Accessibility engineering for product interfaces, from focus states and keyboard support to ARIA, forms, and screen readers. Use when building or reviewing UI components, modals, menus, forms, custom widgets, or when the user says "make this accessible" or reports keyboard or screen-reader issues. Triggers on accessibility, a11y, WCAG, aria, focus ring, focus-visible, focus trap, keyboard navigation, tab order, tabindex, screen reader, sr-only, aria-live, alt text, hit area, touch target, prefers-reduced-motion, autoplay, toast duration, skip link, semantic HTML, aria-label, form errors, disabled buttons, "not keyboard accessible".
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name
better-accessibility
description
Accessibility engineering for product interfaces, from focus states and keyboard support to ARIA, forms, and screen readers. Use when building or reviewing UI components, modals, menus, forms, custom widgets, or when the user says "make this accessible" or reports keyboard or screen-reader issues. Triggers on accessibility, a11y, WCAG, aria, focus ring, focus-visible, focus trap, keyboard navigation, tab order, tabindex, screen reader, sr-only, aria-live, alt text, hit area, touch target, prefers-reduced-motion, autoplay, toast duration, skip link, semantic HTML, aria-label, form errors, disabled buttons, "not keyboard accessible".
Accessibility that comes with the craft
Accessibility is not a compliance checkbox bolted on at the end; it is the floor for interface craft. Most of it is free if you use the platform: native elements ship with keyboard support, real labels announce themselves, and a visible focus ring is one CSS rule. Apply these principles when building or reviewing UI code, and match the project's existing styling system (Tailwind vs. plain CSS vs. CSS-in-JS) when applying fixes.
When reviewing, walk the interface as a keyboard-only user first (every flow must complete without a mouse), then as a screen-reader user: does each control announce a name, a role, and its state? When unsure, prefer the platform default over a custom rebuild, and remove ARIA rather than add it.
Contrast math (APCA thresholds, fixing contrast in OKLCH) is covered by the better-colors skill; text sizes, iOS input zoom, and RTL are covered by the better-typography skill.
prefers-reduced-motion, autoplay and timed UI, 200% zoom, reflow, rem vs px
Core Principles
1. Native Elements First
The first rule of ARIA: don't use ARIA when a native element exists. <button> for actions, <a href> for navigation (it must support Cmd/Ctrl/middle-click), never <div onClick>. No ARIA is better than bad ARIA.
2. Visible Focus Rings
Style :focus-visible, not bare :focus, so keyboard users get a ring and mouse users don't. The browser's default ring (outline-style: auto) renders the focus color the user configured in their OS and browser; prefer keeping it and only adding outline-offset: 2px. If the design needs a custom ring, use outline: 2px solid with no color (it renders currentColor, never a hardcoded brand color) at 3:1 contrast against adjacent colors. Never outline: none without a visible replacement.
3. Full Keyboard Support
Every pointer interaction needs a keyboard path, following the ARIA APG patterns: Escape closes overlays, arrow keys move within composite widgets (tabs, menus, listboxes), Tab moves between widgets, Enter and Space activate. Only tabindex="0" (join the natural tab order) and tabindex="-1" (programmatic focus), never positive values, which break the natural order. Composite widgets use roving tabindex: the active item is 0, all others -1.
4. Trap and Restore Focus
Modals set inert on the background content, move focus inside on open, and return focus to the trigger on close. Add overscroll-behavior: contain so background content doesn't scroll.
5. Minimum Hit Area
Interactive elements need a 44×44px hit area for touch or mobile contexts, at least 40×40px on desktop; WCAG 2.5.8's hard floor is 24×24px. Extend with a pseudo-element if the visible element is smaller. Never let hit areas of two elements overlap.
6. Label and Type Every Control
Every input gets a <label for> or wrapping <label>; a placeholder is never a label, and label and control share one hit target: no dead zones between a checkbox and its text. Add autocomplete with a meaningful name, and the correct type and inputmode for the keyboard. Never block paste; users paste passwords and one-time codes.
7. Errors That Announce
Keep submit enabled until the request starts, then disable with a spinner while keeping the original label. Validate on submit: mark failing fields with aria-invalid="true", point aria-describedby at the inline error text, and focus the first invalid field. Use native disabled when a native control is genuinely unavailable. Use aria-disabled="true" only when retaining focusability or discoverability is intentional; then block pointer, keyboard, and form behavior in code and style the state explicitly.
8. Accessible Names Everywhere
Icon-only buttons need a descriptive aria-label. Visible label text must appear in the accessible name. Decorative elements get aria-hidden="true", never on a focusable element.
9. Don't Rely on Color Alone
Status needs a redundant cue: icon, text, or underline alongside the color. Contrast floors: 4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for UI components and focus indicators (the WCAG 2 minimums; better-colors prefers APCA thresholds). When contrast fails, report the failing pair and the threshold it misses; don't change the project's colors unless asked, as the better-colors skill covers measuring and, on request, fixing.
10. Honor prefers-reduced-motion
Wrap motion in @media (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference) so it is opt-in. Under reduced motion, replace slides and scales with opacity crossfades; kill parallax and autoplay entirely. Independent of the preference: autoplaying media needs a visible pause control, and toasts carrying actions or errors stay until dismissed.
11. Announce Dynamic Content
Toasts and inline validation use aria-live="polite" (role="status"); reserve assertive (role="alert") for errors. The live region must exist empty in the DOM before its content is injected, or it won't announce.
12. Alt Text by Purpose
Decorative images get alt="", informative images describe the meaning, functional images describe the action: a search icon button is alt="Search", not alt="magnifying glass".
13. Structure Is Navigation
One <h1> per page, no skipped heading levels, exactly one <main>. A "Skip to content" link is the first focusable element, and anchored headings get scroll-margin-top.
14. Survive Zoom and Text Resize
The page must work at 200% zoom and reflow at 320px width without horizontal scrolling. Use min-height instead of fixed height on text containers, prefer rem breakpoints where they fit the codebase's conventions, and never use user-scalable=no or maximum-scale=1.
Common Mistakes
Mistake
Fix
outline: none to remove the focus ring
Style :focus-visible instead; mouse clicks won't show it
Hardcoded brand color on focus rings
Keep the default ring (outline-style: auto) or use colorless outline: 2px solid (currentColor)
<div onClick> for a button or link
<button> for actions, <a href> for navigation
Placeholder used as the only label
Add a visible <label for>; placeholders disappear on input
Positive tabindex to fix focus order
Fix the DOM order; only use 0 and -1
Live region injected together with its message
Pre-render the empty region, inject text afterwards
assertive live region for a routine toast
Use polite; reserve assertive for errors
aria-hidden="true" on a focusable element
Remove it or make the element non-focusable
Functional icon alt describes the picture
Describe the action: alt="Search", not alt="magnifying glass"
maximum-scale=1 to stop iOS input zoom
16px input font on mobile (see better-typography); never block zoom
Submit disabled until the form is valid
Keep it enabled; validate on submit and focus the first error
Review Output Format
Present every review in two parts.
Findings
Group findings by principle. Use a markdown table with Severity, Location, Before, After, and Why columns. Include every change made or proposed, not a subset. Never use separate "Before:" / "After:" lines.
Severity: HIGH prevents a task, hides content from assistive technology, or creates a systemic accessibility failure; MEDIUM makes an interaction meaningfully harder; LOW is isolated polish.
Location: cite path/to/file:line. If the artifact has no source files, cite the exact screen and component instead.
Before / After: show the current implementation and an actionable replacement.
Why: name the violated principle and its user impact.
Consolidate a repeated systemic issue into one row and list every affected location. Omit principles with no findings.
Example
Accessible names everywhere
Severity
Location
Before
After
Why
HIGH
src/Dialog.tsx:42
<button><XIcon /></button>
Add aria-label="Close"; mark the icon aria-hidden="true"
The icon-only control has no accessible name
HIGH
src/Nav.tsx:18
<a href="/settings"><GearIcon /></a>
Add aria-label="Settings"
The link destination is unavailable to screen readers
Add aria-invalid="true" + aria-describedby="email-error" with inline error text
Color alone neither explains nor announces the error
MEDIUM
src/SignupForm.tsx:64
Submit disabled until the form is valid
Keep submit enabled; on failure, focus the first invalid field
A disabled action hides what must be fixed
Minimum hit area
Severity
Location
Before
After
Why
MEDIUM
src/Toolbar.tsx:22
size-4 icon-only button
Extend the hit area to 44×44px with after:absolute after:size-11
The target is too small for reliable touch input
Verification and Verdict
After the findings:
Verification: list the exact checks run and their observed results, including keyboard traversal, accessible-name inspection, and screen-reader or automated checks when applicable. If a check was not run, state what still needs verification.
Verdict: Block if any HIGH finding remains, Needs changes if only MEDIUM or LOW findings remain, and Approve only when no actionable findings remain.
When there are no findings, omit the tables, state "No actionable accessibility findings", report verification, and end with Approve.
