Cheat sheet & Interview Q&A

Quick checklist

Pre-launch accessibility checklist for quick reference.

# Accessibility Pre-Launch Checklist

- [ ] Page has unique, descriptive `<title>`
- [ ] One `<h1>` per page, logical heading hierarchy
- [ ] All images have `alt` text (empty if decorative)
- [ ] All form fields have associated `<label>`
- [ ] Buttons and links have descriptive text
- [ ] Color contrast: text ≥ 4.5:1 (AA)
- [ ] Keyboard navigation works (Tab, Enter, Escape)
- [ ] Focus indicator is visible
- [ ] No keyboard traps
- [ ] Skip link to main content
- [ ] Video has captions and transcript
- [ ] No auto-playing sound
- [ ] ARIA used sparingly and correctly
- [ ] aria-live for dynamic updates
- [ ] Tested with NVDA/VoiceOver
- [ ] Axe DevTools: 0 critical issues

Interview Q&A

Q: What is A11y? Numeronym for Accessibility. Q: WCAG levels? A (basic), AA (minimum legal), AAA (optimal). Q: Most common issue? Missing alt text and form labels. Q: ARIA first rule? Use semantic HTML first. Q: Test SR? NVDA (free), VoiceOver (Mac), JAWS (paid). Q: Skip links purpose? Jump past nav to main content. Q: Announce updates? aria-live="polite" or aria-live="assertive". Q: Keyboard essentials? Tab/Enter/Escape/Arrow work, focus visible, no traps. Q: Color not enough? Pair with text/icons. Q: Without mouse? Tab/Enter/Arrow/Escape only.

Resources

MDN Web Docs: accessibility guide. WCAG 2.1: official guidelines. WebAIM: articles + tools. The A11Y Project: community. axe DevTools: browser extension. NVDA: free screen reader.