How to Run a Basic Website Accessibility Review
This tutorial explains run a basic website accessibility review using established web, design, publishing, or tool documentation. It does not promise traffic, rankings, leads, or income. The objective is a usable process that can be checked against real requirements and official documentation.
Before you start
Use the steps below as a practical baseline, then check the linked official documentation for the software, platform or web standard you are using. Product interfaces and platform features can change. Business information, prices, credentials, policies and legal requirements should come from the business or an appropriate authoritative source, not from placeholder copy.
Understanding the task
Build the page in layers. Start with meaningful HTML that still makes sense before styling: headings describe the document, links navigate, buttons perform actions, labels identify form controls, and lists represent actual lists. Then use CSS for presentation and layout. JavaScript should add behavior where it is genuinely needed rather than compensating for markup that already has a native HTML solution.
Responsive design is better understood as a content problem than as a collection of device presets. Begin with a narrow viewport, allow text to wrap naturally, use flexible dimensions, and widen the layout until the content tells you a breakpoint is necessary. Flexbox is particularly useful when items primarily need to align along one dimension; Grid is useful when rows and columns need coordinated tracks. Neither requires designing separate pages for phones and desktops.
Testing is part of implementation. Browser developer tools reveal the DOM the browser actually constructed, the CSS declarations that won the cascade, computed dimensions, network failures and layout behavior at different viewport sizes. Keyboard testing catches interaction problems a mouse will not reveal. Performance testing can expose oversized images, blocking scripts and unnecessary third-party resources. The rendered page—not the intention in the source file—is what users receive.
Work through it
Start from semantic structure
Use HTML elements for their intended purpose before adding visual styling. MDN accessibility guidance recommends semantic HTML because native elements provide built-in behavior and accessibility.
Add layout with the appropriate CSS system
Use normal flow first, then Flexbox for one-dimensional alignment or Grid for two-dimensional track layouts. Keep selectors understandable.
Make the layout responsive
Test content at multiple widths and add breakpoints where the layout actually stops working. Avoid designing only for one named device.
Preserve accessibility
Keep keyboard focus visible, maintain usable contrast, label controls, provide text alternatives where needed, and preserve expected semantics.
Check performance
MDN recommends attention to large media, embedded content and resource loading. Resize and compress images and limit unnecessary JavaScript.
Inspect the result in the browser
Use developer tools to check the DOM, computed CSS, box dimensions, network requests and responsive behavior.
Review the finished work
Before considering the tutorial complete, read through the result as a user rather than as its creator. The following points are useful final checks:
What to verify
Do not treat a tutorial as evidence that a specific result is guaranteed. For websites, verify the published page on real browsers and screen sizes. For business workflows, verify the facts, commercial terms and contact path. For AI-assisted work, review the output against supplied source material. For design tools, inspect the exported file rather than assuming the working document and final asset are identical.
Related tutorials
Official sources and further reading
These references are the factual basis for the workflow above and let you check instructions against current primary documentation.