React Accessibility Checker

React is the most-used frontend framework, powering applications at Meta, Netflix, Airbnb, and millions of smaller projects. Its component model changed how we build user interfaces — but it also introduced new categories of accessibility problems that didn't exist in traditional server-rendered HTML.

React's virtual DOM and client-side rendering mean that accessibility testing tools must execute JavaScript and wait for the app to hydrate before they can evaluate the page. Static HTML analysis misses most React accessibility issues. Meanwhile, the React ecosystem's emphasis on custom components means developers frequently rebuild native browser elements — buttons, selects, modals — without carrying over the built-in accessibility that HTML provides for free.

CompliScan's browser-based scanner catches React-specific patterns that simpler tools miss:

• Click handlers on non-interactive elements — the classic React anti-pattern: <div onClick={handler}> instead of <button onClick={handler}>. These "divs pretending to be buttons" have no keyboard support, no implicit role, and no focus management.
• Client-side routing without focus management — React Router (and similar libraries) change content without a page load, which means screen readers don't announce the new page. Users get lost because focus stays on the old navigation link.
• Inaccessible custom components — custom dropdowns, date pickers, modals, and tabs that don't implement WAI-ARIA authoring practices. A custom select that works with a mouse but can't be operated with arrow keys excludes keyboard users entirely.
• Dynamic content without ARIA live regions — toast notifications, form validation messages, and loading states that appear visually but are never announced to screen readers because they lack aria-live attributes.
• Conditional rendering hiding content improperly — using CSS display: none vs. aria-hidden vs. not rendering at all each have different accessibility implications that React developers often conflate.

Start with a CompliScan audit of your deployed React application. The scanner tests the rendered output, so you'll catch issues from your components, third-party libraries, and CSS combined.

For interactive elements, follow a simple rule: if it does something when clicked, it should be a <button>. If it navigates, it should be an <a>. React's JSX supports all native HTML elements — use them. For routing, manage focus on navigation: set focus to the main content heading or use a skip-link pattern after each route change.

For component libraries, consider switching to accessibility-first options like Radix UI, React Aria (from Adobe), or Headless UI. These provide unstyled, fully accessible primitives you can style to match your design system. For live regions, wrap dynamic content areas with aria-live="polite" and ensure status messages use role="status". CompliScan's AI fix engine generates React JSX code you can drop directly into your components.

Accessibility testing should be part of your CI/CD pipeline, not an afterthought. For React apps, combine multiple testing layers: eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y catches static JSX issues at lint time, jest-axe or vitest-axe catches violations in component unit tests, and CompliScan catches issues in the fully rendered production build.

Each layer catches different problems. Linting catches <img> without alt. Unit tests catch components that render inaccessible markup. Production scanning catches issues from component composition, CSS, third-party scripts, and real-world data. You need all three.

CompliScan's API (available on paid plans) integrates into CI pipelines — scan your staging URL after each deploy and fail the build if new critical violations appear. This is especially valuable for teams where accessibility knowledge varies across developers.