Modern Web Accessibility: Beyond the Checklist and the Audit

In the world of modern web development, accessibility often gets treated like an afterthought - or worse, a checklist to satisfy compliance. But regardless of the reason, whether it’s legal compliance or a genuine push for inclusive design, the real challenge isn’t why to prioritize accessibility, it’s how.

At AccessTime, we’ve been deep in that “how” alongside engineering teams, Whether companies are preparing for the European Accessibility Act (EAA) or simply trying to build better digital experiences, we’ve seen the same pattern: the gap between knowing what’s wrong and knowing how to fix it.

From the start, we’ve positioned ourselves as a developer-first company. Both Bogdan (Our CTO) and I come from engineering backgrounds, and we know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an accessibility audit. In fact, Bogdan’s journey into accessibility started that way - after being audited himself, he realized just how much the implementation side was being overlooked.

Being told “This should be a button, not a div” might be technically accurate, but that doesn’t mean using a div is inherently wrong. Context matters. Maybe it was styled that way for a reason. Maybe it's wrapped in a custom component or tied to legacy logic. Swapping it out isn’t always as simple as it sounds - and sometimes, it’s not even necessary if the right semantics and behaviors are applied.

❌ The problematic approach (common before audit)

<div onclick="handleClick()">Click Me</div>

What's wrong? This looks clickable but it's not actually a button. Screen readers and keyboards don’t recognize it as something to "click," so people with disabilities might not be able to use it properly.

✅ The recommended fix (the "usual" fix)

<button onclick="handleClick()">Click Me</button>

Why it's better? This is the right way to make a clickable button. It’s already accessible: it works with screen readers, keyboards (like Tab and Enter), and behaves correctly in all browsers.

✅ Alternative Accessible Option

This approach can be used if you can’t use a <button> for styling or layout reasons.

<div 
  role="button"
  tabindex="0"
  onclick="handleClick()"
  onkeydown="if(event.key === 'Enter') handleClick();"
  onkeyup="if(event.key === ' ') handleClick();"
>
  Click Me
</div>

Why this works? This makes a <div> behave like a real button:

• role="button" tells screen readers it’s a button.
• tabindex="0" makes it focusable with the keyboard.
• onkeydown makes Enter and Space keys work like a click.

What Tools Can’t See: The Real Gaps in Accessibility Implementation

The thing is, accessibility isn’t just about ticking boxes like “4.5:1 contrast ratio for regular text.” Most tools and audits will flag that, then leave you hanging. But what if that text is using your primary brand color? You’re probably not going to rebrand just to bump contrast.

Accessibility Implementation takes creativity and tradeoffs - things current automated tools can’t see, and checklists can’t solve.

In 2025, modern web development is far more than static pages and out-of-the-box WordPress templates. Most products rely on sophisticated frameworks, custom components, and layers of dependencies. A change that looks minor on paper can require significant engineering effort, not because accessibility is inherently difficult, but because implementation depends heavily on the context of your codebase.

To us, accessibility audit isn’t just about identifying problems - it’s about helping you solve them in the context of your real codebase. Engineering teams don’t need generic HTML advice; they need support that respects their stack, their architecture, and the way they actually build product. What works in one environment might completely break another. Cookie-cutter fixes just don’t cut it.

The Bottom Line

Accessibility isn’t a checklist. It’s not a score. And it’s definitely not a total redesign.

Real accessibility work means understanding that there’s rarely a single “right” fix - it depends on the codebase, the business, the team, and the constraints. Sometimes things are broken, sure. But more often, it’s about finding the balance between ideal outcomes and practical implementation.

That’s why deep frontend expertise matters. You can’t effectively support modern accessibility without knowing how modern products are built. HTML and WCAG knowledge are just the starting point, real impact happens when you can navigate frameworks, component libraries, and legacy systems with confidence.

And most of all: we need to stop treating audits like blueprints for total rebuilds. Teams don’t need just a list of everything they did wrong - they need support in understanding what to do next. An audit is valuable, but only if it comes with practical, actionable answers. Progress happens when we meet teams where they are and help them make simple, realistic improvements that actually work.

Accessibility isn’t a destination. It’s an engineering practice. One that deserves the same nuance, respect, and collaboration as any other part of product development.

At AccessTime, we know we’re not perfect - and we don’t claim to be. Like the teams we work with, we’re constantly learning, evolving, and improving. Accessibility is an ongoing process, and our goal is to help make the ideal achievable - one step, one commit at a time.