Creating an Effective Website Accessibility Checklist

Website accessibility is a necessity. Ensuring that your website is accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities, is crucial for creating an inclusive digital experience and mitigating legal risk. One of the most effective ways to incorporate accessibility into your process is by using a comprehensive checklist.

In this post, we’ll guide you through creating a practical website accessibility checklist that empowers your team to identify issues early, meet compliance standards like WCAG 2.2, and maintain a consistent commitment to accessibility.

Why Use an Accessibility Checklist?

A well-crafted accessibility checklist helps:

• Simplify compliance by breaking down complex WCAG requirements into actionable tasks.
• Ensure consistency across content, design, and development teams.
• Streamline audits with clear benchmarks to measure against.
• Build habits that integrate accessibility into your day-to-day workflows.

It’s also a helpful training tool, whether you’re onboarding a new developer or helping content creators understand how their work affects users with disabilities.

What Makes a Good Accessibility Checklist?

An effective checklist should be:

• Clear and concise – Use plain language and avoid overly technical jargon.
• Role-specific – Tailor checklists for designers, developers, content creators, and QA testers.
• Action-oriented – Focus on tasks and checks that people can do during their work.
• Up-to-date – Ensure it aligns with the latest WCAG guidelines and accessibility best practices.
• Built for your tools – If you’re using WordPress, Gutenberg, or popular plugins, include tool-specific tips.

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Key Elements to Include on Your Accessibility Checklist

1. Page Structure & Headings

A proper heading structure helps users—especially those using screen readers—understand the organization of your content and navigate quickly to what they need. Headings create a semantic outline of your page.

How to check or fix it:

• Use one <h1> tag for the page title.
• Use <h2>, <h3>, etc., to organize subtopics in a logical hierarchy.
• Don’t skip heading levels (e.g., jump from <h2> to <h4>).
• In WordPress, use Heading blocks and choose the appropriate level from the toolbar.
• Test with browser extensions like HeadingsMap, or navigate your page with a screen reader (like NVDA or VoiceOver) to hear the heading order.

2. Text Alternatives (Alt Text)

Images can’t be seen by screen reader users. Alt text describes the content and function of an image, allowing all users to understand its purpose. It also improves SEO and ensures your content is accessible in low-bandwidth or image-blocked environments.

How to check or fix it:

• Provide concise, descriptive alt text for informative images.
• Use empty alt text (alt="") for decorative images to prevent distraction.
• In WordPress, add alt text in the image block settings or media library.
• Test by right-clicking images and inspecting their code, or by using screen readers to ensure the alt text is read correctly.
• For a deeper dive into writing great alt text, check out Website Alt Text: What It Is & How to Write It by Meg Miller on our blog.

3. Color & Contrast

Low contrast makes it hard for users with low vision or color blindness to read content. Relying on color alone excludes users who can’t distinguish between hues.

How to check or fix it:

• Ensure text-to-background color contrast is at least 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text).
• Don’t use color alone to indicate meaning (e.g., red for “error”)—pair it with text or icons.
• Use browser extensions like Colour Contrast Checker to check for errors.

4. Keyboard Navigation

Some users rely entirely on a keyboard to navigate due to mobility impairments. If your site isn’t keyboard-accessible, they can’t use it.

How to check or fix it:

• Use the Tab key to navigate through your site. Can you access all links, buttons, and form fields?
• Ensure you can activate features with Enter or Space.
• Add focus indicators (visible outlines or borders) so users can see where they are.
• Learn how to keyboard test your website for accessibility.

5. Forms

Accessible forms help users complete tasks like subscribing or checking out. Labels, instructions, and error messages must be clear and easily perceivable by all users.

How to check or fix it:

• Use the <label> element to associate text with each form field.
• Use aria-describedby or visible hints for instructions.
• Group related fields (like radio buttons) with <fieldset> and <legend>.
• In WordPress, use accessibility-friendly plugins like Gravity Forms, and always fill in field labels—not placeholders alone.
• Test with keyboard and screen readers to ensure forms are usable and properly announced.

6. Links & Buttons

Descriptive links and proper button roles ensure users—especially those using screen readers—understand where a link goes or what a button does. Without this clarity, navigation and tasks can become confusing or impossible for users relying on assistive technology.

How to check or fix it:

• Avoid vague link text like “Click here.” Use phrases like “Download the report” or “View pricing page.”
• Use semantic HTML: <a> for links, <button> for actions.
• Check that buttons are accessible by keyboard and announced properly by screen readers.
• Use our Accessibility Checker WordPress plugin to flag issues with link text or missing button roles—see the Accessibility Checker documentation for detailed guidance.

7. Multimedia (Audio & Video)

Videos and audio need alternatives so people who are Deaf or hard of hearing can access the content, and so it’s understandable in sound-off situations

How to check or fix it:

• Add closed captions to all videos.
• Provide full text transcripts for audio-only content.
• Avoid autoplay or give users precise controls to pause/stop playback.
• Use platforms like YouTube or Vimeo that support captions, or add captions manually with tools like Descript.

8. ARIA & Landmark Roles

ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles help screen readers understand dynamic or complex web elements, while landmarks (like <main>, <nav>, etc.) improve navigation.

How to check or fix it:

• Use native HTML elements whenever possible—they are inherently more accessible.
• Use ARIA only to enhance, not replace, native semantics.
• Apply landmarks to clearly define sections of a page.
• Use the browser extension Landmark Navigation to confirm proper use.
• For a beginner-friendly guide to ARIA, see “ARIA for Beginners” by Maria Maldonado.

9. Error Prevention & Notifications

Users need clear feedback when they make a mistake, especially in forms. Error messages should be noticeable and understandable by all users.

How to check or fix it:

• Display error messages next to the relevant field.
• Use ARIA live regions to dynamically announce errors or updates.
• Ensure focus moves to the error message or invalid field.
• Test forms with screen readers and keyboard to confirm users are notified of issues.

10. Mobile & Touch Accessibility

Many users access the web on mobile devices. Small tap targets and poor mobile layouts can exclude users with limited dexterity or low vision.

How to check or fix it:

• Make sure tap targets (buttons, links) are at least 44×44 pixels.
• Utilize responsive layouts that adjust to various screen sizes.
• Zoom in and navigate your site on mobile to test readability and usability.
• Use browser dev tools to emulate smaller screens and test touch interactions.

Tools to Help You Check Accessibility

Manual testing is essential, but automated tools can help identify common issues quickly. We recommend:

• Accessibility Checker: Our WordPress plugin that flags accessibility errors directly in the block editor.
• WAVE: Browser extension for spotting code-level issues.
• VoiceOver, NVDA, or JAWS: Screen readers for real-world testing.

Don’t forget user testing—feedback from people with disabilities provides insights no automated tool can match.

Tailoring Your Checklist for Your Workflow

Your checklist doesn’t need to be one-size-fits-all. Consider creating:

• A pre-launch checklist for QA.
• A content checklist for writers and editors.
• A plugin/theme evaluation checklist to guide purchase or development decisions.
• A monthly or quarterly review checklist to monitor long-term accessibility health.

Start Building Your Website Accessibility Checklist Today

An accessibility checklist is a living resource that evolves with your website and your team. When used well, it builds a culture of inclusion and quality that benefits every visitor.

At Equalize Digital, we believe accessibility is easier when it’s part of your everyday workflow. That’s why we built the Accessibility Checker plugin—to bring WCAG guidance directly into WordPress, where your team is already working.

If you’re a website developer or agency owner, download our Shift-Left with Accessibility Checklist for free here. It’s a great starting point for accessibility in your projects.

Want help creating or customizing your checklist? Contact us or check out our Accessibility Resources to get started.