Colour and contrast

contrast-over-gradient

WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) Level AA

Who this affects

The text sits on a gradient and drops below the required contrast at the pale end.

How to fix it

Adjust the gradient, or the text colour, so contrast holds across the whole gradient. Test against the lightest and darkest stops.

How much work is it?

Usually a template or design change. That is a rough guide for planning, not an estimate for your codebase. A single content edit repeated across a template is a template change.

What a person still has to check

Passing this rule does not mean 1.4.3 passes. Automation checks part of the criterion, and the rest is a judgement:

Check the text we could not measure: text over images, video, and anything drawn on a canvas.

Read 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) in plain language

Where this check comes from

This is our own check, not an axe rule. We added it because the failure it catches is common and nothing else was catching it.

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