frontend-accessibility-best-practices

name	frontend-accessibility-best-practices
description	Accessibility (a11y) best practices for React components. Use when creating UI components, forms, interactive elements, or reviewing code for accessibility compliance.

Accessibility Best Practices

Accessibility patterns for building inclusive React applications following WCAG standards. Contains 7 rules across 4 categories focused on semantic HTML, screen reader support, keyboard navigation, and user preferences.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Creating new UI components
• Building forms and interactive elements
• Adding dynamic content or notifications
• Implementing navigation patterns
• Reviewing code for accessibility

Rules Summary

Semantic HTML & Structure (HIGH)

semantic-html-landmarks - @rules/semantic-html-landmarks.md

Use semantic HTML elements for page structure.

// Bad: divs with class names
<div className="header">...</div>
<div className="nav">...</div>
<div className="content">...</div>

// Good: semantic elements
<header>...</header>
<nav aria-label={t("Primary")}>...</nav>
<main>...</main>
<footer>...</footer>

Screen Readers (MEDIUM)

screen-reader-sr-only - @rules/screen-reader-sr-only.md

Use sr-only class for visually hidden text.

// Icon-only buttons need accessible labels
<Button variant="icon" onPress={onClose}>
  <XMarkIcon aria-hidden="true" />
  <span className="sr-only">{t("Close")}</span>
</Button>

// Visually hidden section headings
<section>
  <h2 className="sr-only">{t("Search results")}</h2>
  <SearchResultsList />
</section>

aria-live-regions - @rules/aria-live-regions.md

Announce dynamic content changes to screen readers.

// Error messages - announced immediately
{
  error && (
    <p role="alert" className="text-failure-600">
      {error}
    </p>
  );
}

// Status updates - announced politely
<div role="status" aria-live="polite">
  {t("{{count}} results found", { count })}
</div>;

Keyboard & Focus (HIGH)

keyboard-navigation - @rules/keyboard-navigation.md

Use semantic elements for built-in keyboard support.

// Bad: div with onClick not keyboard accessible
<div onClick={handleClick}>Click me</div>

// Good: button has Enter/Space support
<button onClick={handleClick}>Click me</button>

// Good: react-aria Button handles everything
import { Button } from "react-aria-components";
<Button onPress={handlePress}>Click me</Button>

focus-management - @rules/focus-management.md

Show visible focus indicators and trap focus in modals.

// Always use focus-visible for focus styles
<button className="focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-teal-600">
  Click me
</button>;

// react-aria Modal handles focus trapping automatically
import { Modal, Dialog } from "react-aria-components";
<Modal isOpen={isOpen}>
  <Dialog>{/* Focus automatically trapped here */}</Dialog>
</Modal>;

User Preferences (MEDIUM)

reduced-motion - @rules/reduced-motion.md

Respect prefers-reduced-motion setting.

import { usePrefersReducedMotion } from "~/hooks/use-prefers-reduced-motion";

// CSS approach
<div className="animate-bounce motion-reduce:animate-none">
  Bouncing content
</div>;

// JS approach
function AnimatedCounter({ value }) {
  let prefersReducedMotion = usePrefersReducedMotion();
  if (prefersReducedMotion) return <span>{value}</span>;
  return <CountUp target={value} />;
}

touch-targets - @rules/touch-targets.md

Ensure 44x44px minimum touch targets.

// Icon buttons need explicit sizing
<Button variant="icon" className="h-11 w-11">
  <XMarkIcon className="h-5 w-5" />
  <span className="sr-only">{t("Close")}</span>
</Button>

// Links need padding for tappable area
<Link to={href} className="block py-3 px-4">
  {label}
</Link>

Key Files

• app/components/heading.tsx - Region, Heading, Main components
• app/hooks/use-prefers-reduced-motion.ts - Reduced motion hook
• app/components/field/field.tsx - Accessible form field component