure websites use …1.95:14.5:1
#000000
#36412E
Fail
p A lock icon1.71:14.5:1
#000000
#2D3826
Fail
p or https:// means yo…1.51:14.5:1
#000000
#2A2E24
Fail
a Skip to main content1.34:14.5:1
#000000
#22241E
Fail
span Mass.gov1.48:14.5:1
#000000
#292C25
Fail
span Menu1.37:14.5:1
#000000
#242621
Fail
span Close1.65:14.5:1
#000000
#2C352A
Fail
span menu1.66:14.5:1
#000000
#2C3626
Fail
span Access to search1.52:14.5:1
#000000
#25301F
Fail
span State Organizations1.86:14.5:1
#000000
#333E2B
Fail
span Mass.gov1.63:14.5:1
#000000
#2A3523
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+
Landmark Structure
7 landmarks
PASS
7 landmarks
Info::
<main> landmark present
Info::
3 <nav> landmark(s) found
Info::
All <nav> elements are properly labeled
Info::
Skip navigation link present
Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it
BANNER header NAV "main navigation" MAIN CONTENTINFO footer
A+
Heading Hierarchy
8 headings
PASS
8 headings
Info::
Single H1 present
  • H1 Welcome to Massachusetts
  • H2 Popular searches
  • H2 Featured
  • H2 News & updates
  • H3 Spring trout stocking
  • H3 DCR state park camping
  • H3 Check your tax refund
  • H4 Follow Us on Social Media:
A+
Alt Text Quality
All 10 images OK
PASS
All 10 images OK
Info::
3 decorative image(s) correctly marked
Info::
7 image(s) with good alt text
10 images 7 good alt text 3 decorative
All images have appropriate alt text.
A+
Form Accessibility
All 2 controls labeled
PASS
All 2 controls labeled
Info::
2 control(s) properly labeled
2 controls
2 labeled
0 placeholder only
0 unlabeled
ControlTypeLabelMethod
#header-searchsearchSearch termsfor/id
#banner-searchsearchsearch the sitearia-label
A+
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Score 100/100 — 0 failing, 26 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.

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
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 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.
Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order
Document has a main landmark.
Deprecated ARIA roles were not used
Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements
`[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
Links are distinguishable without relying on color.
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.
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.
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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