The Accessibility Checklist to Run Before Anything Else

Accessibility isn’t a “nice-to-have” layer. It’s a quality baseline—especially for a consulting brand that claims UX rigor.

This is a quick triage checklist Gold Standard Consulting uses to identify the highest-impact issues first. It won’t replace a full audit, but it will catch the problems that most often break experiences.

1) Color contrast (start here)

Check:

• body text on backgrounds
• button text on button backgrounds
• link text on backgrounds
• muted/secondary text (often the biggest offender)

Common failure:

• gold or beige text on light backgrounds
• low-opacity gray text

Fix direction:

• increase contrast using darker text or deeper background tones
• avoid “thin” text weights for low-contrast situations

2) Keyboard access (can the experience be used without a mouse?)

Test:

• Tab through the page
• Ensure every interactive element is reachable
• Ensure focus order is logical
• Ensure dropdowns and dialogs can be opened/closed via keyboard

Common failure:

• clickable divs without proper button semantics
• focus disappearing because styles were removed

Fix direction:

• ensure interactive elements are semantic (button, a, input)
• add visible focus styles (not subtle)

3) Visible focus states (make focus obvious, always)

A premium UI still needs obvious focus.

Check:

• links, buttons, form fields
• nav menus, dropdowns, modal close buttons

Fix direction:

• use :focus-visible rings with adequate contrast
• ensure focus isn’t clipped by overflow-hidden containers

4) Headings and landmarks (structure, not style)

Check:

• there is a single H1
• headings follow a logical hierarchy (H2 under H1, etc.)
• landmark regions exist (header, main, footer)

Common failure:

• headings used only for visual sizing
• skipping heading levels

Fix direction:

• align semantic structure with visual hierarchy
• use CSS classes for size, not heading level hacks

5) Forms: labels, errors, and help text

Check:

• every input has a label
• required fields are indicated clearly
• error messages are specific and placed near the field
• color is not the only indicator of error

Fix direction:

• use aria-describedby for help/error text
• ensure errors are announced for screen readers (if applicable)

6) Links: descriptive, not vague

Avoid “Learn more” as a repeated pattern; descriptive labels improve accessibility and information scent.

Fix direction:

• “Read the UX Audit Sprint deliverables”
• “View AI Enablement services”
• “See journal post: Navy + Gold contrast”

7) Motion and interaction comfort

Check:

• large animations that may cause discomfort
• parallax or auto-playing motion

Fix direction:

• respect prefers-reduced-motion
• avoid auto-playing motion in critical sections

A practical “done is better than perfect” pass

This checklist is intended as a first pass. The win is consistency:

• better readability
• better navigation clarity
• fewer broken interactions
• improved trust for everyone

Want a full accessibility triage on a site?

Gold Standard Consulting can run a structured accessibility triage and provide a prioritized fix backlog.

Email contact@goldstandardconsulting.com with the URL and primary CTA goal (e.g., bookings, inquiries, signups).