Fixes
Troubleshooting
A complaint that “nothing works on your site” rarely means the whole site is broken. Usually one specific thing gets in the way: invisible focus, a button with no name, a field with no label. Below are common situations and a calm plan of action for when someone tells you they can't use your page.
A complaint about a hard-to-use site is a free audit someone ran for you. It's worth accepting with thanks.
About this section: the advice is written in general terms and fits most small websites. If a fix means changing a template or code, share these notes with whoever maintains your site.
When something goes wrong
I can't see where focus is when I press Tab
Most likely the focus outline was removed for looks. Restore it or replace it with your own, as long as it stands out on any background. Without it, a keyboard user has no idea what they're about to activate.
Text gets cut off or overlaps other blocks when zoomed in
The usual culprits are fixed block heights and font sizes that don't scale with zoom. Check the page at double size and ask your developer to let blocks grow to fit their content.
A button has an icon but no text
A screen reader will announce it as just “button,” and the person won't know what it does. Give it a text name, either visible or exposed to assistive technology: “Search,” “Close,” “Menu.”
Visitors can't tell what's wrong with the form
Rewrite your error messages to say exactly what's wrong and how to fix it. Place them next to the field and don't rely on red alone. The contact form guide walks through this step by step.
A video was published without captions
Start with your most important videos. Even auto-generated captions need to be read and corrected: recognition errors can easily change the meaning. For audio-only recordings, a text transcript is enough.
Pale gray text is hard to read
Check the contrast: level AA requires at least 4.5:1 for normal text. Often simply making the text darker does the trick. The design doesn't suffer, and everyone finds it easier to read.
When someone tells you they can't use your site
Thank them and ask for details
Reply calmly, without making excuses. Ask which page caused trouble, what they were trying to do and what kind of device they were using, in general terms and without unnecessary personal questions.
Offer a workaround right away
Until you find the cause, give them another way to get what they need: reply by email, accept a request by email, send them the text of a document. Nobody should have to wait for the site to be fixed.
Try it yourself
Follow the same path: first with a mouse, then with the keyboard only, then zoomed to double size and with the built-in screen reader. Note the step where things get stuck.
Find the cause, not the symptom
If one button won't work, check all similar ones. The bug usually lives in a shared template and shows up on many pages.
Fix it and test again
After the fix, go through the same path again using the same methods. Make sure the fix didn't break something nearby, such as the tab order between fields.
Let the person know
Tell them what changed and ask them to try again. It takes a minute, and it shows them their message was actually read.
Add it to your checklist
Add the problem you found to the list of things you check before publishing a new page. That way one complaint prevents many repeats.
Related reading
- Guides
Step-by-step guides to making text readable, organizing a page with clear headings and building a contact form that works for everyone. Plus the article catalogue.
- Tools
How to check a site yourself: browser zoom, the keyboard, high contrast mode, the built-in screen reader, color contrast checks and a markup validator.
- Risks
Accessibility traps: impossible CAPTCHAs, vanishing messages, flashing content, short timeouts, scans instead of text and overlays that promise to fix everything.
- Glossary
Key terms explained: accessibility, WCAG, GOST R 52872-2019, contrast, alt text, focus, screen readers, captions and plain language.
- Questions
Answers to common questions about this reference, text and images, forms and video, and how to check your own site's accessibility without an expert.
Sources
- W3C: WCAG 2.2 Recommendation
- GOST R 52872-2019 (Russian national standard)
- Wpget editorial materials
This information is stated in general terms as of the preparation date. Guidelines, browsers and reader habits change over time, so when in doubt, check the primary sources: the text of the WCAG guidelines and, for Russia, the current GOST R 52872-2019 standard.