QA Checklist (WCAG 2.1) · Intake 26.13

How to use this list

Open your site in one tab, this checklist in another, and tick each box as you verify it — don't tick what you think is true, tick what you've checked. Ticks reset when you reload this page. WCAG 2.1 is the legal accessibility baseline in Australia (alongside the Australian Privacy Principles for data) — this is a professional habit, not homework.

1 · Perceivable

Users must be able to perceive your content — with or without full sight or hearing.

Every <img> has meaningful alt text (or alt="" if purely decorative)

Text contrast is at least 4.5:1 against its background (3:1 for large text) — test with the WebAIM contrast checker

Colour is never the only signal — errors, links and states also use text, icons or underlines

Headings follow a real hierarchy: one <h1>, then <h2> → <h3> in order — no skipping levels for looks

Embedded video has captions (YouTube auto-captions count — check they're on)

Text can zoom to 200% in the browser without breaking the layout or hiding content

2 · Operable

Users must be able to operate your site — including with a keyboard only, no mouse.

You can Tab through the whole page — every link, button and form field is reachable in a sensible order

Keyboard focus is always visible — you can see which element you're on (don't remove focus outlines without replacing them)

Link text describes the destination — "View the Flexbox cheat sheet", never "click here"

Nothing flashes more than 3 times per second; carousels/animations can be paused

The page has a descriptive <title> — it's the first thing a screen reader announces

3 · Understandable

Content and controls must behave predictably and explain themselves.

<html lang="en"> is set — screen readers need it to pronounce your content correctly

Every form input has a visible <label> (placeholder text alone is not a label)

Form errors say what went wrong and how to fix it, next to the field

Navigation is in the same place, same order, on every page

No jargon walls — plain English, short sentences, expanded acronyms on first use

4 · Robust

Clean, standard code that browsers and assistive tech can rely on.

HTML passes the W3C HTML validator with no errors

CSS passes the W3C CSS validator

Semantic elements used where they exist — <nav>, <main>, <header>, <footer>, <button> — not <div> for everything

Site tested in at least two browsers (e.g. Chrome + Safari/Firefox)

5 · General QA pass

The non-accessibility checks that separate "works on my machine" from "professional".

Responsive at every Bootstrap breakpoint — xs, sm, md, lg, xl — no horizontal scrollbar anywhere

Tested on a real phone, not just DevTools' device mode

No broken links — every nav item, button and footer link goes somewhere real

No broken images; images compressed (aim under ~200KB each)

Favicon + <meta name="description"> present on every page

No placeholder text left behind — search your code for "lorem", "TODO" and "asdf"

Console is clean — open DevTools → Console and fix any red errors

Testing tools

Automated scans catch maybe half of real accessibility issues — run them all, then do the keyboard test yourself.