Accessibility testing

An accessible cookie banner needs evidence, not a badge.

A consent interface is a critical interaction. This checklist helps teams test their deployed banner for keyboard, focus, semantics and visual access. It is not a claim of WCAG conformance.

Minimum test checklist

Keyboard and focus

  • Every action is reachable and operable by keyboard.
  • Focus is visible, ordered and not hidden behind the banner.
  • When a dialog is used, focus handling and close behaviour are tested.
  • Focus returns predictably after preferences are saved or closed.

Semantics and names

  • Controls have programmatic names that match visible purpose.
  • Roles and headings describe the consent and preferences flow.
  • State changes and errors are announced where needed.
  • Accept, reject and preferences are understandable without colour alone.

Visual access

  • Text and interactive-control contrast are tested against their actual background.
  • Layout is checked at 200% zoom and narrow viewports.
  • Text can reflow without losing the decision controls.
  • Motion and overlays do not prevent reading or interacting.

Real-world configuration

  • Test every enabled language, custom label and theme variation.
  • Test with the actual site CSS and tag stack.
  • Check preference center, reopen link and error states.
  • Record browser, assistive technology and test date.

How to document a result

  1. Name the Lean runtime/build and the site configuration tested.
  2. Record browsers, operating systems, keyboard-only run and screen reader(s).
  3. Keep screenshots or short recordings of focus order and preference changes.
  4. Log failures with severity, reproduction steps and remediation status.
  5. Repeat after copy, theme, language or integration changes.
Important limitation:

A platform capability or a passing automated scan does not establish WCAG conformance for every customer site. Custom CSS, translations, external tags and surrounding site markup can change the result.

Current claim boundary

Lean Cookie Consent can be evaluated against this checklist. This page deliberately does not claim WCAG certification or universal accessibility conformance. Publish a product-specific accessibility statement only after a documented manual audit of the release and configurations in scope.

FAQ

Does this page certify WCAG conformance?

No. It is a testing checklist. Conformance requires evidence for a specific version, configuration and environment.

What must be tested in a cookie banner?

Keyboard operation, focus order and return, semantics, visible focus, contrast, zoom/reflow, labels and screen-reader announcements should all be tested.