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Accessibility basics — fixing axe violations

Accessibility1 min readFixes 4 checks axe-critical, axe-serious, axe-moderate, axe-minor

axe-core finds the most common WCAG failures automatically. Critical and serious ones block real people; fix those first.

Step by step, with screenshots: Accessibility checker results — fixing the ten findings we see most →

Check your own site

Runs these 4 checks and the other 183, free, in about 45 seconds.

What a passing site looks like

  • No critical accessibility violationsfail · −10 ptseffort M
  • No serious accessibility violationsfail · −5 ptseffort M
  • No moderate accessibility violationswarning · −1 ptseffort M
  • No minor accessibility violationswarning · −0.5 ptseffort S

1. Critical accessibility issues

Why it matters. Critical issues stop some visitors from using the page at all, for example buttons a screen reader cannot name or forms that cannot be filled in.

How to fix it.
  1. Open the technical detail to see each rule and the elements affected.
  2. Fix the highest-count rule first; the same template usually causes most instances.

2. Serious accessibility issues

Why it matters. Serious issues make parts of the page very hard to use with a screen reader, keyboard or zoomed-in display, so some visitors give up before they buy or get in touch.

How to fix it.
  1. Open the technical detail to see each rule and the elements affected.
  2. Fix the rule with the most elements first; it is usually one template or component.

3. Moderate accessibility issues

Why it matters. Moderate issues slow visitors down rather than stopping them, for example headings out of order or regions without a name. Fixing them makes the page easier for everyone to scan.

How to fix it.
  1. Open the technical detail to see each rule and the elements affected.
  2. Fix them in the shared layout or theme so every page benefits at once.

4. Minor accessibility issues

Why it matters. Minor issues are small inconsistencies that rarely block anyone but add friction for people who rely on assistive technology.

How to fix it.
  1. Open the technical detail to see each rule and the elements affected.
  2. Fix them when you next touch the affected template.

Filed under Accessibility. Copy is generated from the same catalogue that scores every report, so what you read here is what the report says.