Inclusive Web Design Checklist
Aims to be the biggest checklist of inclusive design considerations for the web ever . Includes items for accessibility, performance, device support, interoperability, and language. Pull requests welcome!
Minify CSS and JS, and remove unused/redundant code [#1 ]
Maintain terse HTML, without over-reliance on <div>
scaffolding [#1 ]
Use screen reader and keyboard accessible HTML [#1 ]
Compress raster images [#1 ]
Optimize SVG path data [#1 ]
Make sure heading levels describe a logical section/subsection structure [#1 ]
Only include heading elements where they introduce sections of content
Remove potentially insensitive or uninclusive language (use "singular they") [#1 ]
Give video content captions and transcripts
Provide transcripts for audio content
Make sure main body (paragraph) text is no smaller than the default (user agent) size [#1 ]
Support "pinch zoom" (remove user-scalable=no
if present)
Use relative units (em
, rem
, and ch
), especially for font metrics
Make sure styles and scripts are not render blocking [#1 ]
Install a service worker and cache all applicable assets [#1 ]
Use content-based, not device-specific, media queries [#1 ]
Provide alternatives and/or descriptions for complex visualizations
Include only clear, meaningful animations
Honor requests to remove animation via the prefers-reduced-motion
media query
Make sure controls do not elicit unexpected or jarring behavior [#1 ] [#2 ]
Do not include third parties that compromise user privacy [#1 ]
Do not recreate supported and expected browser behaviors with bespoke scripts
Support Windows high contrast mode (use images, not background images) [#1 ]
Provide alternative text for salient images [#1 ]
Apply alt="
or aria-hidden="true"
to decorative images [#1 ]
Make sure text and background colors contrast sufficiently [#1 ]
Provide <title>
s that name the site and the specific page [#1 ]
Provide large touch "targets" for interactive elements [#1 ]
Use data tables (<table>
) for data only, not visual layout purposes
Make scrollable elements focusable for keyboard users
Do not rely on color for differentiation of visual elements
Use the same design patterns to solve the same problems
Ensure keyboard focus order is logical regarding visual layout
Lazy load large image assets
Honour DNT (Do Not Track) header [#1 ]
Translate / spell out acronyms the first time you use them
Do not hijack standard scrolling behavior
Move focus between dialogs and the controls that invoked them
Give all form elements permanently visible labels
Give grouped form elements group labels
Place labels above form elements
Provide status and error messages as WAI-ARIA live regions
Provide clear, unambiguous focus styles
Employ well-balanced, highly legible fonts (not too complex or elaborate)
Do not use very thin font faces [#1 ]
Ensure states (pressed, expanded, invalid, etc) are communicated to assistive software
Match semantics to behavior for assistive technology users
Provide a default language and use lang="[ISO code]"
for subsections in different languages
Make controls look like controls; give them strong perceived affordance
Underline links — at least in body copy
Make sure all content belongs to a landmark element (<header>
, <footer>
, <nav>
, <main>
, etc)
Avoid pure white or pure black shades
Mark invalid fields clearly and provide associated error messages
Ensure content is not obscured through zooming (no fixed widths)
Provide a manifest.json
file for identifiable homescreen entries
Indicate swipe gesture support clearly, and provide simple tap-based alternatives
Make sure data tables wider than their container can be scrolled horizontally
Avoid time constraints where possible; provide a clear warning and option to extend where not possible
Label and describe the same things with the same terminology
Ensure disabled controls are not focusable
Do not instate "infinite scroll" by default; provide buttons to load more items
Avoid justified body text [#1 ]
Provide enough spacing between lines of text (line-height
) [#1 ]
Ensure PDF content is accessible (include tags) [#1 ]
Provide a skip link if necessary [#1 ]
Avoid all-caps text [#1 ]
Ensure that content is written as clearly and simply as possible [#1 ]
Provide descriptive captions for figures
Warn users of links that have unusual behaviors, like linking off-site, or loading a new tab
Make content easier to find and improve search results with structured data [#1 ]
Use textual labels to make voice activation cues obvious
Do not mark up subheadings/straplines with separate heading elements
Ensure primary calls to action are easy to recognize and reach
Avoid images of text — text that cannot be translated, selected, or understood by assistive tech
Provide a print stylesheet (single column, with interactive content hidden)
Use well-established, therefore recognizable, icons and symbols
Subset fonts to just the characters needed
Instead of obstructing users with CAPTCHAs, use honeypots [#1 ]
Begin long, multi-section documents with a table of contents
Don"t make users perform actions to reveal content unless completely necessary
If content is meant to be hidden, ensure it is properly hidden to all users
Make sure controls within hidden content are not focusable
Use srcset
to tailor images to devices and reduce bandwidth costs
Do not auto focus form fields, on page load
Break up long and complex forms into discrete sections and/or screens
Make forms as short as possible; offer shortcuts like autocompleting the address using the postcode
Ensure the same content is available across different devices and platforms
Inform the user when there are important changes to the application state
Make sure the purpose of a link is clearly described: "read more" vs. "read more about accessibility"