ADR-019: Accessibility Patterns and Standards

Status

Accepted

Context

The Astro Performance Starter targets WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance across all components and pages. As the codebase has grown, we need a consolidated reference for accessibility patterns to ensure consistency and maintainability.

This ADR consolidates all accessibility architectural decisions and patterns into a single source of truth.

Compliance Target

WCAG 2.1 Level AA - All components and pages must meet or exceed this standard.

Key principles:

Perceivable: Information must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive
Operable: UI components must be operable by all users
Understandable: Information and UI operation must be understandable
Robust: Content must be robust enough for assistive technologies

Decision

Adopt the patterns catalogued below as the binding accessibility standard for every page and component in the template. This record is deliberately a pattern catalogue rather than a single choice: the decision is that these patterns — and only these — are the sanctioned way to meet the compliance target above. (Section added 2026-07-05; the record predated the template’s required Decision heading.)

Accessibility Patterns

1. Decorative Content

Emojis

Pattern: All decorative emojis must be hidden from screen readers.

<!-- ✅ Correct: Decorative emoji with adjacent text -->
<span aria-hidden="true">📧</span>
<h3>Email</h3>

<!-- ❌ Incorrect: Screen reader announces "envelope" redundantly -->
<span>📧</span>
<h3>Email</h3>

<!-- ✅ Correct: Meaningful emoji (rare case) -->
<span role="img" aria-label="Warning">⚠️</span>

When to use:

Emoji serves purely visual enhancement
Adjacent text conveys the same meaning
Emoji is decorative/illustrative

When NOT to use:

Emoji is the only indicator of meaning (use role="img" + aria-label)
Emoji conveys unique information not in text

Implementation: See ADR 018 for contact page example.

Icons

Pattern: Decorative icons should be hidden; functional icons need labels.

<!-- ✅ Decorative icon with adjacent text -->
<img src={icon.src} alt="" aria-hidden="true" />
<span>GitHub</span>

<!-- ✅ Functional icon-only button -->
<button aria-label="Close menu">
  <img src={closeIcon.src} alt="" aria-hidden="true" />
</button>

<!-- ❌ Icon-only button without label -->
<button>
  <img src={closeIcon.src} alt="Close" />
</button>

Guidelines:

Use alt="" for decorative images (not alt="icon")
Add aria-hidden="true" to prevent redundant announcements
Icon-only interactive elements MUST have aria-label
Prefer text + icon over icon-only when possible

Images

Pattern: Use appropriate alt text based on image purpose.

<!-- ✅ Informative image -->
<Image src={screenshot} alt="Dashboard showing performance metrics" />

<!-- ✅ Decorative image -->
<Image src={background} alt="" />

<!-- ✅ Functional image (link/button) -->
<a href="/about">
  <Image src={avatar} alt="About Jane Doe" />
</a>

<!-- ❌ Missing alt text -->
<Image src={photo} />

Alt text guidelines:

Informative: Describe content and function
Decorative: Use alt="" (empty string, not omitted)
Functional: Describe destination/action
Complex: Provide long description via adjacent text or aria-describedby

2. ARIA Roles

Badge Component

Pattern: Use semantic roles based on badge purpose.

<!-- ✅ Decorative/Informational badge -->
<Badge role="presentation">Available for projects</Badge>
<Badge role="presentation">Remote-friendly</Badge>

<!-- ✅ Live status update -->
<Badge role="status">Online now</Badge>
<Badge role="status">Processing...</Badge>

<!-- ✅ Default informational (no role) -->
<Badge>TypeScript</Badge>

Decision tree:

Is the badge announcing a live status change?
├─ YES → role="status"
│   Examples: "Online now", "Processing", "3 unread"
└─ NO → Is it purely decorative?
    ├─ YES → role="presentation"
    │   Examples: "Remote-friendly", "Quick response"
    └─ NO → No role (default)
        Examples: Technology tags, categories

Rationale: role="status" causes screen readers to announce changes, which is only appropriate for live updates.

Interactive Components

Pattern: Ensure all interactive elements have accessible names.

<!-- ✅ SocialLink with context -->
<SocialLink
  platform="github"
  href="https://github.com/user"
  aria-label="Visit my GitHub profile (opens in new tab)"
/>

<!-- ✅ Button with explicit label -->
<Button href="/contact" aria-label="Contact us">
  Get In Touch
</Button>

<!-- ✅ Form input with associated label -->
<label for="email">Email Address</label>
<input id="email" type="email" required />

Requirements:

All interactive elements must have accessible names
Use aria-label when visible text is insufficient
Associate form inputs with <label> elements
Provide context for links that open in new tabs

3. Focus Management

Skip Links

Pattern: All pages must include skip links for keyboard navigation.

<!-- ✅ Skip link in BaseLayout -->
<SkipLink href="#main-content">Skip to main content</SkipLink>

<main id="main-content">
  <!-- Page content -->
</main>

Requirements:

Skip link must be first focusable element
Target must be a valid id on the page
Skip link can be visually hidden until focused
Must be keyboard accessible (Tab key)

Implementation: src/components/a11y/SkipLink.astro

Focus Order

Pattern: Focus order must follow logical reading order (left-to-right, top-to-bottom).

<!-- ✅ Natural DOM order -->
<div class="grid md:grid-cols-3 gap-8">
  <div>First item</div>
  <div>Second item</div>
  <div>Third item</div>
</div>

<!-- ❌ CSS reordering that breaks tab order -->
<div class="flex">
  <div class="order-2">Visually first</div>
  <div class="order-1">Visually second</div>
</div>

Guidelines:

Use natural DOM order for tab navigation
Avoid CSS order property that conflicts with DOM order
Test with keyboard-only navigation
Document complex focus flows with HTML comments

Focus Indicators

Pattern: All focusable elements must have visible focus indicators.

<!-- ✅ Tailwind focus utilities -->
<button class="focus:outline-hidden focus:ring-2 focus:ring-primary-500 focus:ring-offset-2">
  Click me
</button>

<!-- ✅ Custom focus-ring utility (from @utility in src/styles/global.css) -->
<a href="/about" class="focus-ring">
  About
</a>

Requirements:

Focus indicators must have 3:1 contrast ratio with background
Never use outline-solid: none without replacement
Use focus-visible: for keyboard-only indicators
Test with keyboard navigation

4. Forms & Validation

Form Labels

Pattern: All form inputs must have associated labels.

<!-- ✅ Explicit label association -->
<label for="name">Full Name</label>
<input id="name" type="text" required />

<!-- ✅ Implicit label (less preferred) -->
<label>
  Email Address
  <input type="email" required />
</label>

<!-- ✅ Hidden label with aria-label -->
<input
  type="search"
  aria-label="Search blog posts"
  placeholder="Search..."
/>

Requirements:

Use explicit for/id association when possible
Provide visible labels (not just placeholders)
Use aria-label only when visible label isn’t feasible
Group related inputs with <fieldset> and <legend>

Error Messages

Pattern: Error messages must be programmatically associated with inputs.

<!-- ✅ Error with aria-describedby -->
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input
  id="email"
  type="email"
  aria-invalid="true"
  aria-describedby="email-error"
/>
<span id="email-error" role="alert">
  Please enter a valid email address
</span>

<!-- ✅ Live region for dynamic errors -->
<div role="alert" aria-live="polite">
  {errorMessage}
</div>

Requirements:

Use aria-invalid="true" on invalid inputs
Associate errors with aria-describedby
Use role="alert" for error messages
Provide clear, actionable error text

5. Semantic HTML

Landmarks

Pattern: Use semantic HTML5 elements for page structure.

<!-- ✅ Semantic structure -->
<header>
  <nav aria-label="Main navigation">
    <!-- Navigation links -->
  </nav>
</header>

<main id="main-content">
  <article>
    <h1>Page Title</h1>
    <!-- Content -->
  </article>
</main>

<footer>
  <!-- Footer content -->
</footer>

<!-- ❌ Non-semantic divs -->
<div class="header">
  <div class="nav">
    <!-- Navigation -->
  </div>
</div>

Requirements:

Use <header>, <nav>, <main>, <footer>, <aside>
One <main> landmark per page
Use aria-label to distinguish multiple <nav> elements
Avoid redundant ARIA roles on semantic elements

Headings

Pattern: Use proper heading hierarchy (h1-h6).

<!-- ✅ Proper hierarchy -->
<h1>Page Title</h1>
  <h2>Section</h2>
    <h3>Subsection</h3>
  <h2>Another Section</h2>

<!-- ❌ Skipped levels -->
<h1>Page Title</h1>
  <h3>Section</h3> <!-- Skipped h2 -->

Requirements:

One <h1> per page
Don’t skip heading levels
Use headings for structure, not styling
Use CSS for visual hierarchy

6. Color & Contrast

Contrast Ratios

Pattern: All text must meet WCAG AA contrast requirements.

Requirements:

Normal text: 4.5:1 minimum contrast ratio
Large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold): 3:1 minimum
UI components: 3:1 for interactive elements
Disabled elements: Exempt from contrast requirements

Validation: Use pnpm run design:validate to check token contrast.

Color Alone

Pattern: Don’t rely on color alone to convey information.

<!-- ✅ Color + icon + text -->
<div class="text-red-600">
  <span aria-hidden="true">❌</span>
  <span>Error: Invalid input</span>
</div>

<!-- ❌ Color only -->
<div class="text-red-600">
  Invalid input
</div>

Requirements:

Use icons, text, or patterns in addition to color
Provide text alternatives for color-coded information
Test with grayscale/colorblind simulators

7. Motion & Animation

Reduced Motion

Pattern: Respect prefers-reduced-motion user preference.

/* ✅ Respect user preference */
.animate {
  animation: slide-in 0.3s ease-out;
}

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .animate {
    animation: none;
  }
}

Tailwind utilities:

<!-- ✅ Motion-safe utilities -->
<div class="motion-safe:transition-transform motion-reduce:transition-none">
  Content
</div>

Requirements:

All animations must respect prefers-reduced-motion
Use Tailwind motion-safe: and motion-reduce: utilities
Provide instant state changes for reduced motion
Never use animation for critical information

Testing Strategy

Manual Testing

Keyboard Navigation
- Tab through all interactive elements
- Verify focus indicators are visible
- Test Shift+Tab (reverse navigation)
- Ensure no keyboard traps
Screen Readers
- NVDA (Windows + Firefox)
- JAWS (Windows + Chrome/Edge)
- VoiceOver (macOS + Safari)
- TalkBack (Android + Chrome)
Browser DevTools
- Chrome Lighthouse accessibility audit
- Firefox Accessibility Inspector
- axe DevTools browser extension

Automated Testing

# Run accessibility tests
pnpm run test:a11y

# Validate design token contrast
pnpm run design:validate

# Full quality check
pnpm run quality

Tools:

Playwright with @axe-core/playwright for automated testing
Lighthouse CI for performance + accessibility scores
Custom scripts for contrast validation

Implementation Examples

Contact Page (ADR 018)

See ADR 018: Contact Page Accessibility for a complete implementation example covering:

Decorative emoji patterns
Semantic badge roles
Focus order documentation

Component Library

All atomic components follow these patterns:

src/components/atoms/Badge.astro - Semantic roles
src/components/atoms/SocialLink.astro - Accessible links
src/components/atoms/Button.astro - Focus indicators
src/components/a11y/SkipLink.astro - Skip navigation

Consequences

Positive

Single Source of Truth: One document for all accessibility patterns
Consistency: Clear guidelines prevent accessibility debt
Onboarding: New developers have comprehensive reference
Maintainability: Easier to update patterns in one place
Compliance: Systematic approach ensures WCAG AA compliance

Negative

Initial Overhead: Requires upfront documentation effort
Maintenance: Must keep ADR updated as patterns evolve

Neutral

Living Document: This ADR will be updated as new patterns emerge
Not Exhaustive: Covers common patterns; edge cases may need additional documentation

ADR 000: Starter Decisions - WCAG AA compliance requirement
ADR 018: Contact Page Accessibility - Implementation example

References

WCAG Guidelines

ARIA Specifications

Testing Resources

Tools

Date: 2025-10-01 (footer backfilled 2026-07-05 from git history; this record predates the footer convention)
Participants: Template maintainers
Outcome: Accepted

Status

Context

Compliance Target

Decision

Accessibility Patterns

1. Decorative Content

Emojis

Icons

Images

2. ARIA Roles

Badge Component

Interactive Components

3. Focus Management

Skip Links

Focus Order

Focus Indicators

4. Forms & Validation

Form Labels

Error Messages

5. Semantic HTML

Landmarks

Headings

6. Color & Contrast

Contrast Ratios

Color Alone

7. Motion & Animation

Reduced Motion

Testing Strategy

Manual Testing

Automated Testing

Implementation Examples

Contact Page (ADR 018)

Component Library

Consequences

Positive

Negative

Neutral

Related ADRs

References

WCAG Guidelines

ARIA Specifications

Testing Resources

Tools