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Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
73
GRADE
C
FIX
3
REVIEW
4
PASS
6
INFO
0
Checks
13
6 PASS 4 REVIEW 3 FIX
D
Dark Mode Support
Action
Theme color only
FIX
Theme color only
Info::
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: #ffffff
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 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.

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 ✗
D
Navigation UX
Action
2 navigation pattern(s)
FIX
2 navigation pattern(s)
Info::
Skip navigation link detected
Info::
Back-to-top link detected
Info::
7 navigation landmark(s) detected
Info::
Hamburger menu detected (responsive design)
Breadcrumbs
Search
Skip Link Skip link detected
Labeled Navigation 7 <nav> element(s)
Back to Top
Hamburger Menu
Sticky Navigation Cannot reliably detect (CSS-based)
4 of 6 testable patterns navigation patterns detected. Strong navigation UX with multiple discovery paths.
C
Favicon & Branding
Action
5 icon(s) detected
REVIEW
5 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 Present
✓ Multiple Sizes Present
B
Web Manifest
Valid manifest
REVIEW
Valid manifest
Info::
Name present: RPI
Info::
192x192 icon present
Info::
512x512 icon present
Info::
Display mode: standalone
PWA Install Criteria Not Installable
Name RPI ✓192×192 icon ✓512×512 icon ✓Start URL ✗Display Mode standalone ✓
Name RPI Display Mode standalone Theme Color #ffffff Background Color #ffffff Icons 2 icon(s)
C
Color Contrast (Screenshot)
Action
20 text elements analyzed, 6 fail WCAG AA
REVIEW

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

14 pass 6 fail WCAG AA
title Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) :…
3.88:1
#000000
on
#D6001C
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a Skip to main content
3.88:1
#000000
on
#D6001C
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a Apply
3.88:1
#000000
on
#D6001C
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a Visit
3.88:1
#000000
on
#D6001C
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a Give
3.88:1
#000000
on
#D6001C
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Students
1.61:1
#000000
on
#3C2E28
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold · over background image/gradient

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 Top 1021.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h1 70%+21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h1 $86k21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Main navigation5.74:13.0:1
#000000
#8F856C
Pass
h2 Welcome Home21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 News and Events21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Schools & Programs21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 RPI Connections21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Engage21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h2 Footer21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Starman Screening an…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 Meet the RPI Enginee…21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
h3 RPI Leaders Witness …21.00:13.0:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
title Rensselaer Polytechn…3.88:14.5:1
#000000
#D6001C
Fail
a Skip to main content3.88:14.5:1
#000000
#D6001C
Fail
a Apply3.88:14.5:1
#000000
#D6001C
Fail
a Visit3.88:14.5:1
#000000
#D6001C
Fail
a Give3.88:14.5:1
#000000
#D6001C
Fail
a Search21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
a Students1.61:14.5:1
#000000
#3C2E28
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
12 landmarks
PASS
12 landmarks
Info::
<main> landmark present
Info::
7 <nav> landmark(s) found
Warning::
2 of 7 <nav> elements are unlabeled
Multiple navigations need aria-label to distinguish them for screen readers.
Info::
Skip navigation link present
Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it
BANNER header NAV MAIN ASIDE CONTENTINFO footer

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

A
Heading Hierarchy
14 headings
PASS
14 headings
Warning::
Multiple H1 headings (4 found)
A page should have only one H1. Multiple H1s dilute the document outline.
  • H2 Main navigation
  • H2 Welcome Home
  • H1 #2
  • H1 Top 10 duplicate H1
  • H1 70%+ duplicate H1
  • H1 $86k duplicate H1
  • H2 News and Events
  • H3 Starman Screening and Director Q&A at EMPAC April 29
  • H3 Meet the RPI Engineers Guiding Artemis II to the Moon and Back
  • H3 RPI Leaders Witness Historic Artemis II Launch
  • H2 Schools & Programs
  • H2 RPI Connections
  • H2 Engage
  • H2 Footer

A page should have only one H1. Multiple H1s dilute the document outline.

Why this matters

Multiple H1s blur the page's primary topic — screen-reader users and Google both prefer one H1.

Learn more ▾

HTML5's outline algorithm technically allows multiple H1s within sectioning content, but no browser implements it. In practice: one H1 per page. Use H2-H6 for subsections.

Source: WCAG 2.4.6 / Google Search Central

A
Alt Text Quality
All 8 images OK
PASS
All 8 images OK
Info::
4 image(s) with alt text over 125 characters
Info::
4 image(s) with good alt text
8 images 4 good alt text
IssueCount
too long4 image(s)
A+
Form Accessibility
No form controls
PASS
No form controls
Info::
No form controls on this page
No form controls found.
A
404 Error Page
HTTP 404, custom page
PASS
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
Info::
Homepage link present on 404 page
Info::
Search form present on 404 page
404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title Page not found | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✓
A+
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Score 96/100 — 1 failing, 23 passed
PASS
96

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.

Best practices

Touch targets with sufficient size and spacing help users who may have difficulty targeting small controls to activate the targets. Learn more about touch targets.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Accessibility nav#block-rpi-footer > ul.nav > li.nav-item > a.nav-link
Student Consumer Information nav#block-rpi-footer > ul.nav > li.nav-item > a.nav-link
Title IX Policy nav#block-rpi-footer > ul.nav > li.nav-item > a.nav-link
Web Privacy Policy nav#block-rpi-footer > ul.nav > li.nav-item > a.nav-link

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]` 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
●`[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
●`<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
●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order
●Document has a main landmark.
●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used
●Identical links have the same purpose.
○`[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 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
○Form elements have associated labels
○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.
○Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements
○Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.
○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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