WCAG success criteria, explained
Every issue your scan can flag is tied to one of these WCAG 2.1 success criteria. Here's what each one actually means, why it matters, and how to fix it — in plain English.
Non-text Content
Every image or icon that conveys information needs a text alternative someone can read another way.
Info and Relationships
The structure people see visually — headings, lists, groupings — needs to exist in the underlying markup too, not just in styling.
Contrast (Minimum)
Text needs enough contrast against its background to be readable — at least 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text.
Resize Text
People need to be able to zoom text up to 200% without losing content or breaking your page's functionality.
Page Titled
Every page needs a clear, descriptive <title> — the text that shows up in browser tabs, bookmarks, and search results.
Focus Order
When someone navigates by keyboard, focus needs to move through the page in an order that makes sense — not jump around unpredictably.
Link Purpose (In Context)
A link's text (or its accessible name) should tell someone where it goes or what it does, without needing extra context to figure it out.
Language of Page
The page's primary language needs to be set in the markup, so assistive technology knows how to pronounce it.
Parsing
HTML needs to be well-formed enough — no duplicate IDs, no broken nesting — for assistive technology to parse it reliably.
Name, Role, Value
Every interactive element needs a programmatically exposed name (what it's called), role (what kind of thing it is), and, where relevant, its current value or state.