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 3 REVIEW 4 FIX

Favicon & Branding

Action

1 icon(s) detected

FIX

1 icon(s) detected

favicon.ico present at site root

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 Present

✗ PNG Icons Missing

✗ Apple Touch Missing

✗ SVG Favicon Missing

✗ Manifest Icons Missing

✗ Multiple Sizes Missing

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 ✗

Alt Text Quality

Action

4 of 12 images have issues

REVIEW

4 of 12 images have issues

4 image(s) missing alt attribute

Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers.

1 image(s) with alt text over 125 characters

7 image(s) with good alt text

12 images 7 good alt text 4 missing

Issue	Count
missing	4 image(s)
too long	1 image(s)

Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers.

Why this matters

Each image without alt text is a WCAG 1.1.1 failure — invisible to screen-reader users, lost from Google Image Search.

Learn more ▾

WCAG 2.1 Level A requires text alternatives for non-decorative images. Empty alt='' is fine for decorative; meaningful images need descriptive text. Common fixes: CMS audit + bulk add, build-time linter (alt-text-required ESLint rule), CI gate on Lighthouse a11y score.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.1.1 / WebAIM Million Report

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

Search form present on 404 page

404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page

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

Navigation UX

Action

3 navigation pattern(s)

REVIEW

3 navigation pattern(s)

Search functionality detected

Got: role-search

Skip navigation link detected

Back-to-top link detected

3 navigation landmark(s) detected

Breadcrumbs

Search role='search' landmark

Skip Link Skip link detected

Labeled Navigation 3 <nav> element(s)

Hamburger Menu

Sticky Navigation Cannot reliably detect (CSS-based)

4 of 6 testable patterns navigation patterns detected. Strong navigation UX with multiple discovery paths.

Landmark Structure

7 landmarks

PASS

7 landmarks

<main> landmark present

3 <nav> landmark(s) found

1 of 3 <nav> elements are unlabeled

Multiple navigations need aria-label to distinguish them for screen readers.

Skip navigation link present

Search landmark present

Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it

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

A+

Heading Hierarchy

35 headings

PASS

35 headings

Single H1 present

1 empty heading(s)

Empty headings appear in the document outline but provide no information.

H1 Caring for the whole Mustang
H2 SMU and Dallas – where you can go all in on you
H2 Quick Links
H2 Areas of study
H2 Tour SMU with us!
H2 You Belong Here
H2 Top 20%
H2 3 out of 4
H2 No. 4
H2 News
H2 (empty)
H2 SMU launches the formation of The Dallas Office, names Kit Sawers its CEO and a University vice president
H2 Harvard economist Raj Chetty to receive SMU honorary degree
H2 SMU Student Creates Laundromat Libraries for the Littlest Readers
H2 SMU announces 2026 Homecoming and Family Weekend dates
H2 Events
H2 Scriabin’s “Poem of Ecstasy”
H2 Meadows Choirs: Timeless
H2 The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History
H2 Senior Dance Showcase
H2 Academics
H2 Audience Links
H2 Quick Links
H2 Get in Touch
H2 Follow Us
H2 Primary navigation menu
H3 Undergraduate Admission | SMU
H3 Academics
H3 Student Life
H3 Enrollment Services
H3 About
H2 Search the SMU website
H3 Search
H3 Popular Searches
H3 Did you know?

Empty headings appear in the document outline but provide no information.

Why this matters

Empty <hN> tags break the document outline — screen-reader users navigating by heading hit dead silence.

Source: WCAG 2.4.6

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
#q2	search	Search the SMU website	aria-label

A+

Link & Button Quality

1 issue(s) across 168 links and 7 buttons

PASS

1 issue(s) across 168 links and 7 buttons

1 link(s) with generic text

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

Got: https://www.smu.edu/Admission/CampusLife/Dallas ("Learn more")

167 link(s) with descriptive text

168 links

0 empty

1 generic text

0 new tab

0 empty buttons

Element	Text	Issue	Suggested Fix
https://www.smu.edu/Admission/CampusLife…	Learn more	generic text	Replace with descriptive text
Before: Learn more Suggested: Dallas

174 links and buttons have descriptive text

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

https://www.smu.edu/Admission/CampusLife/Dallas ("Learn more")

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

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)

Element	Ratio	Required	FG	BG	Result
h1 Caring for the whole…	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 SMU and Dallas – w…	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Quick Links	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Areas of study	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Tour SMU with us!	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 You Belong Here	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Top 20%	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 3 out of 4	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 No. 4	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Academics	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Audience Links	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Quick Links	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Get in Touch	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Follow Us	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Primary navigation m…	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h2 Search the SMU websi…	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h3 Search	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h3 Popular Searches	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
h3 Did you know?	21.00:1	3.0:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	Pass
title Home \| SMU	21.00:1	4.5:1	#000000	#FFFFFF	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 100/100 — 0 failing, 27 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>`

●`[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

●`[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

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

●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.

●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order

●Skip links are focusable.

●Document has a main landmark.

●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used

●All heading elements contain content.

●Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements

○`[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.

○Input buttons have discernible text.

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

○Form elements have associated labels

○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.

○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>`.

○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.