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Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
54
GRADE
F
FIX
6
REVIEW
3
PASS
4
INFO
0
Checks
13
4 PASS 3 REVIEW 6 FIX
D
Landmark Structure
Action
7 landmarks
FIX
7 landmarks
Critical::
No <main> landmark found
Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to the primary content. Wrap your main content in <main>.
Info::
3 <nav> landmark(s) found
Warning::
2 of 3 <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 "Health Topics" 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
Favicon & Branding
Action
1 icon(s) detected
FIX
1 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::
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
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::
Back-to-top link detected
Info::
3 navigation landmark(s) detected
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 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
Heading Hierarchy
Action
23 headings, 1 skip(s)
REVIEW
23 headings, 1 skip(s)
Critical::
No H1 heading found
Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H2 → H4 (missing H3)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
  • H2 Vitamin A and Thyroid Hormone Are Crucial for Good Eyesight
  • H2 How's Your Pancreas? Subtle Signs of Problems You Should Not Ignore
  • H2 What Frequent Urination Means for Your Health and How to Address It Naturally
  • H2 More Top Stories
  • H2 Melatonin — the Missing Link Between Sleep Deprivation and Immune Dysregulation
  • H2 Where Your Body Stores Fat Matters More for Cardiovascular Aging Than BMI
  • H2 Venting Makes Anger Worse — To Quell Anger, Do This Instead
  • H2 Hot Topic
  • H2 Discover the Gut-Made Molecule Powering Your Immune Defense
  • H2 Breaking News
  • H2 What Your Bathroom Routine Could Be Revealing About Your Health
  • H2 This Everyday Fruit May Be Quietly Influencing Your Liver
  • H2 Mercola Featured on FOX 13 Seattle Segment
  • H2 Trending Articles
  • H2 The Nightmare Switch That Could Ruin Your Future
  • H2 2 Sneaky but Popular Substances Making Us Sicker Than Ever
  • H2 The Gut Molecule Quietly Powering Your Immune System
  • H2 Staunch Predictors of Autism - Don't Ignore
  • H2 The 75-Milligram Secret That Outsmarts Rogue Cells
  • H2 You Need This to Thrive, yet Over 34% of Americans Go Without
  • H2 Most Searched
  • H4 Charities & Organizations skipped
  • H4 More About Mercola.com

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

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

B
Form Accessibility
2 of 6 controls have issues
REVIEW
2 of 6 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="text" name="ctl00$plcMain$HeroOptin$txtEmailAddress" id="ctl00_plcMain_HeroOptin_txtEmailAddress">; <input type="submit" name="ctl00$plcMain$HeroOptin$btnSubscribe" id="ctl00_plcMain_HeroOptin_btnSubscribe">
Info::
4 control(s) properly labeled
6 controls
4 labeled
0 placeholder only
2 unlabeled
ControlTypeLabelMethod
#ctl00_NLSubscriptionTop_txtEmailAddresstextemailaria-label
radiocheckboxnone
radiocheckboxnone
#ctl00_NLSubscriptionBottom_txtEmailAddresstextemailaria-label
#ctl00_plcMain_HeroOptin_btnSubscribesubmit(none)none
#ctl00_plcMain_HeroOptin_txtEmailAddresstext(none)none

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

<input type="text" name="ctl00$plcMain$HeroOptin$txtEmailAddress" id="ctl00_plcMain_HeroOptin_txtEmailAddress">; <input type="submit" name="ctl00$plcMain$HeroOptin$btnSubscribe" id="ctl00_plcMain_HeroOptin_btnSubscribe">

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
404 Error Page
HTTP 404, custom page
REVIEW
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
404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title Mercola.com - #1 Natural Health Website ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✗Search Form ✗
A+
Alt Text Quality
All 64 images OK
PASS
All 64 images OK
Info::
64 image(s) with good alt text
64 images 64 good alt text
All images have appropriate alt 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)
ElementRatioRequiredFGBGResult
h2 Vitamin A and Thyroi…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 How's Your Pancreas?…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 What Frequent Urinat…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Melatonin — the Mi…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Where Your Body Stor…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Venting Makes Anger …18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Hot Topic18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Discover the Gut-Mad…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Breaking News18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 What Your Bathroom R…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 This Everyday Fruit …18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Mercola Featured on …18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Trending Articles18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 The Nightmare Switch…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 2 Sneaky but Popular…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 The Gut Molecule Qui…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Staunch Predictors o…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 The 75-Milligram Sec…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 You Need This to Thr…18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
Pass
h2 Most Searched18.72:13.0:1
#000000
#F1F2F2
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 90/100 — 5 failing, 24 passed
PASS
90

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.

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
As featured on TV and Publications: div.max-width > div.content-wrapper > div.featured-new > p.featured-new-text

Low-contrast text is difficult or impossible for many users to read. Link text that is discernible improves the experience for users with low vision. Learn how to make links distinguishable.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
click here section.footer > div.max-width > p > 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
Charities & Organizations div.max-width > div.footer-links-mob > div#accordion > h4.accordion-title

These are opportunities to improve keyboard navigation in your application.

Best practices

One main landmark helps screen reader users navigate a web page. Learn more about landmarks.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
html.js html.js

These items highlight common accessibility best practices.

Visible text labels that do not match the accessible name can result in a confusing experience for screen reader users. Learn more about accessible names.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
SUBSCRIBE (Free) div.max-width > div.subscription-form > div.subscription-button > a#ctl00_NLSubscriptionBottom_btnSubscribe
○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
●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
●`[aria-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents
●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
●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.
●`<html>` element has an `[xml:lang]` attribute with the same base language as the `[lang]` attribute.
●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used
●Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.
○`[accesskey]` values are unique
○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
○Buttons have an accessible name
○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
○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.
○`[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
○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.

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