nih.gov: Accessibility — week 2026-W25

Automated Accessibility Conformance Report (OpenACR): Download ACR. Machine-readable; compatible with GSA OpenACR tooling. Automated tools find ~⅓ of real barriers — supplement with manual AT testing.

Training priorities

Top WCAG success criteria by pages affected this week. Use these to focus team training on the highest-impact issues.

SC	Criterion	Pages	Rules
1.4.1	Use of Color	8	2
1.4.6	WCAG 1.4.6	2	1
1.4.8	WCAG 1.4.8	2	1
2.5.5	WCAG 2.5.5	2	1
1.3.1	Info and Relationships (semantic structure)	1	1

Next 10 actions

Clusters are fingerprinted by normalized selector path + rule id + snippet shape. Rank score = (severity weight × pages affected) / distinct components for the rule. This supersedes the template threshold heuristic while still surfacing it as a validation signal.

Top 10 clustered component fixes for this week.
Cluster	Severity	Pages	Who it affects	How to fix	Evidence	Decision
All page content should be contained by landmarks · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~4 finding(s) on 4 page(s). XPath / selector: `#system-breadcrumb` `<h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2>`	Moderate	4	Requires manual testing.	Wrap all page content in landmarks (header, nav, main, footer) so users can navigate by region.	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
Page should contain a level-one heading · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~2 finding(s) on 2 page(s). XPath / selector: `html` `<html lang="en" dir="ltr" prefix="og: https://ogp.me/ns#" class=" js">`	Moderate	2	Requires manual testing.	See remediation guidance: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.12/page-has-heading-one?application=axeAPI	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
Form field label is visible · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~2 finding(s) on 2 page(s). XPath / selector: `{"type":"document","children":[{"type":"type","name":"html","publicId":null,"sys`	Moderate	2	Requires manual testing.	See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r61	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
Scrolling content can be accessed by keyboard · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~2 finding(s) on 2 page(s). XPath / selector: `text: "Breadcrumb"`	Moderate	2	Requires manual testing.	See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r57	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
Links must be distinguishable without relying on color · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~4 finding(s) on 4 page(s). XPath / selector: `.usa-identifier__identity-disclaimer > a[href$="hhs.gov/"]` `<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/" class="ext" data-extlink="" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer" title="(opens in a new window)">Department of Health and Human Services</a>`	Serious	4	Without color perception, Limited vision	See remediation guidance: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.12/link-in-text-block?application=axeAPI	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
aria attribute is permitted for element role · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~2 finding(s) on 2 page(s). XPath / selector: `@aria-label="Descripción de la agencia"`	Moderate	2	Requires manual testing.	Only use ARIA states/properties that are allowed on this element/role.	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
aria attribute is permitted for element role · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~2 finding(s) on 2 page(s). XPath / selector: `@aria-label="Official website of the Department of Health and Human Services"`	Moderate	2	Requires manual testing.	Only use ARIA states/properties that are allowed on this element/role.	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
Headings are structured hierarchically · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~1 finding(s) on 1 page(s). XPath / selector: `<h3>`	Moderate	1	Requires manual testing.	Use headings in a logical, non-skipping order.	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
Element has required owned roles · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~1 finding(s) on 1 page(s). XPath / selector: `<h2>`	Moderate	1	Without vision, Limited vision, Limited cognitive, language, or learning ability	See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r64	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes
Text has enhanced contrast · unattributed component Fix one place, resolve ~2 finding(s) on 2 page(s). XPath / selector: `text: "Health Information"`	Moderate	2	Requires manual testing.	Increase text contrast to meet WCAG AAA (7:1).	pages (CSV)	Decision Assigned to Notes

Bug reports

1 issue type(s) are shown by default out of 14 total. Prioritized by severity, key pages, WCAG level, and prevalence; use the toggle to show everything.

Overall severity mix: 1 serious, 12 moderate, 1 minor. By WCAG category: 3 WCAG 2.0 A, 3 WCAG 2.x AAA, 4 Best Practice, 4 Undetermined. Ordered by severity, key-page impact, WCAG level, and prevalence. Following accessibility bug-reporting best practices. Download: Markdown · JSON (full archive) · JSON (AI diagnostic) · CSV (all findings) · Priority pages CSV · Priority pages JSON.

Automated testing does not establish full WCAG conformance. Findings in the verification lane require manual testing before they are treated as confirmed failures.

Default view shows 1 prioritized issue type(s); 13 more are available if you switch to "Show everything".

Findings needing review

These findings need manual verification before they can be treated as confirmed failures. Obligation remains visible for each finding.

Serious axe link-in-text-block WCAG 2.0 A Links must be distinguishable without relying on color (WCAG 1.4.1) 6/103 pages · 34 instances

Bug ID: VS-7af0d986
Pattern ID: VS-8ade3360
Combined ID: VS-7af0d986 (pattern VS-8ade3360) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: WCAG 2.0 A
Obligation: required
Handling: review
WCAG SC: 1.4.1 Use of Color (Level A, WCAG 2.0)
Rule: axe-core — Links must be distinguishable without relying on color [link-in-text-block]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih
XPath / selector: .usa-identifier__identity-disclaimer > a[href$="hhs.gov/"]
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

HTML snippet — use this to validate the finding without re-running the tool

<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/" class="ext" data-extlink="" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer" title="(opens in a new window)">Department of Health and Human Services</a>

Description

Links must be distinguishable without relying on color. Detected by axe-core rule link-in-text-block on 6 of 103 scanned pages (34 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih.
Locate the element: .usa-identifier__identity-disclaimer > a[href$="hhs.gov/"]
Confirm the axe-core finding for rule link-in-text-block against WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color.

Impact

Affects Without color perception (4.5%), Limited vision (2.4%).

Without color perception — 4.5% of population
Limited vision — 2.4% of population

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: axe-core, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

See remediation guidance: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.12/link-in-text-block?application=axeAPI

Triage status Notes

Moderate axe region Best Practice All page content should be contained by landmarks (WCAG criterion undetermined) 5/103 pages · 5 instances

Bug ID: VS-d572da12
Pattern ID: VS-f18df681
Combined ID: VS-d572da12 (pattern VS-f18df681) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Best Practice
Obligation: advisory
Handling: review
WCAG SC: Best Practice — not a WCAG requirement
Rule: axe-core — All page content should be contained by landmarks [region]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: #system-breadcrumb
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

HTML snippet — use this to validate the finding without re-running the tool

<h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2>

Description

All page content should be contained by landmarks. Detected by axe-core rule region on 5 of 103 scanned pages (5 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: #system-breadcrumb
Confirm the axe-core finding for rule region.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: axe-core, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

How to fix: Wrap all page content in landmarks (header, nav, main, footer) so users can navigate by region.

See remediation guidance: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.12/region?application=axeAPI

Triage status Notes

Moderate axe heading-order Best Practice Heading levels should only increase by one (WCAG criterion undetermined) 3/103 pages · 3 instances

Bug ID: VS-4cb20d36
Pattern ID: VS-d25f622d
Combined ID: VS-4cb20d36 (pattern VS-d25f622d) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Best Practice
Obligation: advisory
Handling: review
WCAG SC: Best Practice — not a WCAG requirement
Rule: axe-core — Heading levels should only increase by one [heading-order]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: .text-formatted.field--name-field-uswds-body.field--type-text-long > h3:nth-child(1)
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

HTML snippet — use this to validate the finding without re-running the tool

<h3>Research for the People</h3>

Description

Heading levels should only increase by one. Detected by axe-core rule heading-order on 3 of 103 scanned pages (3 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: .text-formatted.field--name-field-uswds-body.field--type-text-long > h3:nth-child(1)
Confirm the axe-core finding for rule heading-order.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: axe-core, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

How to fix: Use heading levels in order (h1 → h2 → h3) without skipping; structure, not size.

See remediation guidance: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.12/heading-order?application=axeAPI

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r66 WCAG 2.x AAA Text has enhanced contrast (WCAG 1.4.6) 2/103 pages · 105 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-de57e043
Pattern ID: VS-646b1e0b
Combined ID: VS-de57e043 (pattern VS-646b1e0b) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: WCAG 2.x AAA
Obligation: aspirational
Handling: review
WCAG SC: 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced) (Level AAA, WCAG 2.0)
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Text has enhanced contrast [sia-r66]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: text: "Health Information"
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Text has enhanced contrast. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r66 on 2 of 103 scanned pages (105 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: text: "Health Information"
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r66 against WCAG 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced).

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

How to fix: Increase text contrast to meet WCAG AAA (7:1).

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r66

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r111 WCAG 2.x AAA Target size is at least 44×44 CSS pixels (Enhanced) (WCAG 2.5.5) 2/103 pages · 53 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-36315e4a
Pattern ID: VS-cb53cc4d
Combined ID: VS-36315e4a (pattern VS-cb53cc4d) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: WCAG 2.x AAA
Obligation: aspirational
Handling: review
WCAG SC: 2.5.5 Target Size (Enhanced) (Level AAA, WCAG 2.1)
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Target size is at least 44×44 CSS pixels (Enhanced) [sia-r111]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: <a href="/virtual-tour">
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Target size is at least 44×44 CSS pixels (Enhanced). Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r111 on 2 of 103 scanned pages (53 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: <a href="/virtual-tour">
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r111 against WCAG 2.5.5 Target Size (Enhanced).

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r111

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r62 WCAG 2.0 A Link in text block is visually distinguishable without color (WCAG 1.4.1) 2/103 pages · 23 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-a5d957e1
Pattern ID: VS-efd91fdd
Combined ID: VS-a5d957e1 (pattern VS-efd91fdd) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: WCAG 2.0 A
Obligation: required
Handling: review
WCAG SC: 1.4.1 Use of Color (Level A, WCAG 2.0)
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Link in text block is visually distinguishable without color [sia-r62]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: <a href="https://irp.nih.gov/" class="ext" data-extlink="" target="_blank">
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Link in text block is visually distinguishable without color. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r62 on 2 of 103 scanned pages (23 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: <a href="https://irp.nih.gov/" class="ext" data-extlink="" target="_blank">
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r62 against WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color.

Impact

Affects Without color perception (4.5%), Limited vision (2.4%).

Without color perception — 4.5% of population
Limited vision — 2.4% of population

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

How to fix: Make links visually distinguishable from surrounding text (not by color alone).

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r62

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r73 WCAG 2.x AAA Text has minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 (WCAG 1.4.8) 2/103 pages · 6 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-60cadddb
Pattern ID: VS-2208081b
Combined ID: VS-60cadddb (pattern VS-2208081b) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: WCAG 2.x AAA
Obligation: aspirational
Handling: review
WCAG SC: 1.4.8 Visual Presentation (Level AAA, WCAG 2.0)
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Text has minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 [sia-r73]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: <p class="usa-banner__header-text">
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Text has minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r73 on 2 of 103 scanned pages (6 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: <p class="usa-banner__header-text">
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r73 against WCAG 1.4.8 Visual Presentation.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r73

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r18 Undetermined aria attribute is permitted for element role (WCAG criterion undetermined) 2/103 pages · 4 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-1bf440c1
Pattern ID: VS-e05344b9
Combined ID: VS-1bf440c1 (pattern VS-e05344b9) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Undetermined
Obligation: unmapped
Handling: review
WCAG SC: undetermined
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — aria attribute is permitted for element role [sia-r18]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: @aria-label="Descripción de la agencia"
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

aria attribute is permitted for element role. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r18 on 2 of 103 scanned pages (4 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: @aria-label="Descripción de la agencia"
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r18.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

How to fix: Only use ARIA states/properties that are allowed on this element/role.

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r18

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r61 Undetermined Form field label is visible (WCAG criterion undetermined) 2/103 pages · 2 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-2009a4c1
Pattern ID: VS-7118fead
Combined ID: VS-2009a4c1 (pattern VS-7118fead) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Undetermined
Obligation: unmapped
Handling: review
WCAG SC: undetermined
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Form field label is visible [sia-r61]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: {"type":"document","children":[{"type":"type","name":"html","publicId":null,"sys
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Form field label is visible. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r61 on 2 of 103 scanned pages (2 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: {"type":"document","children":[{"type":"type","name":"html","publicId":null,"sys
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r61.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r61

Triage status Notes

Moderate axe page-has-heading-one Best Practice Page should contain a level-one heading (WCAG criterion undetermined) 2/103 pages · 2 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-c5cf57fb
Pattern ID: VS-fa44f293
Combined ID: VS-c5cf57fb (pattern VS-fa44f293) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Best Practice
Obligation: advisory
Handling: review
WCAG SC: Best Practice — not a WCAG requirement
Rule: axe-core — Page should contain a level-one heading [page-has-heading-one]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih
XPath / selector: html
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

HTML snippet — use this to validate the finding without re-running the tool

<html lang="en" dir="ltr" prefix="og: https://ogp.me/ns#" class=" js">

Description

Page should contain a level-one heading. Detected by axe-core rule page-has-heading-one on 2 of 103 scanned pages (2 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih.
Locate the element: html
Confirm the axe-core finding for rule page-has-heading-one.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: axe-core, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

See remediation guidance: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.12/page-has-heading-one?application=axeAPI

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r57 Undetermined Scrolling content can be accessed by keyboard (WCAG criterion undetermined) 2/103 pages · 2 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-3cfb5b4b
Pattern ID: VS-c18be945
Combined ID: VS-3cfb5b4b (pattern VS-c18be945) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Undetermined
Obligation: unmapped
Handling: review
WCAG SC: undetermined
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Scrolling content can be accessed by keyboard [sia-r57]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: text: "Breadcrumb"
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Scrolling content can be accessed by keyboard. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r57 on 2 of 103 scanned pages (2 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: text: "Breadcrumb"
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r57.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r57

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r64 WCAG 2.0 A Element has required owned roles (WCAG 1.3.1) 1/103 pages · 1 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-57590866
Pattern ID: VS-3c632d31
Combined ID: VS-57590866 (pattern VS-3c632d31) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: WCAG 2.0 A
Obligation: required
Handling: review
WCAG SC: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A, WCAG 2.0)
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Element has required owned roles [sia-r64]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership
XPath / selector: <h2>
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Element has required owned roles. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r64 on 1 of 103 scanned pages (1 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership.
Locate the element: <h2>
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r64 against WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships.

Impact

Affects Without vision (1.0%), Limited vision (2.4%), Limited cognitive, language, or learning ability (11.0%).

Without vision — 1.0% of population
Limited vision — 2.4% of population
Limited cognitive, language, or learning ability — 11.0% of population

Affected pages

/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r64

Triage status Notes

Moderate alfa sia-r53 Undetermined Headings are structured hierarchically (WCAG criterion undetermined) 1/103 pages · 1 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-c98cc0dc
Pattern ID: VS-f054f4a4
Combined ID: VS-c98cc0dc (pattern VS-f054f4a4) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Undetermined
Obligation: unmapped
Handling: review
WCAG SC: undetermined
Rule: Siteimprove Alfa — Headings are structured hierarchically [sia-r53]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget
XPath / selector: <h3>
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

Description

Headings are structured hierarchically. Detected by Siteimprove Alfa rule sia-r53 on 1 of 103 scanned pages (1 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/budget.
Locate the element: <h3>
Confirm the Siteimprove Alfa finding for rule sia-r53.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

/about-nih/budget

Testing environment

Automated: Siteimprove Alfa, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

How to fix: Use headings in a logical, non-skipping order.

See remediation guidance: https://alfa.siteimprove.com/rules/sia-r53

Triage status Notes

Minor axe empty-heading Best Practice Headings should not be empty (WCAG criterion undetermined) 1/103 pages · 1 instances Likely content

Bug ID: VS-53853e7e
Pattern ID: VS-0066c67d
Combined ID: VS-53853e7e (pattern VS-0066c67d) — use this format in JIRA/spreadsheets to filter by instance or pattern
WCAG category: Best Practice
Obligation: advisory
Handling: review
WCAG SC: Best Practice — not a WCAG requirement
Rule: axe-core — Headings should not be empty [empty-heading]
Example URL: https://nih.gov/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership
XPath / selector: h2:nth-child(10)
History: first seen 2026-W25, last seen 2026-W25 (1 wk)

HTML snippet — use this to validate the finding without re-running the tool

<h2>&nbsp;</h2>

Description

Headings should not be empty. Detected by axe-core rule empty-heading on 1 of 103 scanned pages (1 instances).

Steps to reproduce

Open https://nih.gov/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership.
Locate the element: h2:nth-child(10)
Confirm the axe-core finding for rule empty-heading.

Impact

Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Affected pages

/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership

Testing environment

Automated: axe-core, headless Chromium (Playwright). Manual AT verification: Not captured by automated scan — requires manual testing.

Suggested fix

How to fix: Remove empty headings or give them text. Don't use heading tags for spacing.

See remediation guidance: https://dequeuniversity.com/rules/axe/4.12/empty-heading?application=axeAPI

Triage status Notes

Deque axe-core findings

Rule-level axe-core summary (5 rule type(s))

Each failing rule links out to the axe-core documentation. For full element-level detail including HTML snippets and XPaths, see the bug reports above.

axe-core rules failing in 2026-W25, by pages affected
Rule	Impact	Pages affected	Instances	Example pages	All affected
Links must be distinguishable without relying on color [link-in-text-block]	serious	6	34	/about-nih /about-nih/budget /about-nih/nih-almanac/department-health-human-services-secretaries	all 6 pages (CSV)
All page content should be contained by landmarks [region]	moderate	5	5	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/nih-almanac/department-health-human-services-secretaries /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 5 pages (CSV)
Heading levels should only increase by one [heading-order]	moderate	3	3	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/nih-almanac/department-health-human-services-secretaries /about-nih/nih-almanac/leadership/nih-directors	all 3 pages (CSV)
Page should contain a level-one heading [page-has-heading-one]	moderate	2	2	/about-nih /	all 2 pages (CSV)
Headings should not be empty [empty-heading]	minor	1	1	/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 1 pages (CSV)

Siteimprove Alfa findings

Rule-level Alfa summary (9 rule type(s))

Rule-level summary from Siteimprove Alfa (W3C ACT-based). Findings that overlap with axe-core on the same WCAG success criterion are noted as possible duplicates in the bug reports above.

Alfa rules failing in 2026-W25, by pages affected
Rule	Impact	Pages affected	Instances	Example pages	All affected
Text has enhanced contrast [sia-r66]	n/a	2	105	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 2 pages (CSV)
Target size is at least 44×44 CSS pixels (Enhanced) [sia-r111]	n/a	2	53	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 2 pages (CSV)
Link in text block is visually distinguishable without color [sia-r62]	n/a	2	23	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 2 pages (CSV)
Text has minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 [sia-r73]	n/a	2	6	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 2 pages (CSV)
aria attribute is permitted for element role [sia-r18]	n/a	2	4	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 2 pages (CSV)
Form field label is visible [sia-r61]	n/a	2	2	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 2 pages (CSV)
Scrolling content can be accessed by keyboard [sia-r57]	n/a	2	2	/about-nih/budget /about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 2 pages (CSV)
Headings are structured hierarchically [sia-r53]	n/a	1	1	/about-nih/budget	all 1 pages (CSV)
Element has required owned roles [sia-r64]	n/a	1	1	/about-nih/organization/nih-leadership	all 1 pages (CSV)

Unique accessibility issues (axe + Alfa consolidated)

axe and Alfa both implement W3C ACT rules, so the same issue is often caught by both. These are deduplicated by ACT rule and page, so a shared finding counts once (33 raw engine findings → 32 unique).

Unique issues (rule × page): 32
Caught by both engines: 1 highest confidence
axe only: 16
Alfa only: 15

1 rule type(s) caught by both engines — highest confidence

Two independent ACT-rule implementations (Deque axe-core and Siteimprove Alfa) flagged the same issue on the same pages. Agreement between separate engines is strong evidence the barrier is real, not a single-tool false positive — the best place to start.

Rules flagged by both axe-core and Alfa in 2026-W25, by pages affected.
Issue	Pages	Rule references
Headings should not be empty	1	axe empty-heading · Alfa sia-r64 · ACT ffd0e9