Common Accessibility Issues

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

October 2025

Ensure lists are marked up correctly

Bulleted and numbered lists (called “Lists”) are a great way to display information. However, it’s possible to accidentally include extra content inside a list. This can cause accessibility issues on your page.

Why it matters

Improperly structured lists can confuse assistive technology, making it harder for users to understand the content.

An Error might look like this: The text in bold should not appear in the list

<ul>
    <div class="some_class">
        <li>Example 1</li>
    </div>
    <div class="some_other_class">
        <li>Example 2</li>
        <li>Example 3</li>
        <li>Example 4</li>
    </div>
</ul>

Correct List code:

<ul>
        <li>Example 1</li>
        <li>Example 2</li>
        <li>Example 3</li>
        <li>Example 4</li>
</ul>

Note: The only content in the list is the <li> bullet points. 

• Navigate to the page in WordPress:
  Locate the part of the page with the error and click on the Text tab to view the code.
• Amend the Code: 
  Remove the code that should not be there and Update the page.
  

📖Read more: Using HTML according to spec – a guide about important information about the usage of these informative techniques from W3C.

Combine adjacent links  

This issue occurs when two links sit next to each other but point to the same destination.

📺 Read: Read more about Combining adjacent image and text links for the same resource – Details from W3C.

September 2025

This Month’s Focus: Automated vs Assisted Checks
 

Did you know there are two types of tests in Silktide?
 
Automated Checks:

• Fully tested by the system.
• The issue is confirmed without human judgement.
• Examples include:
  • Missing alt text on an <img> tag
  • Colour contrast failing WCAG ratios
  • Pages scrolling in two dimensions on mobile

These checks are objective and can be measured automatically.

Assisted Checks:

• Highlighted for human review.
• The system identifies a possible issue and asks for confirmation.
• Examples include:
  • Whether image alt text is meaningful
  • Whether link text like “Click here” is descriptive
  • Whether video captions are accurate and synchronised

These checks are subjective and require human judgment.

Understanding Dashboard Icons

  

Critical Checks 

Issues with this icon are the most serious accessibility problem. This typically has a major impact on users (especially those using assistive technologies) and must be fixed as a priority.

Automated Checks

Issues with this icon are significant accessibility problem, but not as severe as critical. Still important to fix fairly soon.

Assisted Checks

Issues with this icon are ones that need a user sense check. Typically you will either click on the Ignore or Approve button to clear this issue. 

Non Critical Assisted Checks

Issues with this icon also need a user sense check, however are less critical. They are being reported by the system as potential issues. 

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.

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.