Accessibility Principles

Accessibility bugs are correctness bugs. They are cheapest to fix before the first line of markup is written.

Semantic HTML First

Native elements carry built-in roles, keyboard behavior, and accessible names — no ARIA required.

• Prefer <button> over <div role="button">; prefer <a href> over <span onClick>. Native elements are accessible by default.
• Use landmark elements (<main>, <nav>, <header>, <footer>, <aside>) to define regions screen readers can navigate directly.
• Maintain a logical heading hierarchy (h1 → h2 → h3); never skip levels to achieve visual styling.
• Mark up lists with <ul>/<ol> + <li> — screen readers announce item count and position.
• Use <table> with <th scope> and <caption> for tabular data; never for layout.

ARIA: Use Sparingly

The first rule of ARIA: do not use ARIA if a native HTML element already provides the semantics.