React Accessibility Checker

Accessibility on React

React builds interfaces from components, and in a single-page app the browser downloads a nearly empty HTML file and React draws the page afterwards. An accessibility check has to run the JavaScript and look at the result, because the finished page, not the source, is what a screen reader reads.

React supports every accessibility attribute, so the platform is not the limit. The risk is in how components are written: it is quick to build a button from a div, a form field with a placeholder and a modal with no focus handling, and a component library can spread that choice across the whole app.

React’s own accessibility guide covers semantic HTML, ARIA attributes, accessible forms, focus management and fragments. These are the areas where React apps most often fall short when interfaces are built from components. (opens in a new tab, source: React Docs: Accessibility)

Common Accessibility Issues on React Sites

• Clickable divs and spans

  Elements with an onClick handler but no button or link semantics cannot be reached with Tab or activated with Enter and Space, and are not announced as controls.

• Inputs without labels

  Fields that use placeholder text, or a label that is not connected with htmlFor, have no reliable accessible name.

• Focus after updates

  When a route changes, a modal opens or an item is deleted, focus stays on an element that no longer exists unless the app moves it deliberately.

• Silent updates

  Results lists, toasts, form errors and loading indicators change on screen without a live region or other announcement.

• Wrapper divs breaking structure

  Extra wrapper elements around list items, table rows and definition lists, added to satisfy JSX, break the semantics. Fragments avoid them.

How AccessBell Scans Your React Site

1. Enter any public page. Paste the address of a page on your React site into the scanner above. There is nothing to install: no plugin, no code snippet and no login.
2. We load it in a real browser. AccessBell opens the page in headless Chrome and runs its scripts, so it tests what your visitors actually see, including content added by your theme, apps or plugins.
3. We run the WCAG rules. The open-source axe-core engine checks the page against the standard you choose, and every result is mapped to the WCAG success criteria it affects.
4. You see what is wrong in seconds. The free scan lists every issue it finds, ranked by severity, with the WCAG criteria each one fails. Start a free trial to get the failing code and the fix for each one. Our methodology explains exactly what runs and what still needs a person.

What You Get From the Free Scan and the Free Trial

Free, with no account

• 63 automated rules for WCAG 2.2 Level AA, or presets for WCAG 2.1 AA, the ADA, Section 508 and EN 301 549
• Every issue found on the page, ranked by severity from critical to minor
• The WCAG success criteria each issue fails, which you can look up in our WCAG library

With a 3-day free trial

• The failing HTML, so you can find the element in your React editor or code
• How to fix each issue, with a corrected example
• Every page scanned, up to 500 per domain, with daily monitoring and an email when something breaks
• A list of checks that need a person to review, so nothing is missed
• A dated record of your scans and fixes

Start 3-day free trial

How to Fix What the Scan Finds

1. Use native elements first: a button for actions, a link for navigation, a label for each field. They bring keyboard behavior and semantics for free.
2. Manage focus on purpose with refs: move it into a dialog when it opens, and return it to the control that opened it when it closes.
3. Add accessibility linting and component tests to your pipeline, and scan the deployed app to catch what only shows up after rendering.
4. Run a free scan above on your homepage and a few key pages, fix issues starting with critical and serious, then rescan to confirm.
5. For ongoing protection, AccessBell Pro monitors up to 500 URLs per domain every day and alerts you when a theme, app or plugin update introduces a new issue.

Related Guides

• WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value Explained in Plain EnglishWCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value explained simply: give every control a name, role and state with native HTML and ARIA, with code examples and how to test.
• WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions Explained in Plain EnglishWCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions explained simply: visible labels, format hints, grouped fields and required markers, with code examples and a test routine.
• Automated vs Manual Accessibility Testing: Where Each FitsWhat automated accessibility testing catches, what needs a human, and how to combine both into a repeatable process for finding and fixing WCAG issues.
• WCAG Success Criteria LibraryLook up any success criterion the scan flags, in plain language.
• React ADA Compliance CheckerThe same scan with the ADA preset, plus the ADA risks specific to React sites.
• Free Accessibility Statement GeneratorPublish a statement once your React site's known issues are fixed.

React Accessibility — Frequently Asked Questions