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Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
71
GRADE
C
FIX
3
REVIEW
5
PASS
5
INFO
0
Checks
13
5 PASS 5 REVIEW 3 FIX
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
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::
Skip navigation link detected
Info::
1 navigation landmark(s) detected
Breadcrumbs
Search
Skip Link Skip link detected
Labeled Navigation 1 <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.
B
Heading Hierarchy
9 headings
REVIEW
9 headings
Critical::
No H1 heading found
Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.
  • H2 A free, AI-powered research tool for scientific literature
  • H3 New & Improved API for Developers
  • H3 Introducing Semantic Reader in Beta
  • H2 What Is Semantic Scholar?
  • H3 About
  • H3 Product
  • H3 API
  • H3 Research
  • H3 Help

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

B
Favicon & Branding
14 icon(s) detected
REVIEW
14 icon(s) detected
Info::
favicon.ico present at site root
Info::
HTML icon links detected
Info::
Apple touch icon present
Info::
Multiple icon sizes detected
✓ favicon.ico Present
✓ PNG Icons Present
✓ Apple Touch Present
✗ SVG Favicon Missing
✗ Manifest Icons Missing
✓ Multiple Sizes Present
B
Dark Mode Support
Dark mode detected
REVIEW
Dark mode detected
Info::
prefers-color-scheme CSS detected in inline styles
Info::
Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles
External CSS files may contain prefers-color-scheme rules not visible to this scan.
Dark Mode✓ Dark Mode Supported
color-scheme meta Not set ✗Dark theme-color Not set ✗CSS indicators Detected ✓

Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles.

C
Color Contrast (Screenshot)
Action
20 text elements analyzed, 14 fail WCAG AA
REVIEW

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

6 pass 14 fail WCAG AA 6 pass AA only
h2 A free, AI-powered research tool for sci…
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
24px · above the fold
h3 New & Improved API for Developers
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · mid-page
h3 Introducing Semantic Reader in Beta
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 3.0:1 (large text)
19px · mid-page
title Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research T…
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a Skip to search form
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a Skip to main content
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
a Skip to account menu
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · top of page (header area)
span Sign In
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
span Create Free Account
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
label Search 234,407,375 papers from all field…
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
span Search
2.61:1
#000000
on
#435166
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold · over background image/gradient
span Try:
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Bissera Pentcheva
1.30:1
#000000
on
#10213C
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold
a Market Structure
1.32:1
#000000
on
#11223D
needs 4.5:1 (normal text)
16px · above the fold

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 A free, AI-powered r…1.32:13.0:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
h2 What Is Semantic Sch…3.08:13.0:1
#000000
#1857B6
Pass
h3 New & Improved API f…1.32:13.0:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
h3 Introducing Semantic…1.32:13.0:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
h3 About3.08:13.0:1
#000000
#1857B6
Pass
h3 Product3.08:13.0:1
#000000
#1857B6
Pass
h3 API3.08:13.0:1
#000000
#1857B6
Pass
h3 Research3.08:13.0:1
#000000
#1857B6
Pass
h3 Help3.08:13.0:1
#000000
#1857B6
Pass
title Semantic Scholar | A…1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
a Skip to search form1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
a Skip to main content1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
a Skip to account menu1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
span Sign In1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
span Create Free Account1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
label Search 234,407,375 p…1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
span Search2.61:14.5:1
#000000
#435166
Fail
span Try:1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
Fail
a Bissera Pentcheva1.30:14.5:1
#000000
#10213C
Fail
a Market Structure1.32:14.5:1
#000000
#11223D
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+
Landmark Structure
4 landmarks
PASS
4 landmarks
Info::
<main> landmark present
Info::
1 <nav> landmark(s) found
Info::
Skip navigation link present
Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it
BANNER header NAV MAIN CONTENTINFO footer
A+
Alt Text Quality
All 1 images OK
PASS
All 1 images OK
Info::
1 decorative image(s) correctly marked
1 images 1 decorative
All images have appropriate alt text.
A
Form Accessibility
1 of 2 controls have issues
PASS
1 of 2 controls have issues
Warning::
1 control(s) rely on placeholder only
Placeholder text disappears on focus and is not a reliable label.
Got: <input type="text">
Info::
1 control(s) properly labeled
2 controls
1 labeled
1 placeholder only
0 unlabeled
ControlTypeLabelMethod
qsearchSearch textaria-label
inputtext(Your E-mail Address)placeholder only

Placeholder text disappears on focus and is not a reliable label.

<input type="text">

Why this matters

Placeholder-only labels disappear when the user starts typing — they must remember what the field was for.

Learn more ▾

Placeholders are NOT labels. They vanish on input, fail color contrast checks (most are gray), and don't satisfy WCAG SC 3.3.2. Always use a real <label> alongside (or aria-labelledby).

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 3.3.2 / Nielsen Norman

A
404 Error Page
HTTP 404, custom page
PASS
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
Info::
Search form present on 404 page
404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Page Title Semantic Scholar ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✓Homepage Link ✓Search Form ✓
A+
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Score 100/100 — 1 failing, 24 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.

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
Blog (opens in a new tab) div.container > div.about-us__link-group > div.about-us__link-list > a.flex-row
Ai2 Careers (opens in a new tab) div.container > div.about-us__link-group > div.about-us__link-list > a.flex-row
API Documentation (opens in a new tab) div.container > div.about-us__link-group > div.about-us__link-list > a.flex-row
Publications (opens in a new tab) div.container > div.about-us__link-group > div.about-us__link-list > a.flex-row
Research Careers (opens in a new tab) div.container > div.about-us__link-group > div.about-us__link-list > a.flex-row
Resources (opens in a new tab) div.container > div.about-us__link-group > div.about-us__link-list > a.flex-row
Terms of Service (opens in a new tab) div.container > div > div.footer__row > a.tos-link
Privacy Policy (opens in a new tab) div.container > div > div.footer__row > a.pp-link
The Allen Institute for AI (opens in a new tab) footer.footer > section.page-section > div.container > a.footer-ai2-logo
○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
●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 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
●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
●Identical links have the same purpose.
○`[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.
○Image elements have `[alt]` attributes
○Input buttons have discernible text.
○`<input type="image">` elements have `[alt]` text
○Links are distinguishable without relying on color.
○The document does not use `<meta http-equiv="refresh">`
○`<object>` elements have alternate text
○Select elements have associated label elements.
○Skip links are focusable.
○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.
○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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