The surprising thing about accessibility failures is how predictable they are. Most sites fail on the same seven points, again and again. The good news: because the failures repeat themselves, the fixes are known and proven too. This guide details the seven common failures and the solution for each one.
1. Missing accessibility statement
The failure: the site has no accessibility statement page. This is the most common failure and also the first examined in lawsuits.
The fix: produce a Regulation 35-structured statement with the level of accessibility, a description of what was made accessible, and contact or coordinator details where required, and place a link to it in the footer.
2. Weak color contrast
The failure: light gray text on a white background, or text over an image, that is hard to read.
The fix: ensure a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 between text and background. Darken light text colors or add a background layer beneath text over images.
3. Missing alternative text
The failure: informative images with no description (alt), so a screen reader cannot convey the content.
The fix: add concise, accurate alternative text to every informative image. Purely decorative images can take an empty alt.
4. Forms without labels
The failure: form fields with no associated label, so it is unclear what to enter in each field.
The fix: associate a clear label with every field. Do not rely on placeholder text alone, it disappears the moment you start typing.
5. Broken keyboard navigation
The failure: you cannot reach every element by keyboard alone, or you cannot see where the focus is.
The fix: ensure every link, button, and field is reachable with the Tab key, and that the focus indicator is visible and clear on every active element.
6. Poor heading structure
The failure: headings used for styling instead of structure, or skipped levels (from H1 straight to H4).
The fix: build a logical, continuous heading hierarchy. Every page should have one H1, with subtopics branching from it in order.
7. Unclear link names
The failure: links that read "click here" or buttons with no name, which do not say where they lead.
The fix: give every link and button descriptive text that explains the destination or action, so it is understandable out of context too.
From the list to the fix
The efficient path is to run through the seven points against your site, mark what fails, and prioritize by impact. An automated accessibility check will detect most of them quickly and show you exactly where they appear in the code.