Website Accessibility (WCAG 2.2) Compliance: A Practical Checklist | LegalAiAuditor Blog
Accessibility lawsuits under the ADA (in the US) and equivalent EU rules have risen sharply, and most of them cite the same handful of WCAG failures. Here's what to check first.
1. Color contrast
Text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background (3:1 for large text), per the official W3C WCAG 2.2 quick reference. Light-gray-on-white body text is the single most common failure we see in audits.
2. Alt text on meaningful images
Every image that conveys information needs a descriptive alt attribute; purely decorative images should have alt="" so screen readers skip them. Missing alt text is also a direct SEO issue -- Google's Lighthouse accessibility audit flags it in both categories at once.
3. Keyboard navigation
Every interactive element -- buttons, links, form fields, modals -- must be reachable and operable using only a keyboard (Tab, Enter, Escape). Custom dropdowns and modals built without proper focus management are the most common breakage point.
4. Form labels
Inputs need a programmatically associated <label>, not just placeholder text (placeholders disappear on focus and are not reliably read by all screen readers).
5. Heading structure
A logical, non-skipping heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3) helps both screen reader users navigating by heading and search engine crawlers parsing page structure.
Tools worth using
Google Lighthouse (built into Chrome DevTools) gives a free automated pass, and Deque's axe is the industry-standard automated accessibility testing library many audit platforms build on. Automated tools catch roughly a third of real issues -- manual keyboard and screen-reader testing still matters.
Where this fits with other compliance work
Accessibility, privacy, and AI transparency increasingly overlap in regulatory guidance -- see our breakdowns of GDPR cookie consent and the EU AI Act. Run a free scan to get an accessibility score alongside your privacy and security results.