What is Accessibility Audit? · Rocket Validator Glossary

An accessibility audit checks a website against standards like WCAG, documents what fails, and retests after fixes go in.

Why audits matter

Automated scanners catch a lot: duplicate IDs, missing alt text, broken label associations. They won't catch everything. Many WCAG criteria need someone tabbing through the page, listening with a screen reader, or checking that focus order actually makes sense.

How audits typically work

Pick the pages and user flows that matter most.
Run automated scans on those templates.
Test interactions manually, including keyboard navigation and error states.
Try it with a screen reader.
Write up findings with severity levels and remediation steps.
Retest after the fixes land.

Code example

A common finding is a form input with no associated label:

<!-- Screen readers can't identify this field -->
<input type="text" placeholder="Email">

<!-- Fixed -->
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input id="email" type="email" autocomplete="email">

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the global technical standard for making web content accessible to people with disabilities, published by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative.

A screen reader is assistive software that converts on-screen content into speech or braille output, allowing blind and low-vision users to navigate websites through structure and semantics.

Keyboard accessibility means every interactive part of a website can be reached and operated using a keyboard alone, with logical focus order and visible focus indication.

HTML validation is the process of checking markup against standards to detect structural and syntax errors that can break rendering, accessibility, and interoperability.

A skip navigation link is a hidden or visually accessible anchor link placed at the very beginning of a web page that allows keyboard and screen reader users to bypass repetitive content blocks, such as navigation menus, and jump directly to the main content area.

Tab order is the sequence in which interactive elements on a web page receive keyboard focus as a user presses the Tab key, determined by the document's source order and any explicit tabindex attributes.

Heading hierarchy is the structured ordering of HTML heading elements (<h1> through <h6>) in a logical, nested sequence that reflects the document's content outline, enabling users—especially those relying on assistive technologies—to understand and navigate a page's organization.

WCAG Conformance Levels are the three tiers of accessibility compliance—Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA—defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to classify success criteria by their impact and priority for making web content accessible to people with disabilities.

A document language declaration specifies the primary human language of a web page by setting the lang attribute on the <html> element, enabling browsers, screen readers, and other tools to process and present the content correctly.

WCAG Success Criteria are the individual, testable requirements defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines that determine whether web content is accessible to people with disabilities. Each criterion addresses a specific accessibility barrier and is assigned a conformance level of A, AA, or AAA.

The reduced motion preference is an operating system–level setting that users can enable to minimize or eliminate animations, transitions, and other non-essential motion on screen. Web developers can detect this preference using the prefers-reduced-motion CSS media query and adjust or disable animations accordingly.

Content reflow and responsive zoom refers to the ability of web content to adapt its layout when users zoom in up to 400% or resize their viewport, ensuring all information and functionality remains available without requiring horizontal scrolling in two dimensions.

Gestural alternatives and motion activation refer to the WCAG requirements that any functionality triggered by device motion or multipoint/path-based gestures must also be operable through single-pointer actions and conventional controls, so that people with motor impairments can access all features without performing complex physical movements.

Navigation and bypass mechanisms are techniques that allow users to skip past repeated blocks of content and move directly to the main content or specific sections of a web page, primarily benefiting keyboard and screen reader users.

User testing with assistive technologies is the practice of evaluating websites and web applications by having real users operate them with tools like screen readers, switch devices, braille displays, and voice control software to identify accessibility barriers that automated testing alone cannot detect.

Media alternatives and captions are accessibility provisions that make audio and video content perceivable to people who cannot hear the audio track or see the video track, typically through captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions.

Zoom and text resizing refers to the ability of web content to remain readable and functional when users increase the browser's zoom level or adjust the default text size, as required by WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.4 (Resize Text).

A YAML-based accessibility testing configuration is a structured file written in YAML that defines the rules, scope, and behavior of automated accessibility checks run against web content, allowing teams to customize which WCAG success criteria are tested, which pages are included, and how results are reported.

Pointer cancellation and target size are two related WCAG requirements that govern how interactive elements respond to pointer input and how large clickable or tappable areas must be, ensuring that users with motor impairments can interact with web content accurately and without triggering actions by mistake.

Embedded content and iframes accessibility refers to the set of practices that make content loaded inside <iframe>, <video>, <audio>, <object>, and similar elements perceivable, operable, and understandable for all users, including those who rely on assistive technologies.

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Accessibility Audit

Why audits matter

How audits typically work

Code example

Help us improve this glossary term

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Accessibility Audit

Why audits matter

How audits typically work

Code example

Related terms

Help us improve this glossary term

Scan your site

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Pro Trial

Validate at scale.
Ship accessible websites, faster.