This WCAG 2.1 AA compliance checklist covers every success criterion your website needs to meet to satisfy the standard most commonly applied in ADA website lawsuits. Use it to audit your current site, guide remediation, and verify compliance.
Every non-text content item must have a text alternative. For images: meaningful images need descriptive alt text that conveys the same information. Decorative images should have empty alt="" so screen readers skip them. Complex images like charts need either detailed alt text or a long description in the page. Form inputs that use images as buttons need alt text describing the function. This is the most commonly violated WCAG criterion and the most frequently cited in ADA lawsuits.
Normal text must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. Large text (18pt or 14pt bold) needs at least 3:1. This applies to text in images too. The most common failure is light gray text on white backgrounds — very popular in modern design but often failing the 4.5:1 threshold. Use a contrast checker tool to verify every text/background combination on your site.
Color alone cannot be used to convey information. If you mark required form fields only with a red border and no text indicator, that fails. If error states are communicated only through color changes, that fails. Add text labels, icons, or patterns alongside color to ensure information is perceivable by users who cannot distinguish colors.
All functionality must be operable via keyboard alone — no mouse required. Every interactive element (links, buttons, form fields, dropdowns, modals) must be reachable and activatable via Tab, Enter, and arrow keys. Custom JavaScript components are a common failure point — carousels, modals, and dropdown menus often trap keyboard focus or are completely unreachable by keyboard.
Keyboard focus must be visible. When a user navigates via keyboard, they must be able to see which element currently has focus. Many designers remove the default browser focus outline (that blue ring) for aesthetic reasons — this creates a WCAG violation. If you remove the default outline, you must replace it with a visible alternative. This is one of the most common violations and one of the easiest to fix.
Every form input must have an associated, descriptive text label. Placeholder text is not a label — it disappears when the user starts typing. Labels must be programmatically associated with their input via the for/id relationship or ARIA labeling. Error messages must identify the specific field in error and describe how to fix it. This is the second most common WCAG violation category after missing alt text.
HTML must be valid and parseable by assistive technologies. Common failures include duplicate IDs (each ID must be unique per page), unclosed tags, and invalid ARIA attributes. Run your pages through an HTML validator and an ARIA validator. Invalid HTML confuses screen readers and creates unpredictable behavior for users with disabilities.
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