Accessibility digest

Introduction

How accessible is the Center for Democracy and Technology web page at https://cdt.org/?

This digest can help answer that question. Nine different tools (Alfa, ASLint, Axe, Equal Access, HTML CodeSniffer, Nu Html Checker, QualWeb, Testaro, and WAVE) tested the page to check its compliance with their accessibility rules. In all, the tools define about 915 rules, which are classified here into about 300 accessibility issues.

The results were interpreted to yield a score, with 0 being ideal. The score for this page was 2146, the sum of 440 for the count of issues, 1310 for specific issues, 334 for tool-by-tool ratings, 0 for the page preventing tools from running, 62 for browser warnings, and 0 for delayed page responses.

Issue summary

Itemized issues

The reported rule violations are itemized below, issue by issue. Additional details can be inspected in the full report.

Issue: line height low

Impact: Text is difficult to read

WCAG: 1.4.8

Score: 180

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r73

Description: Text line height is not at least 1.5

Count of instances: 29

Violations of testaro rules

Rule lineHeight

Description: Text has a line height less than 1.5 times its font size

Count of instances: 90

Issue: text contrast poor

Impact: Text is difficult to read

WCAG: 1.4.3

Score: 160

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r69

Description: Text outside widget has subminimum contrast

Count of instances: 31

Violations of axe rules

Rule color-contrast

Description: Element has insufficient color contrast

Count of instances: 40

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.1_4_6.G18.Fail

Description: Contrast between the text and its background is less than 4.5:1

Count of instances: 2

Violations of ibm rules

Rule text_contrast_sufficient

Description: Text has a contrast with its background less than the WCAG AA minimum for its size and weight

Count of instances: 6

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-ACT-R37

Description: Text has less than the minimum contrast

Count of instances: 27

Violations of wave rules

Rule contrast

Description: Very low contrast

Count of instances: 21

Issue: overflow possibly hidden

Impact: User may be unable to enlarge the text for readability

WCAG: 1.4.4

Score: 117

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-ACT-R40

Description: Zoomed text node may be clipped by a CSS overflow declaration

Count of instances: 117

Issue: link indication poor

Impact: User cannot differentiate a link from plain text

WCAG: 1.3.3

Score: 80

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r62

Description: Inline link is not distinct from the surrounding text except by color

Count of instances: 4

Violations of aslint rules

Rule links_not_visually_evident_without_color_vision

Description: Element is a link, but its style properties do not differentiate it from its parent

Count of instances: 40

Violations of axe rules

Rule link-in-text-block

Description: Element is not distinct from surrounding text without reliance on color

Count of instances: 3

Violations of testaro rules

Rule linkUl

Description: Inline links are not underlined

Count of instances: 40

Issue: attribute value invalid

Impact: Item behaves improperly

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 80

Violations of nuVal rules

Rule ^Bad value .* for attribute .+ on element .+$

Description: Attribute on this element has an invalid value

Count of instances: 20

Issue: role invalid

Impact: User cannot get help on the nature of an item

WCAG: 4.1.2

Score: 72

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r110

Description: No token in the value of the role attribute is valid

Count of instances: 12

Rule r21

Description: Element has no valid role

Count of instances: 12

Violations of axe rules

Rule aria-roles

Description: ARIA role has an invalid value

Count of instances: 12

Violations of ibm rules

Rule aria_role_allowed

Description: Element has an invalid role

Count of instances: 11

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-ACT-R20

Description: role attribute has an invalid value

Count of instances: 12

Issue: target small

Impact: User cannot reliably choose an item to click or tap

WCAG: 2.5.5

Score: 72

Violations of testaro rules

Rule targetSize

Description: Button, input, or non-inline link is smaller than 44 px wide and high

Count of instances: 24

Issue: svg image not named

Impact: User cannot get help understanding an image

WCAG: 1.1.1

Score: 68

Violations of aslint rules

Rule accessible_svg

Description: Element has no title, description, text, attribute label, or role description

Count of instances: 17

Issue: focus indication poor

Impact: Keyboard-only user cannot choose an item to operate

WCAG: 2.4.7

Score: 52

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r65

Description: Element in the sequential focus order has no visible focus

Count of instances: 1

Violations of testaro rules

Rule focInd

Description: Focused element displays a nonstandard or no focus indicator

Count of instances: 13

Issue: skip method missing or invalid

Impact: Keyboard-only user cannot easily reach the specific content of the document

WCAG: 2.4.1

Score: 48

Violations of axe rules

Rule skip-link

Description: Skip-link target is not focusable or does not exist

Count of instances: 1

Violations of wave rules

Rule link_skip_broken

Description: Skip-navigation link has no target or is not keyboard accessible

Count of instances: 1

Issue: links named identically

Impact: User cannot get help differentiating links

WCAG: 2.4.4

Score: 46

Violations of aslint rules

Rule links_same_content_different_url

Description: Links with the same text content have different destination URLs

Count of instances: 23

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-ACT-R9

Description: Links with identical accessible names have different purposes

Count of instances: 21

Violations of testaro rules

Rule linkAmb

Description: Links with the same text content have different destinations

Count of instances: 16

Issue: text contrast improvable

Impact: Text is difficult to read

WCAG: 1.4.6

Score: 31

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r66

Description: Text contrast less than AAA requires

Count of instances: 31

Violations of aslint rules

Rule color_contrast_aaa7

Description: Text has contrast less than 7:1

Count of instances: 8

Rule color_contrast_aaa

Description: Text contrast may be less than enhanced but the element is invisible

Count of instances: 21

Rule color_contrast_aaa4

Description: Text has contrast less than 4.5:1

Count of instances: 1

Violations of axe rules

Rule color-contrast-enhanced

Description: Element has insufficient color contrast (Level AAA)

Count of instances: 13

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.1_4_6.G17.Fail

Description: Text has insufficient contrast

Count of instances: 7

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-ACT-R76

Description: Text has less than the enhanced minimum contrast

Count of instances: 28

Issue: large visible-element count

Impact: User cannot easily find items in the document

WCAG: 2.4

Score: 31

Violations of testaro rules

Rule bulk

Description: Page contains many visible elements

Count of instances: 1

Issue: link not named

Impact: User cannot get help understanding what a link points to

WCAG: 2.4.4

Score: 28

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r11

Description: Link has no accessible name

Count of instances: 6

Violations of aslint rules

Rule empty_link_element

Description: Element has no visible and accessible name

Count of instances: 7

Violations of axe rules

Rule link-name

Description: Link has no discernible text

Count of instances: 6

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.4_1_2.H91.A.NoContent

Description: Link has an href attribute but not named

Count of instances: 7

Violations of ibm rules

Rule a_text_purpose

Description: Hyperlink has no link text, label, or image with a text alternative

Count of instances: 6

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-ACT-R12

Description: Link has no accessible name

Count of instances: 6

Violations of wave rules

Rule link_empty

Description: Link contains not named

Count of instances: 7

Issue: nav links not list

Impact: User cannot get help recognizing a list of navigation links

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 22

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-WCAG-T32

Description: ol, ul or dl is not used for a list or group of links

Count of instances: 11

Issue: image alt long

Impact: Helper gives a user an overly verbose explanation of an image

WCAG: 1.1.1

Score: 22

Violations of wave rules

Rule alt_long

Description: Long text alternative

Count of instances: 11

Issue: role redundant

Impact: Document includes unnecessary code

WCAG: 4.1.2

Score: 20

Violations of testaro rules

Rule role

Description: Invalid, native-replacing, or redundant role

Count of instances: 20

Issue: text contrast issues not testable

Impact: Text may be difficult to read

WCAG: 1.4.3

Score: 19

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.1_4_3_F24.F24.FGColour

Description: Inline foreground color may lack a complementary background color

Count of instances: 1

Rule AAA.1_4_6.G17.Abs

Description: Contrast between the absolutely positioned text and its background may be less than 7:1

Count of instances: 4

Rule AAA.1_4_6.G17.BgImage

Description: Contrast between the text and its background image may be less than 7:1

Count of instances: 3

Rule AAA.1_4_6.G18.Abs

Description: Contrast between the absolutely positioned text and its background may be less than 4.5:1

Count of instances: 2

Rule AAA.1_4_6.G18.BgImage

Description: Contrast between the text and the background image may be less than 4.5:1

Count of instances: 9

Issue: type redundant

Impact: Document includes unnecessary code

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 15

Violations of nuVal rules

Rule The type attribute is unnecessary for JavaScript resources.

Description: type attribute is unnecessary for a JavaScript resource

Count of instances: 11

Rule The type attribute for the style element is not needed and should be omitted.

Description: type attribute is unnecessary for a style element

Count of instances: 4

Issue: CSS invalid

Impact: Document cannot be properly displayed

WCAG: 4.1

Score: 15

Violations of nuVal rules

Rule ^CSS: .+: .+ is not a .+ value.*$

Description: Invalid value in CSS

Count of instances: 1

Rule ^CSS: .+: Property .+ doesn't exist.*$

Description: Invalid property in CSS

Count of instances: 4

Issue: image dubiously named

Impact: Helper may describe an image inadequately

WCAG: 1.1.1

Score: 13

Violations of aslint rules

Rule alt_color_convey_information

Description: Text alternative may fail to give information provided by colors

Count of instances: 10

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-WCAG-T8

Description: Text alternative is not an alternative

Count of instances: 13

Issue: heading-like styles dubious

Impact: User may be unable to understand the topic of a part of the document

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 12

Violations of wave rules

Rule heading_possible

Description: Possible heading

Count of instances: 12

Issue: hr misused

Impact: User cannot get help on the nature of segments of the document

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 11

Violations of aslint rules

Rule horizontal_rule

Description: hr element has neither a true aria-hidden attribute nor a presentation role

Count of instances: 11

Violations of testaro rules

Rule hr

Description: hr instead of styles is used for vertical segmentation

Count of instances: 11

Issue: inconsistent heading, link, or button styles

Impact: User cannot easily distinguish items of different types

WCAG: 3.2.4

Score: 11

Violations of testaro rules

Rule styleDiff

Description: Heading, link, and button style inconsistencies

Count of instances: 11

Issue: tab-opening link action possibly unstated

Impact: Following a link opens a new window, possibly surprising a user

WCAG: 3.2.5

Score: 10

Violations of aslint rules

Rule links_new_window_mark

Description: Indicator that the link opens a new window or tab may be missing

Count of instances: 10

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.3_2_5.H83.3

Description: Link text may fail to indicate that the link will open in a new window

Count of instances: 10

Violations of testaro rules

Rule linkExt

Description: Link opens a new window or tab

Count of instances: 10

Issue: code obsolete

Impact: Document contains code that is no longer standard

WCAG: 4.1

Score: 9

Violations of ibm rules

Rule element_attribute_deprecated

Description: Element or attribute is obsolete

Count of instances: 3

Issue: meta invalid

Impact: Document fails to include needed data

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 9

Violations of nuVal rules

Rule A document must not include both a meta element with an http-equiv attribute whose value is content-type, and a meta element with a charset attribute.

Description: Element with http-equiv="content-type" is incompatible with the meta element with a charset attribute

Count of instances: 1

Rule A meta element with an http-equiv attribute whose value is X-UA-Compatible must have a content attribute with the value IE=edge.

Description: Element with http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" has no content="IE=edge"

Count of instances: 1

Rule ^Bad value .+ for attribute .+ on element meta.*$

Description: Attribute of a meta element has an invalid value

Count of instances: 1

Issue: skip method possibly missing or invalid

Impact: Keyboard-only user may be unable easily to reach the specific content of the document

WCAG: 2.4.1

Score: 8

Violations of alfa rules

Rule r87

Description: First focusable element is not a link to the main content

Count of instances: 1

Issue: text and image link not combined

Impact: Keyboard-only user expends extra effort to skip a link

WCAG: 2.4.4

Score: 6

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-WCAG-T10

Description: Adjacent image and text links for the same resource are not combined

Count of instances: 3

Issue: element beyond display when focused

Impact: Keyboard-only user cannot navigate properly to the operable items

WCAG: 1.4.10

Score: 6

Violations of testaro rules

Rule focVis

Description: Element when focused is off the display

Count of instances: 2

Issue: internal link broken

Impact: User cannot reach a promised document location

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 4

Violations of aslint rules

Rule broken_same_page_link

Description: Same-page destination of the link does not exist

Count of instances: 1

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.2_4_1.G1,G123,G124.NoSuchID

Description: Internal link references a nonexistent destination

Count of instances: 1

Issue: control label invisible

Impact: User cannot understand how to operate a form item

WCAG: 2.4.6

Score: 4

Violations of aslint rules

Rule label_visually_hidden_only

Description: Form control has a label but it is not visible

Count of instances: 1

Issue: parent invalid

Impact: User cannot properly operate an item

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 4

Violations of nuVal rules

Rule ^Element .+ not allowed as child of element .+ in this context.*$

Description: Element has an invalid parent

Count of instances: 1

Issue: error reference invalid

Impact: User cannot correct a form error

WCAG: 3.3.1

Score: 4

Violations of qualWeb rules

Rule QW-ACT-R41

Description: Error message describes no invalid form field value

Count of instances: 1

Issue: title attribute invalid

Impact: User cannot hover to get help explaining an item

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 4

Violations of testaro rules

Rule titledEl

Description: title attribute belongs to an inappropriate element

Count of instances: 1

Issue: link name dubious

Impact: User may misunderstand what a link points to

WCAG: 2.4.4

Score: 3

Violations of aslint rules

Rule link_with_unclear_purpose

Description: Element is a link but has vague or generic content

Count of instances: 3

Violations of wave rules

Rule link_suspicious

Description: Suspicious link text

Count of instances: 3

Issue: links dubiously share name

Impact: User may be unable to get help differentiating links

WCAG: 2.4.4

Score: 3

Violations of axe rules

Rule identical-links-same-purpose

Description: Links with the same accessible name may serve dissimilar purposes

Count of instances: 3

Issue: image dubiously marked decorative

Impact: Helper ignores an image that is apparently informative

WCAG: 1.1.1

Score: 3

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.1_1_1.H67.2

Description: Image marked as decorative may be informative

Count of instances: 3

Issue: section heading missing

Impact: User cannot understand the topic of a part of the document

WCAG: 1.3.1

Score: 3

Violations of nuVal rules

Rule Section lacks heading. Consider using h2-h6 elements to add identifying headings to all sections, or else use a div element instead for any cases where no heading is needed.

Description: section has no heading

Count of instances: 3

Issue: z-index not zero

Impact: User cannot predict the effect of clicking

WCAG: 1.4

Score: 3

Violations of testaro rules

Rule zIndex

Description: Element has a nondefault z-index value

Count of instances: 3

Issue: position sticky

Impact: User may be unable to see needed content or may be forced to scroll in both dimensions

WCAG: 1.4.10

Score: 1

Violations of aslint rules

Rule position_sticky

Description: Element has a sticky position

Count of instances: 1

Violations of htmlcs rules

Rule AAA.1_4_10.C32,C31,C33,C38,SCR34,G206

Description: Fixed-position element may force bidirectional scrolling

Count of instances: 1

Issue: content beyond landmarks

Impact: User cannot get help on how some of the document is organized

WCAG: 1.3.6

Score: 1

Violations of axe rules

Rule region

Description: Some page content is not contained by landmarks

Count of instances: 1

Violations of ibm rules

Rule aria_content_in_landmark

Description: Content is not within a landmark element

Count of instances: 1

Issue: all-capital text

Impact: Text is difficult to read

WCAG: 3.1.5

Score: 0

Violations of aslint rules

Rule capital_letters_words

Description: Element or its title has entirely upper-case words

Count of instances: 6

Issue: all-italic text

Impact: Text is difficult to read

WCAG: 3.1.5

Score: 0

Violations of aslint rules

Rule font_style_italic

Description: Text longer than 80 characters has an italic font style

Count of instances: 1