Case study: a restaurant brand reaches a perfect score and zero automated errors
A restaurant brand with a site of several dozen pages had unlabeled form fields, missing alt text, blocked zoom and contrast failures throughout.
Anonymized case study. The client, its brand and its locations are not named, and figures are given as ranges or in general terms. Results are from our own scans.
What the scans found
Early scans, and a later full-site scan, recorded:
- Unlabeled form fields, rated critical, across a large share of the site.
- Images without alt text on every page scanned.
- Zoom blocked by the viewport tag on every page.
- Dozens of links with no accessible name, and contrast failures throughout.
- Menus published as images or as a PDF, among the most critical findings.
- Missing H1 headings on many pages, and an untagged PDF.
The starting score was middling: well short of passing, with critical and serious issues on top of a long tail of moderate ones.
What was fixed
The fixes landed in one focused push:
- A skip link, and an H1 on every page (visually hidden where the design didn't show one).
- Zoom unlocked.
- Names for the logo link and other links and buttons.
- Real labels on form fields.
- Contrast fixes, larger tap areas, and a pause control for moving content.
- A rewritten accessibility statement and a branded error page.
- Unused plugins and themes removed.
Making every claim count
The project also looked past WCAG at the site's overall credibility, and anything the brand couldn't fully stand behind came down. It isn't an accessibility requirement, but an accessibility statement is only as credible as the rest of the site.
The result
- Scanpoof score: a perfect score, up from well short of passing.
- The axe-core engine: zero violations on every public page, in both desktop and phone layouts.
Zero automated errors isn't the same as fully accessible. The accuracy of alt text and the clarity of labels still need a person to judge.
Takeaways for a small restaurant site
- Forms first. Reservation, contact and newsletter forms are where people get stuck, and unlabeled fields were the most serious findings here.
- Check the theme for blocked zoom. One tag affected every page.
- Fewer plugins, fewer surprises. Removing unused ones made the site easier to keep clean.
- Keep every claim credible. If you can't stand behind something on your site, take it down.
What the scans could and couldn't show
What automated checks confirmed
- Unlabeled form fields, missing alt text, blocked zoom and contrast failures
- Zero axe-core violations on every public page after the fixes
What still needed a person
- Whether the new alt text and labels are accurate
- Deciding what belongs on the site, beyond what a scanner checks
- Keyboard checks of menus and forms
See where your own site stands: a free scan checks one page in about a minute.