Text has adequate color contrast for readability
What this criterion checks
This criterion maps to 1.4.3. Contrast (minimum) (AA). A detailed plain-language description is maintained in the WebLens criteria catalogue; the WCAG sub-test breakdown below describes exactly what the agent checks and what it does not.
How it's assessed
WebLens walks each user journey, captures a screenshot at every step, and an agent reasons over that evidence. See the how WebLens works for the full pipeline and the deterministic checks layered in for accessibility.
Sub-test coverage
1.4.3. Contrast (minimum) (AA) is broken into 4 sub-tests. Coverage is honest about where the agent is reliable, where it only partially checks the requirement, and where a human reviewer is still needed.
2 full1 partial1 not covered
- Large text contrast ratioFull
Our tool checks text at least 18pt (24px) or 14pt bold (18.66px bold, font weight 700+) to ensure a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 between foreground text and background color.
- Normal text contrast ratioFull
Our tool checks all text elements smaller than 18pt (or 14pt bold) to ensure a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 between foreground text and background color.
- Verify exceptions are correctly excludedPartial
Our tool correctly excludes child elements of disabled buttons from contrast checks. However, it does not detect logotype text or text within photographs that are exempt. Elements with 1:1 ratio are flagged as incomplete (requiring manual review), and the tool notes limitations with background-image, CSS pseudo-elements, and elements obscured by overlapping content.
- Images of text contrast ratioNot covered
Our tool explicitly does not report on images of text, as stated in the Axe rule documentation. Text within images requires manual pixel-level color inspection.
How reliable it is
This criterion is currently scoring below its expected accuracy range, so confirm each finding before acting on it. See Accuracy & confidence for how the confidence tags are set.