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      Common Accessibility Issues

      This article lists the common Accessibilility issues which were covered in the Monthly Accessibility as a Service report.

      August 2025

      Ensure text has sufficient contrast (AA).

      To comply with WCAG AA, the colour of text must sufficiently contrast with its background colour, so that people with moderate visual impairments can read it.

      The contrast ratio must be at least 4.5:1 for body text, and 3:1 for large text.

      A much more demanding version of this check (1.4.6) exists for WCAG AAA. Ignoring an issue in this check will also ignore it in that check, and vice versa.

      To resolve this issue:

      • Click the purple magnifying glass in your dashboard to view the issue in the Inspector.

      • This will show you the text which fails this check.

      • Use a Contrast Checker like WebAIMs to find the current colours involved (Foreground/Background)

      • Moved the sliders to make the colours lighter or darker. The contracts ratio will change.

      • When it is 4.5:1 the colours meet WCAG 2.2 AA level.

      • Update the colour of the text on your webpage with the adjusted colour, and update your page. 

      📖 Read: Why does color contrast matter? – a helpful guide from Silktide.

      Ensure captions are provided for all prerecorded audio and video

      All pre-recorded audio and video should provide appropriate captions. This allows people who are deaf or hard of hearing to use the media.

      Captions should provide the part of the content available via the audio track. Captions not only include dialogue, but also identify who is speaking and include non-speech information conveyed through sound, including meaningful sound effects.

      To fix this issue:

      • There is no easy way if you have been provided a video.

      • Using a video hosting platform such as YouTube/Vimeo can you add automatic Closed Captions

      • Once the video has been loaded, it can automatically generate closed captions. 

      📺 Watch: Learn about captions and subtitles – another useful resource from Silktide.

      July 2025

      Tag all PDFs 

      Tagging a PDF means adding behind-the-scenes labels that explain how the content is organised — like what’s a heading, a paragraph, or a list.

      These labels don’t change how the PDF looks, but they help screen readers (used by people who are blind or visually impaired) understand and read the document properly. It's a bit like giving directions so the screen reader knows what to say and how to say it.

      To resolve this issue:

      1. Use Tag-enabled PDF Creators: Create or convert documents using software that supports tagging, like Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word.
      2. Manually Add Tags: If your PDF isn't tagged, use a PDF editor's accessibility tools to add tags. This includes setting a logical reading order and adding alternative text for images.
      3. Consult Guidelines: Follow best practices outlined in WCAG or similar guidelines for effective tagging.
      📖 Read : Adobe's Guide to PDF Accessibility – a helpful guide from Adobe. 

      Ensure every page contains a top-level heading

      Every page needs a main title, called a Heading 1 or H1.

      Think of it like the big title on the front of a newspaper article — it tells you what the page is about. For people using screen readers, it’s super helpful because they can jump straight to that heading and know what the page is for — no need to scroll or guess.

      Just making the text look big isn’t enough. Computers and screen readers can’t tell if it’s a heading just by size. It has to be properly coded as a heading behind the scenes — like giving it a label that says “This is the main heading!”

      It also helps search engines (like Google) understand the topic better.

      To fix this issue:

      • Click the purple magnifying glass in your dashboard to view the issue in the Inspector.

      • Edit the page in WordPress and add a page title and Update the site. update the link text accordingly.
      • If the page does not need a heading for example the Newsletter page, you can click on the Ignore this page button. 

      • The issue will be resolved during your next site test.

      📺 Watch: Top-level heading – another useful resource from Silktide.

      June 2025

      Specify alternative text for appropriate images.

      Alternative text (alt text) is essential for users who are blind or partially sighted, as screen readers rely on it to describe images. Without alt text, important content or context may be lost.

      To resolve this issue:

      • Click the purple magnifying glass in your dashboard to view the issue in the Inspector.

      • This will show you the image and the page it appears on.

      • Open the image in the Image Manager and add a clear, descriptive alt text.

      • Once saved, the issue will be resolved during your site’s next accessibility check.

      📺 Watch: How to write good alt text – a helpful video from Silktide.

      Ensure links explain their purpose

      Vague link text like “Click here” or “Read more” isn’t helpful for users relying on screen readers. Link text should clearly describe the destination or purpose, even when read out of context.

      Better example:

      Click here to read more about this on the NSPCC website.

      To fix this issue:

      • Click View in the Inspector to identify where the link appears.

      • Edit the page in WordPress and update the link text accordingly.

      • The issue will be resolved during your next site test.

      📺 Watch: Write better link text – another useful resource from Silktide.