Hey folks! I'm in the process of optimizing a minimalist website, and I've hit a snag on the last 4% of my Accessibility score for mobile on Lighthouse. My desktop version is already rocking a perfect score of 100 across the board. Here are my current stats for mobile:
- Performance: 100
- Accessibility: 96
- Best Practices: 100
- SEO: 100
I've made several changes to improve accessibility, like ensuring sufficient contrast (white links on a pure black background), using semantic HTML with roles and aria-labels, and marking decorative elements with aria-hidden. However, even after these adjustments, I'm stuck at 96%, and PageSpeed Insights isn't pointing out anything specific that's causing the issue. I've also removed heavy plugins to minimize bloat.
Here's a snippet of my footer HTML to give you some context:
```html
```
I'm curious if there are any subtle accessibility issues that Lighthouse might be missing, like a missing lang attribute on the HTML tag, or whether tap targets being 14px in size could be holding me back from making that final jump. Also, do you think using !important in inline styles could be affecting the score? I'm really pursuing that 4x100 as a technical challenge, so any advice from accessibility experts would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
I think 96% is a solid score already! Those last few percent often touch on rare edge cases rather than real blockers for users. Usually, I run the Axe tool along with doing a quick test using just my keyboard and a screen reader. This approach uncovers a lot more practical accessibility problems than worrying about that perfect Lighthouse score. As long as your contrast, forms, and focus order are all good, you're in a really great position!
Honestly, Lighthouse can be pretty hit or miss when it comes to accessibility tests. I've found it might not catch all the nuances. Instead, I recommend trying out Axe or Wave as alternatives—they give a clearer picture. Chasing a 100% on Lighthouse might set you up for disappointment since it only highlights some of the obvious issues, not necessarily the ones real users encounter.
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