Accessibility

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

SCORE

GRADE

FIX

REVIEW

PASS

INFO

Checks

11 PASS 3 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: #1d70b8

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.

Print Stylesheet

Action

No print styles

FIX

No print styles

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 ✗

Favicon & Branding

4 icon(s) detected

REVIEW

4 icon(s) detected

favicon.ico present at site root

HTML icon links detected

Apple touch icon present

SVG favicon detected — scales perfectly to any size

Multiple icon sizes detected

✓ favicon.ico Present

✓ PNG Icons Present

✓ Apple Touch Present

✓ SVG Favicon Present

✗ Manifest Icons Missing

✓ Multiple Sizes Present

Navigation UX

Action

2 navigation pattern(s)

REVIEW

2 navigation pattern(s)

Search functionality detected

Got: role-search

Skip navigation link detected

1 navigation landmark(s) detected

Hamburger menu detected (responsive design)

Breadcrumbs

Search role='search' landmark

Skip Link Skip link detected

Labeled Navigation 1 <nav> element(s)

Hamburger Menu

Sticky Navigation Cannot reliably detect (CSS-based)

4 of 6 testable patterns navigation patterns detected. Strong navigation UX with multiple discovery paths.

Color Contrast (Screenshot)

20 text elements analyzed, 0 fail WCAG AA

REVIEW

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

20 pass 15 pass AA only

Show all checked elements (20)

Element	Ratio	Required	FG	BG	Result
h2 Cookies on GOV.UK	19.67:1	3.0:1	#000000	#F4F8FB	Pass
h2 Navigation menu	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Popular on GOV.UK	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Services and informa…	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Featured	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Government activity	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 More on GOV.UK	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Is this page useful?	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Help us improve GOV.…	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Help us improve GOV.…	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Services and informa…	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Government activity	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h2 Support links	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h3 Services and informa…	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h3 Government activity	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
h3 Search	4.06:1	3.0:1	#000000	#1D70B8	Pass
title Welcome to GOV.UK	19.67:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F8FB	Pass
p We use some essentia…	19.67:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F8FB	Pass
p We’d like to set a…	19.67:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F8FB	Pass
p We also use cookies …	19.67:1	4.5:1	#000000	#F4F8FB	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+

Landmark Structure

7 landmarks

PASS

7 landmarks

<main> landmark present

1 <nav> landmark(s) found

Skip navigation link present

Search landmark present

Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it

A+

Heading Hierarchy

43 headings

PASS

43 headings

Single H1 present

H2 Cookies on GOV.UK
H2 Navigation menu
H3 Services and information
H3 Government activity
H3 Search
H1 The best place to find government services and information
H2 Popular on GOV.UK
H2 Services and information
H3 Benefits
H3 Births, deaths, marriages and care
H3 Business and self-employed
H3 Childcare and parenting
H3 Citizenship and living in the UK
H3 Crime, justice and the law
H3 Disabled people
H3 Driving and transport
H3 Education and learning
H3 Employing people
H3 Environment and countryside
H3 Housing and local services
H3 Money and tax
H3 Passports, travel and living abroad
H3 Visas and immigration
H3 Working, jobs and pensions
H2 Featured
H3 Middle East travel advice
H3 Bring photo ID to vote
H3 Find a job
H3 Get the GOV.UK app
H2 Government activity
H3 Departments
H3 News
H3 Guidance and regulation
H3 Research and statistics
H3 Policy papers and consultations
H3 Transparency documents
H2 More on GOV.UK
H2 Is this page useful?
H2 Help us improve GOV.UK
H2 Help us improve GOV.UK
H2 Services and information
H2 Government activity
H2 Support links

A+

Alt Text Quality

All 4 images OK

PASS

All 4 images OK

4 decorative image(s) correctly marked

4 images 4 decorative

All images have appropriate alt text.

A+

Form Accessibility

All 4 controls labeled

PASS

All 4 controls labeled

4 control(s) properly labeled

4 controls

4 labeled

0 placeholder only

0 unlabeled

Control	Type	Label	Method
#search-main-815ae6cd	search	Search GOV.UK	for/id
#search-main-730940f7	search	Search	for/id
#textarea-cda2295f	textarea	What were you doing?	for/id
#textarea-19fea6ab	textarea	What went wrong?	for/id

A+

Link & Button Quality

107 links, 13 buttons — all OK

PASS

107 links, 13 buttons — all OK

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/gov-uk-banner/?c=/

106 link(s) with descriptive text

107 links

0 empty

0 generic text

1 new tab

0 empty buttons

Element	Text	Issue	Suggested Fix
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/gov-uk-b…	Please fill in this survey (op…	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text

119 links and buttons have descriptive text

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

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/gov-uk-banner/?c=/

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+

Form Input Types

4 form control(s) checked, no type mismatches

PASS

4 form control(s) checked, no type mismatches

No input-type mismatches detected

A+

Document Language

Lang attribute set to "en"

PASS

Lang attribute set to "en"

<html lang="en"> is set and valid

Got: en

A+

Tabindex Anti-Patterns

0 positive, 1 -1-on-focusable

PASS

0 positive, 1 -1-on-focusable

tabindex="-1" on naturally-focusable <input id="giraffe">

tabindex="-1" removes an element from the keyboard tab order. Naturally-focusable elements (links, buttons, form controls) become unreachable for keyboard users. (Common false-positive: hidden honeypot fields. Verify the element is genuinely interactive before removing the tabindex.)

A+

Iframe Accessibility

No iframes on this page

PASS

No iframes on this page

404 Error Page

HTTP 404, custom page

PASS

HTTP 404, custom page

Correct 404 status code returned

Got: HTTP 404

Custom styled 404 page

Navigation links present on 404 page

Homepage link present on 404 page

Search form 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 ✓

A+

Lighthouse Accessibility Audits

Score 100/100 — 0 failing, 28 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 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

●No element has a `[tabindex]` value greater than 0

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●`[lang]` attributes have a valid value

●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order

●Document has a main landmark.

●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

●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 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

○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.

○`<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.