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Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
61
GRADE
D
FIX
5
REVIEW
4
PASS
4
INFO
0
Checks
13
4 PASS 4 REVIEW 5 FIX
D
Landmark Structure
Action
6 landmarks
FIX
6 landmarks
Critical::
No <main> landmark found
Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to the primary content. Wrap your main content in <main>.
Info::
2 <nav> landmark(s) found
Warning::
2 of 2 <nav> elements are unlabeled
Multiple navigations need aria-label to distinguish them for screen readers.
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.
Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it
BANNER header NAV MAIN (missing!) CONTENTINFO footer

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

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

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
Web Manifest
Action
Valid manifest
FIX
Valid manifest
Warning::
No name or short_name
Add a name field to identify the app.
Warning::
No 192x192 icon
A 192px icon is required for PWA installation.
Info::
Display mode: standalone
PWA Install Criteria Not Installable
Name ✗192×192 icon ✗512×512 icon ✗Start URL ✗Display Mode standalone ✓
Display Mode standalone Theme Color #ffffff Background Color #ffffff Icons 1 icon(s)
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: #0f3850
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 ✗
F
Navigation UX
Action
No navigation patterns
FIX
No navigation patterns
Info::
2 navigation landmark(s) detected
Info::
Hamburger menu detected (responsive design)
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 2 <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.
B
Heading Hierarchy
31 headings
REVIEW
31 headings
Critical::
No H1 heading found
Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.
  • H3 Slang & Trending Words
  • H3 A New Kind of Picture Puzzle Game
  • H3 12 Moon Words For A Lunar Travelogue
  • H3 Games & Quizzes
  • H3 Word of the Day
  • H2 Grammar & Usage
  • H3 Words Commonly Mispronounced
  • H3 31 Useful Rhetorical Devices
  • H3 How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
  • H3 'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
  • H2 Games & Quizzes
  • H2 Wordplay
  • H3 9 Other Words for Beautiful
  • H3 Putting Adjectives in the Right Order
  • H3 'When Pigs Fly' and Other Barnyard Idioms
  • H3 Why Jaywalking is Called Jaywalking
  • H2 Time Traveler
  • H2 Videos
  • H2 Videos
  • H3 Video: Why is there a 'c' in 'indict'?
  • H3 'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?
  • H3 How to Remember the Spelling of 'Definitely'
  • H3 Word Choices: A New Video Series from Merriam-Webster
  • H3 Apps
  • H3 Podcast
  • H3 Shop
  • H4 Books
  • H4 Merch
  • H2 Browse the Dictionary
  • H2 Browse the Thesaurus
  • H2 Browse Example Sentences

Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.

Why this matters

No H1 means screen-reader users can't identify the page's primary topic, and Google's content-extraction degrades.

Learn more ▾

The H1 is the document title for assistive tech and a strong signal to search engines about page topic. Pages without one force screen readers to fall back to the <title> attribute or page chrome. Add a single H1 that names the page's primary subject.

Source: WCAG 2.4.6 / Google Search Central

B
Form Accessibility
2 of 7 controls have issues
REVIEW
2 of 7 controls have issues
Critical::
2 control(s) without accessible label
Form controls need a <label>, aria-label, or aria-labelledby for screen readers.
Got: <input type="submit" name="wod-submit" id="button-addon2">; <input type="submit" name="submit">
Info::
5 control(s) properly labeled
7 controls
5 labeled
0 placeholder only
2 unlabeled
ControlTypeLabelMethod
#search-termsearchSearcharia-label
#home-search-termsearchSearcharia-label
wod-subscribetextword of the day email subscribearia-label
emailtextSign up for Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day newsletteraria-label
submitsubmitSubscribearia-label
#button-addon2submit(none)none
submitsubmit(none)none

Form controls need a <label>, aria-label, or aria-labelledby for screen readers.

<input type="submit" name="wod-submit" id="button-addon2">; <input type="submit" name="submit">

Why this matters

Form controls without labels — assistive tech announces 'edit text' with no context; users can't complete forms.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 3.3.2

B
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Score 88/100 — 4 failing, 28 passed
REVIEW
88

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.

Names and labels

When a button doesn't have an accessible name, screen readers announce it as "button", making it unusable for users who rely on screen readers. Learn how to make buttons more accessible.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
div.fixed > button.absolute div.fixed > button.absolute

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.

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
brazen div.lazyload-container > div.wotd-home-promo-image-content-overlay > div.wotd-home-promo-header > div.d-inline-block
Definition, examples, & podcast div.wotd-home-promo-image-content-overlay > div.d-flex > div.wotd-home-promo-sub-header > span
Sign up for Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day newsletter div.footer-mast-content > div.footer-subscribe-block > form.footer-subscribe > input.footer-subscribe-field
Update Privacy Preferences body.main-body > div.adthrive-comscore > div.adthrive-privacy-preferences > a

These are opportunities to improve the legibility of your content.

Navigation

Properly ordered headings that do not skip levels convey the semantic structure of the page, making it easier to navigate and understand when using assistive technologies. Learn more about heading order.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Slang & Trending Words div.header-card-img-overlay > a.d-flex > div.hero-item-promo-info-block > h3.teaser-title

These are opportunities to improve keyboard navigation in your application.

Tables and lists

Screen readers have a specific way of announcing lists. Ensuring proper list structure aids screen reader output. Learn more about proper list structure.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
nav.home-navbar > div.home-navigation-container > div.home-navigation > ul.home-navigation-links nav.home-navbar > div.home-navigation-container > div.home-navigation > ul.home-navigation-links

These are opportunities to improve the experience of reading tabular or list data using assistive technology, like a screen reader.

○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
●Image elements have `[alt]` attributes
●Input buttons have discernible text.
●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.
●`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names
●ARIA attributes are used as specified for the element's role
●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
●Elements use only permitted ARIA attributes
●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
●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
●Document has a main landmark.
●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used
●Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.
●Identical links have the same purpose.
○`[accesskey]` values are unique
○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 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.
○`<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
○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.
A+
Alt Text Quality
All 18 images OK
PASS
All 18 images OK
Info::
3 decorative image(s) correctly marked
Info::
15 image(s) with good alt text
18 images 15 good alt text 3 decorative
All images have appropriate alt text.
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 Merriam-Webster Logo ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✓
A
Favicon & Branding
7 icon(s) detected
PASS
7 icon(s) detected
Info::
favicon.ico present at site root
Info::
HTML icon links detected
Info::
Apple touch icon present
Info::
SVG favicon detected — scales perfectly to any size
Info::
Multiple icon sizes detected
✓ favicon.ico Present
✓ PNG Icons Present
✓ Apple Touch Present
✓ SVG Favicon Present
✓ Manifest Icons Present
✓ Multiple Sizes Present
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)
ElementRatioRequiredFGBGResult
h2 Grammar & Usage20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Games & Quizzes20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Wordplay20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Time Traveler20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Videos20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Videos20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Browse the Dictionar…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Browse the Thesaurus20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h2 Browse Example Sente…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 Slang & Trending Wor…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 A New Kind of Pictur…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 12 Moon Words For A …20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 Games & Quizzes20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 Word of the Day20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 Words Commonly Mispr…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 31 Useful Rhetorical…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 How to Use Em Dashes…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 'Affect' vs. 'Effect…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 9 Other Words for Be…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
Pass
h3 Putting Adjectives i…20.65:13.0:1
#000000
#FDFDFD
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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