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Audit against the four WCAG principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Combine automated scans with axe, Lighthouse, or WAVE for programmatic issues, then manually test keyboard navigation, screen reader output, zoom reflow, and color contrast to catch the roughly 70% of issues automation misses.

WCAG requires a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text and 3:1 for large text (18pt or 14pt bold) and UI components. Check contrast against actual backgrounds including images and gradients, and verify in both light and dark modes.

Use VoiceOver on Mac or iOS, NVDA on Windows, or TalkBack on Android. Listen for logical reading order, announced roles and states on interactive elements, form labels, landmark navigation, and live region announcements for dynamic updates.

WCAG 2.2 sets a minimum of 24x24 CSS pixels for touch targets, with 44x44 pixels recommended for primary actions and at least 8 pixels of spacing between adjacent targets. Measure the tappable area including padding, not just the visible element.

Automated tools catch only about 30% of issues, mostly programmatic ones like missing alt text or low contrast. Illogical reading order, confusing interaction patterns, poor focus management, and missing context require manual testing with real assistive technology and human judgment.

ARIA should only supplement native HTML semantics, never replace them. The first rule of ARIA is to prefer native elements like button and nav; incorrect ARIA, such as a div with role="button" lacking keyboard handlers, is worse than no ARIA at all.