March 28, 2026

The 5-Minute Accessibility Check Any Business Owner Can Do Right Now

You don't need to be a developer, and you don't need special software. These five checks will reveal the most common WCAG violations on your website in about five minutes. All you need is your keyboard and a web browser.

Check 1: The Keyboard Test (2 minutes)

Put your mouse in a drawer. Open your website in a browser and press Tab.

Watch for these things as you tab through the page:

• Can you see where you are? There should be a visible outline or highlight on the currently focused element. If focus seems to disappear, that's a violation.
• Does a "Skip to content" link appear? The very first Tab press should reveal a link that lets you jump past the navigation. If nothing appears, that's a violation.
• Can you reach everything? Tab through the entire page. Can you reach the navigation links, the contact form, buttons, and any interactive elements? If something is skipped, that's a violation.
• Can you get out of everything? If a popup or menu opens, press Escape. If you get stuck (can't close or can't tab away), that's a "keyboard trap" — one of the most serious violations.

Check 2: The Free Scanner (1 minute)

Open a new browser tab and go to wave.webaim.org. Paste your website URL and hit the arrow.

WAVE will overlay icons on your page showing every issue it found. Look at the summary panel:

• Red icons = Errors — These are definite WCAG violations (missing alt text, empty links, missing form labels)
• Yellow icons = Alerts — Potential issues that need human judgment
• Purple icons = Contrast — Text that doesn't meet the 4.5:1 contrast ratio requirement

If you see more than 5 errors, your site has significant compliance gaps.

Check 3: The Image Test (30 seconds)

Right-click any image on your website and select "Inspect" (or press F12). Look at the <img> tag. Does it have an alt attribute with a meaningful description?

• <img src="team.jpg"> — No alt text. Violation.
• <img src="team.jpg" alt=""> — Empty alt. Only OK if the image is purely decorative.
• <img src="team.jpg" alt="Our team of 5 technicians in the workshop"> — Descriptive alt text. Correct.

Check 4: The Squint Test (30 seconds)

Look at your website from arm's length, or zoom your browser to 50%. Can you still read everything? If any text blends into its background, it likely fails the 4.5:1 contrast requirement. Common offenders:

• Light gray text on white backgrounds
• White text on light-colored hero images
• Placeholder text in form fields
• Footer text on dark backgrounds

Check 5: The Heading Test (1 minute)

Open your browser's DevTools (F12), go to the Console tab, and paste this:

document.querySelectorAll('h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6').forEach(h => console.log(h.tagName, h.textContent.trim().substring(0,50)))

This shows you every heading on the page. Check:

• Is there exactly one H1?
• Do headings go in order (H1, H2, H3) without skipping levels?
• Are headings used for structure, not just for making text look big?

What to Do with Your Findings

If you found issues (most websites have at least some), you have three options:

1. Fix what you can — Alt text and contrast changes are often simple to do yourself, especially on WordPress or Squarespace.
2. Send the WAVE report to your web developer — They can address the technical issues like heading structure, form labels, and keyboard navigation.
3. Get a professional audit — Automated tools catch 30–57% of issues. A professional audit with manual testing catches the rest.