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 4 REVIEW 3 FIX

Landmark Structure

Action

No landmarks

FIX

No landmarks

No <main> landmark found

Screen reader users cannot quickly navigate to the primary content. Wrap your main content in <main>.

No <nav> landmark found

No banner (header) landmark

No contentinfo (footer) 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.

No landmarks detected

Screen reader users have no way to navigate by region.

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

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

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: #f0f4f7

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.

404 Error Page

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

Homepage link present on 404 page

404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page

Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title Page Not Found | Springer Nature ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✗

Favicon & Branding

7 icon(s) detected

REVIEW

7 icon(s) detected

favicon.ico present at site root

HTML icon links detected

Apple touch icon present

Multiple icon sizes detected

✓ favicon.ico Present

✓ PNG Icons Present

✓ Apple Touch Present

✗ SVG Favicon Missing

✓ Manifest Icons Present

✓ Multiple Sizes Present

Web Manifest

Valid manifest

REVIEW

Valid manifest

Name present: Springer Nature

192x192 icon present

512x512 icon present

Display mode: standalone

PWA Install Criteria Not Installable

Name Springer Nature ✓192×192 icon ✓512×512 icon ✓Start URL ✗Display Mode standalone ✓

Name Springer Nature Display Mode standalone Theme Color #f0f4f7 Icons 2 icon(s)

Color Contrast (Screenshot)

Action

20 text elements analyzed, 19 fail WCAG AA

REVIEW

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

1 pass 19 fail WCAG AA

h1 Be Part of Progress

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

32px · bottom of viewport · over background image/gradient

h1 Open Science

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

32px · bottom of viewport · over background image/gradient

h2 Search our content

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 License our content

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Publish with us

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Learn about Springer Nature

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Initiatives

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Partnerships

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Featured blog posts from "Springboard"

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Latest blog posts from "The Researcher´…

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Blog posts from "The Link"

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h2 Stay up to date

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

24px · bottom of viewport

h3 Women in Science

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Sustainable Development Goals

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Global Inclusion in Research Publishing

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 SDGs and the impact of open research

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 ORCID: Share your discoveries, receive r…

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 In Review: integrated preprint sharing

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

h3 Giving great research the attention it d…

1.56:1

#000000

#01324B

needs 3.0:1 (large text)

19px · bottom of viewport

2 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)

Element	Ratio	Required	FG	BG	Result
h1 Be Part of Progress	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h1 Open Science	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Your privacy, your c…	9.90:1	3.0:1	#000000	#B2B2B2	Pass
h2 Search our content	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 License our content	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Publish with us	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Learn about Springer…	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Initiatives	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Partnerships	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Featured blog posts …	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Latest blog posts fr…	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Blog posts from "The…	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h2 Stay up to date	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h3 Women in Science	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h3 Sustainable Developm…	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h3 Global Inclusion in …	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h3 SDGs and the impact …	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h3 ORCID: Share your di…	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h3 In Review: integrate…	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	Fail
h3 Giving great researc…	1.56:1	3.0:1	#000000	#01324B	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.

Heading Hierarchy

42 headings

PASS

42 headings

Multiple H1 headings (2 found)

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

H2 Your privacy, your choice
H1 Be Part of Progress
H2 Search our content
H2 License our content
H2 Publish with us
H2 Learn about Springer Nature
H1 Open Science duplicate H1
H2 Initiatives
H3 Women in Science
H3 Sustainable Development Goals
H3 Global Inclusion in Research Publishing
H2 Partnerships
H3 SDGs and the impact of open research
H3 ORCID: Share your discoveries, receive recognition
H3 In Review: integrated preprint sharing
H2 Featured blog posts from "Springboard"See all
H3 Giving great research the attention it deserves
H3 AI as the Accelerating Force of Scientific Progress
H3 Harnessing Technology to Strengthen Research Integrity
H2 Latest blog posts from "The Researcher´s Source"Startpage "Researcher´s Source"
H3 Demystifying the publishing process: What value do open access book publishers add? Part 2
H3 Perceptions of fairness and bias in the scholarly publishing ecosystem: Insights from a new report
H3 How to publish open access with BMC: Funding options explained
H3 Building trust through transparency: An open science conversation with Geir Kjetil Sandve
H2 Blog posts from "The Link"Startpage "The Link"
H3 A new wave of women redefining biopharma
H3 The publication-to-policy connection: Supporting the real-world impact of research
H3 Emerging librarian roles in supporting ethical and rigorous scholarship
H3 Empowering researchers through communication, mentorship and collaboration
H3 CINCEL libraries explore the opportunities and risks of AI in research support
H3 Empowering early career researchers through skills‑focused visibility training
H3 A decade of change: How the IMISCOE–Springer Nature partnership is shaping migration research
H3 Partnership promise in the East: China’s pharma sector and opportunities for global partnerships
H3 A short history of messenger RNA vaccines’ long road
H3 eBook collections: Charting 20 years of innovation and evolution
H3 Making open access work for you: Practical librarian insights
H3 Research integrity in the age of open access and AI: The view from France
H3 From evangelist to essential: A librarian’s eBook journey
H3 Nature Sensors supports sensing research across disciplines
H3 AI in research and publishing: What institutions need to know from KRAF 2025
H2 Stay up to date
H3 About us

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 31 images OK

PASS

All 31 images OK

31 image(s) with good alt text

31 images 31 good alt text

All images have appropriate alt text.

A+

Form Accessibility

All 1 controls labeled

PASS

All 1 controls labeled

1 control(s) properly labeled

1 controls

1 labeled

0 placeholder only

0 unlabeled

Control	Type	Label	Method
#queryString	search	search	aria-label

A+

Link & Button Quality

122 links, 7 buttons — all OK

PASS

122 links, 7 buttons — all OK

122 link(s) with descriptive text

122 links

0 empty

0 generic text

0 new tab

0 empty buttons

All links and buttons have descriptive accessible text.

129 links and buttons have descriptive text

A+

Print Stylesheet

Print styles detected

PASS

Print styles detected

External print stylesheet detected

Got: /app-sn/public/stylesheets/librarians/librarians-print.css?r=0.326.0

Print Stylesheet ✓ Print Optimized

Print stylesheet /app-sn/public/stylesheets/librarians/librarians-print.css?r=0.326.0 ✓Inline @media print Not detected ✗

A+

Lighthouse Accessibility Audits

Score 100/100 — 0 failing, 15 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>`

●`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values

●`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled

●Buttons have an accessible name

●`[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

●Links are distinguishable without relying on color.

●Links have a discernible name

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

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order

○`[accesskey]` values are unique

○`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names

○Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

○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

○`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes

○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

○`[role]` values are valid

○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

○Document has a `<title>` element

○ARIA IDs are unique

○No form fields have multiple labels

○`<frame>` or `<iframe>` elements have a title

○`<html>` element has a `[lang]` attribute

○`<html>` element has a valid value for its `[lang]` attribute

○`<html>` element has an `[xml:lang]` attribute with the same base language as the `[lang]` attribute.

○Image elements have `[alt]` attributes

○Input buttons have discernible text.

○`<input type="image">` elements have `[alt]` text

○Form elements have associated labels

○Lists contain only `<li>` elements and script supporting elements (`<script>` and `<template>`).

○List items (`<li>`) are contained within `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` parent elements

○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"]`

○Document has a main landmark.

○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.

○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.