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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
4
REVIEW
5
PASS
4
INFO
0
Checks
13
4 PASS 5 REVIEW 4 FIX
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.

F
Navigation UX
Action
1 navigation pattern(s)
FIX
1 navigation pattern(s)
Info::
Skip navigation link detected
Breadcrumbs
Search
Skip Link Skip link detected
Labeled Navigation
Back to Top
Hamburger Menu
Sticky Navigation Cannot reliably detect (CSS-based)
1 of 6 testable patterns navigation patterns detected. Limited navigation support. Consider adding breadcrumbs, search, and skip link.
C
Heading Hierarchy
Action
16 headings, 3 skip(s)
REVIEW
16 headings, 3 skip(s)
Info::
Single H1 present
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H1 → H3 (missing H2)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H2 → H6 (missing H3)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H2 → H5 (missing H3)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
  • H2 Search form
  • H1 Statistics thatsave lives
  • H3 We change lives and systems skipped
  • H3 Our evidence is trusted
  • H3 We collaborate globally
  • H2 News
  • H2 We work to improve health for all
  • H2 Latest evidence
  • H6 What makes Cochrane unique? skipped
  • H6 Need a custom evidence service?
  • H6 Writing a Cochrane review?
  • H6 I knew Cochrane's systematic reviews would be reliable, free from vested interest, and regularly updated. That was what I needed to escape the confusion, the anecdotes, and the emotion."
  • H6 Cochrane helps me to help myself, and to help many...The Cochrane Library gives you reliable information, up-to-date information, which makes you a more intelligent and more involved patient."
  • H2 Did you know...
  • H5 Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods is our fully open access journal that aims to develop the evidence base for how we produce and publish evidence syntheses. skipped
  • H4 Our use of cookies

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 ▾

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 ▾

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
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
Info::
Homepage link present on 404 page
404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title Page not found | Cochrane ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✗
C
Color Contrast (Screenshot)
Action
20 text elements analyzed, 17 fail WCAG AA
REVIEW

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

3 pass 17 fail WCAG AA
h2 Search form
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
24px · mid-page
h2 We work to improve health for all
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
24px · bottom of viewport
h2 Latest evidence
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
24px · bottom of viewport
h3 We change lives
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · bottom of viewport
h3 and systems
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · bottom of viewport
h3 Our evidence
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · bottom of viewport
h3 is trusted
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · bottom of viewport
h3 We collaborate
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · bottom of viewport
h3 globally
1.56:1
#000000
on
#002D64
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · bottom of viewport
title Statistics that save lives | Cochrane
1.41:1
#000000
on
#1C2836
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a فارسی
1.45:1
#000000
on
#272740
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Français
1.47:1
#000000
on
#2A2742
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Русский
1.41:1
#000000
on
#2A233F
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Hrvatski
1.36:1
#000000
on
#291F3C
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Deutsch
1.53:1
#000000
on
#31274E
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Bahasa Malaysia
1.56:1
#000000
on
#352751
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a ไทย
1.57:1
#000000
on
#222B5D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold · over background image/gradient

1 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)
ElementRatioRequiredFGBGResult
h2 Search form1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h2 We work to improve h…1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h2 Latest evidence1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h3 We change lives1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h3 and systems1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h3 Our evidence1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h3 is trusted1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h3 We collaborate1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
h3 globally1.56:13.0:1
#000000
#002D64
Fail
title Statistics that save…1.41:14.5:1
#000000
#1C2836
Fail
a Skip to main content21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
a English21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
a Español21.00:14.5:1
#000000
#FFFFFF
Pass
a فارسی1.45:14.5:1
#000000
#272740
Fail
a Français1.47:14.5:1
#000000
#2A2742
Fail
a Русский1.41:14.5:1
#000000
#2A233F
Fail
a Hrvatski1.36:14.5:1
#000000
#291F3C
Fail
a Deutsch1.53:14.5:1
#000000
#31274E
Fail
a Bahasa Malaysia1.56:14.5:1
#000000
#352751
Fail
a ไทย1.57:14.5:1
#000000
#222B5D
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.

B
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Score 87/100 — 4 failing, 23 passed
REVIEW
87

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.

ARIA

Some ARIA parent roles must contain specific child roles to perform their intended accessibility functions. Learn more about roles and required children elements.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
EnglishEspañolفارسیFrançaisРусскийHrvatskiDeutschBahasa Malaysiaไทย繁體中文简体中文 … div.grid > div.region-header > div#block-cochrane-hs-languageswitchercachefix > nav#nav-lang

These are opportunities to improve the usage of ARIA in your application which may enhance the experience for users of assistive technology, like a screen reader.

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
We change lives and systems div.box > div.grid-3-cols > div.col > h3.h4
What makes Cochrane unique? div.card > div.card--inner > a.header-link > h6
Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods is our fully open access journal that a… div.col-9/13@desktop > div.box > div.field-body > h5

These are opportunities to improve keyboard navigation in your application.

Names and labels

Link text (and alternate text for images, when used as links) that is discernible, unique, and focusable improves the navigation experience for screen reader users. Learn how to make links accessible.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom
li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom
li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom
li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom li > div.grid > div.col-1/3@tabletwide > a.zoom

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.

Best practices

Touch targets with sufficient size and spacing help users who may have difficulty targeting small controls to activate the targets. Learn more about touch targets.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Press office div.col-1/2 > ul.list--compact > li > a
About us div.col-1/2 > ul.list--compact > li > a
Facebook icon div.grid > div.col-1/2 > div#meta-social > a
YouTube icon div.grid > div.col-1/2 > div#meta-social > a
Instagram icon div.grid > div.col-1/2 > div#meta-social > a
LinkedIn icon div.grid > div.col-1/2 > div#meta-social > a
Bluesky icon div.grid > div.col-1/2 > div#meta-social > a

These items highlight common accessibility best practices.

○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
●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.
●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.
●Lists contain only `<li>` elements and script supporting elements (`<script>` and `<template>`).
●List items (`<li>`) are contained within `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` parent elements
●Skip links are focusable.
●Document has a main landmark.
●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used
○`[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
○`[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
○The document does not use `<meta http-equiv="refresh">`
○`<object>` elements have alternate text
○Select elements have associated label elements.
○No element has a `[tabindex]` value greater than 0
○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.
○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.
A
Landmark Structure
3 landmarks
PASS
3 landmarks
Info::
<main> landmark present
Warning::
No <nav> landmark found
Info::
No contentinfo (footer) landmark
Info::
Skip navigation link present
Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it
BANNER header MAIN CONTENTINFO (missing!)
A+
Alt Text Quality
All 14 images OK
PASS
All 14 images OK
Info::
4 decorative image(s) correctly marked
Info::
10 image(s) with good alt text
14 images 10 good alt text 4 decorative
All images have appropriate alt text.
A
Form Accessibility
1 of 8 controls have issues
PASS
1 of 8 controls have issues
Critical::
1 control(s) without accessible label
Form controls need a <label>, aria-label, or aria-labelledby for screen readers.
Got: <input type="submit" id="main-search-submit">
Info::
7 control(s) properly labeled
8 controls
7 labeled
0 placeholder only
1 unlabeled
ControlTypeLabelMethod
#main-search-querytextSearchfor/id
#gsce-filter-evidencecheckboxOnly our evidencefor/id
#gsce-filter-handbookcheckboxOnly "Handbook"for/id
#gsce-filter-nonevidencecheckboxExclude our evidencefor/id
#gsce-filter-nonnewscheckboxExclude newsfor/id
#cookies-ncheckboxNecessary cookies Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.for/id
#cookies-lcheckboxAnalytics We'd like to set cookies so we can analyse our website usage with Matomo, to help us to improve our website and content. The data is anonymised and not shared with any third party. For more information see our Cookies page.for/id
#main-search-submitsubmit(none)none

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

<input type="submit" id="main-search-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

A+
Print Stylesheet
Print styles detected
PASS
Print styles detected
Info::
External print stylesheet detected
Got: /sites/default/files/css/css_ybYu3D7Owf_ldXmLV7QPPmPmc7Bc2wiDXmYOWiu9i0k.css?delta=2&language=en&theme=cochrane_hs&include=eJxtjksOgzAMBS-UkiNZTnAJyMTGnwW3L7t20eUbzUgP3Slgnwf1EKvdfQk6FUIUTppZ8J_gAW-TGaC4UenSh-EkGF43lob88riZvBxXkt2QO2CGdDmVKaj-jqJouBnqE6-Wirx8yZJTs_Hug9bitz_XakOnDwJ6SJc
Print Stylesheet ✓ Print Optimized
Print stylesheet /sites/default/files/css/css_ybYu3D7Owf_ldXmLV7QPPmPmc7Bc2wiDXmYOWiu9i0k.css?delta=2&language=en&theme=cochrane_hs&include=eJxtjksOgzAMBS-UkiNZTnAJyMTGnwW3L7t20eUbzUgP3Slgnwf1EKvdfQk6FUIUTppZ8J_gAW-TGaC4UenSh-EkGF43lob88riZvBxXkt2QO2CGdDmVKaj-jqJouBnqE6-Wirx8yZJTs_Hug9bitz_XakOnDwJ6SJc ✓Inline @media print Not detected ✗
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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