Accessibility

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

SCORE

GRADE

FIX

REVIEW

PASS

INFO

Checks

6 PASS 2 REVIEW 5 FIX

Favicon & Branding

Action

1 icon(s) detected

FIX

1 icon(s) detected

No favicon.ico at site root

Some older browsers, bookmark tools, and RSS readers look for /favicon.ico. Add one as a fallback.

HTML icon links detected

No apple-touch-icon detected

iOS devices use this when users add your site to their home screen. Add <link rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='180x180' href='/apple-touch-icon.png'>.

✗ favicon.ico Missing

✓ PNG Icons Present

✗ Apple Touch Missing

✗ SVG Favicon Missing

✗ Manifest Icons Missing

✗ Multiple Sizes Missing

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

No dark mode signals

FIX

No dark mode signals

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 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.

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 ✗

Navigation UX

Action

No navigation patterns

FIX

No navigation patterns

1 navigation landmark(s) detected

Hamburger menu detected (responsive design)

No breadcrumbs, search, or skip link detected

These navigation aids help users orient themselves and find content efficiently, especially on large sites.

Breadcrumbs

Skip Link

Labeled Navigation 1 <nav> element(s)

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.

Landmark Structure

6 landmarks

REVIEW

6 landmarks

<main> landmark present

1 <nav> landmark(s) found

No banner (header) landmark

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

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

404 Error Page

Action

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 ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✗Search Form ✗

Heading Hierarchy

18 headings, 1 skip(s)

PASS

18 headings, 1 skip(s)

Single H1 present

Heading level skipped: H2 → H4 (missing H3)

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.

H1 50 years of investor success doesn’t happen by chance.
H2 On a Mission
H2 Investor-Focused
H2 High-Performance. Low Cost.
H4 Our Company skipped
H5 Introduces Vanguard and features our expert research and commentary.
H5 The latest Vanguard news, announcements, and more.
H5 Interested in joining us? Learn more about our openings.
H5 Find the right way to get in touch with us quickly.
H5 Learn more about our charitable giving, blog, and more.
H4 Our Sites
H5 For IRAs, college plans, or plans from past jobs.
H5 For investors using an employer's retirement plan.
H5 For sponsors, consultants, and representatives.
H5 For broker-dealers, advisors, and brokerage professionals.
H5 Introduces Vanguard and features our expert research and commentary.
H5 Access our Vanguard sites from around the world.
H2 Important Information

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.

Why this matters

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline — screen-reader users lose track of section nesting.

Learn more ▾

Screen reader users navigate by jumping between headings (H1 → H2 → H3). Skipping (H1 → H3) breaks the sense of hierarchy. Use sequential levels even if you don't like the default styling — restyle with CSS instead. WCAG 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) treats this as an A failure.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 / W3C WAI

A+

Alt Text Quality

All 1 images OK

PASS

All 1 images OK

1 image(s) with good alt text

1 images 1 good alt text

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.

A+

Link & Button Quality

39 links, 2 buttons — all OK

PASS

39 links, 2 buttons — all OK

39 link(s) with descriptive text

39 links

0 empty

0 generic text

0 new tab

0 empty buttons

All links and buttons have descriptive accessible text.

41 links and buttons have descriptive text

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
title Mutual funds, IRAs, …	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
span Our Sites	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
span Close	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Personal investors	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Retirement plan part…	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Plan sponsors & cons…	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Financial advisors	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Company information …	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Global sites	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a My Plan Manager™	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Institutional Tradin…	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Pressroom	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Career opportunities	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Vanguard Charitable	11.92:1	4.5:1	#000000	#B1C7CD	Pass
a Contact Us	11.80:1	4.5:1	#000000	#B0C6CC	Pass
span Personal investors	11.67:1	4.5:1	#000000	#AEC5CD	Pass
span Retirement plan part…	11.54:1	4.5:1	#000000	#ADC4CC	Pass
span Plan sponsors & cons…	11.20:1	4.5:1	#000000	#ABC1C9	Pass
span Financial profession…	10.88:1	4.5:1	#000000	#A9BEC7	Pass
span Company information …	10.79:1	4.5:1	#000000	#A9BDC7	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 — 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

●`[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.

●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

○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.

○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.