Accessibility

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

SCORE

GRADE

FIX

REVIEW

PASS

INFO

Checks

3 PASS 6 REVIEW 4 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

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 ✗

Landmark Structure

3 landmarks

REVIEW

3 landmarks

No <main> landmark found

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

1 <nav> landmark(s) found

Skip navigation link present

Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it

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

Heading Hierarchy

10 headings, 2 skip(s)

REVIEW

10 headings, 2 skip(s)

Single H1 present

Heading level skipped: H1 → H3 (missing H2)

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

Heading level skipped: H2 → H4 (missing H3)

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

H1 The world's most popular app to record and edit audio
H3 How we're building Audacity 4 skipped
H3 Overtune
H2 All you need to create
H2 Level up your Audacity
H2 New from our blog
H4 OpenVINO AI Plugins are now available for macOS skipped
H4 Audacity turns 25 years old!
H4 Audacity 3.7
H2 Popular in the FAQ

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

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 ▾

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 / W3C WAI

Link & Button Quality

1 issue(s) across 49 links and 2 buttons

REVIEW

1 issue(s) across 49 links and 2 buttons

1 link(s) with generic text

Generic link text like 'click here' doesn't describe the destination.

Got: https://audio.com/audacity/auth/sign-in?mtm_campaign=audacityteamorg&utm_cont… ("Continue")

15 link(s) open in new tab without warning

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

Got: https://support.audacityteam.org; https://forum.audacityteam.org/; https://merch.audacityteam.org/; https://audio.com/audacity/auth/sign-in?mtm_campaign=audacityteamorg&mtm_cont…; https://forum.audacityteam.org/; https://merch.audacityteam.org/; https://manual.audacityteam.org/; https://audio.com/; https://www.facebook.com/Audacity/; https://github.com/audacity (+5 more)

33 link(s) with descriptive text

49 links

0 empty

1 generic text

15 new tab

0 empty buttons

Element	Text	Issue	Suggested Fix
https://support.audacityteam.org	Help	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://forum.audacityteam.org/	Forum	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://merch.audacityteam.org/	Merch	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://audio.com/audacity/auth/sign-in?…	Sign up	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://audio.com/audacity/auth/sign-in?…	Continue	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Continue Suggested: Sign In?Mtm Campaign=Audacityteamorg&Utm Content=Block Button
https://forum.audacityteam.org/	External link to Forum	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://merch.audacityteam.org/	External link to Merch	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://manual.audacityteam.org/	External link to Manual	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://audio.com/	External link to Audio.com	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://www.facebook.com/Audacity/	External link to Facebook	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://github.com/audacity	External link to github	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://discord.gg/audacity	External link to discord	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://www.youtube.com/c/audacity	External link to Youtube	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/…	CC-by 4.0	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://github.com/audacity/audacity/blo…	in the source code	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text
https://www.netlify.com/	Netlify	new tab	Add '(opens in new tab)' to text

35 links and buttons have descriptive text

Generic link text like 'click here' doesn't describe the destination.

https://audio.com/audacity/auth/sign-in?mtm_campaign=audacityteamorg&utm_cont… ("Continue")

Why this matters

Generic anchor text ('click here', 'read more', 'learn more') tells screen readers and search engines nothing about the destination.

Learn more ▾

Out-of-context lists of links read by AT (one navigation pattern) become useless when every link says 'click here'. Use the destination's title or topic as anchor text. Doubles as SEO win — Google passes anchor-text relevance to the destination.

Source: WCAG 2.4.4 / Google Search Central

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

https://support.audacityteam.org; https://forum.audacityteam.org/; https://merch.audacityteam.org/; https://audio.com/audacity/auth/sign-in?mtm_campaign=audacityteamorg&mtm_cont…; https://forum.audacityteam.org/; https://merch.audacityteam.org/; https://manual.audacityteam.org/; https://audio.com/; https://www.facebook.com/Audacity/; https://github.com/audacity (+5 more)

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

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 Audacity ® | 404 - Page not found ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✗

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

Color Contrast (Screenshot)

Action

20 text elements analyzed, 5 fail WCAG AA

REVIEW

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

15 pass 5 fail WCAG AA

a Merch

3.13:1

#000000

#1D4ED8

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

a Audacity Cloud saving

3.13:1

#000000

#1D4ED8

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

button Sign up

3.13:1

#000000

#1D4ED8

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

p Speaker Diarization Pro: The AI tool for…

3.13:1

#000000

#1D4ED8

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

a Get it on MuseHub

3.13:1

#000000

#1D4ED8

needs 4.5:1 (normal text)

16px · above the fold

Show all checked elements (20)

Element	Ratio	Required	FG	BG	Result
h1 The world's most pop…	19.17:1	3.0:1	#000000	#F1F5F9	Pass
h2 All you need to crea…	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Level up your Audaci…	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 New from our	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Popular in the	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h3 How we're building A…	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h3 Overtune	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
title Audacity ® \| Free A…	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
a Skip to content	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
p Audacity	15.93:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FDE047	Pass
a Downloads	15.93:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FDE047	Pass
a FAQ	15.93:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FDE047	Pass
a Features	15.93:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FDE047	Pass
a Help	15.93:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FDE047	Pass
a Forum	15.93:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FDE047	Pass
a Merch	3.13:1	4.5:1	#000000	#1D4ED8	Fail
a Audacity Cloud savin…	3.13:1	4.5:1	#000000	#1D4ED8	Fail
button Sign up	3.13:1	4.5:1	#000000	#1D4ED8	Fail
p Speaker Diarization …	3.13:1	4.5:1	#000000	#1D4ED8	Fail
a Get it on MuseHub	3.13:1	4.5:1	#000000	#1D4ED8	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.

A+

Alt Text Quality

All 12 images OK

PASS

All 12 images OK

12 image(s) with good alt text

12 images 12 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+

Lighthouse Accessibility Audits

Score 96/100 — 3 failing, 20 passed

PASS

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.

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
How we're building Audacity 4 `astro-island > div.flex > div.flex > h3.content-center`
OpenVINO AI Plugins are now available for macOS `div.grid > a.flex > div.flex > h4`

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 `html`

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
Merch NEW `div.col-start-2 > ul.mt-2 > li > a`

○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

●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

●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.

●Identical links have the same purpose.

○`[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-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents

○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

○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.

○Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements

○Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.

○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.