Accessible review widgets (WCAG 2.2)

An accessible review widget is keyboard operable, announces its content to a screen reader, meets contrast requirements, and does not move on its own without a way to stop it. Under WCAG 2.2 the carousel and auto-advance behaviours are where most widgets fail.

If you build for public sector, education or enterprise clients, someone will eventually ask for this in writing.

Keyboard: every control — arrows, tabs, read more, the review form — reachable and operable without a mouse, with a visible focus indicator. Screen readers: star ratings conveyed as text rather than as decorative images, and the review author and date associated with the review.

Contrast: 4.5:1 for body text, which rules out several attractive light-grey-on-white defaults. Motion: auto-advancing carousels need a pause control, and should respect prefers-reduced-motion.

Assuming a third-party embed is the vendor’s problem. Legally it is the site owner’s — an inaccessible widget makes the page inaccessible, and the complaint arrives at the site, not the supplier.

The second is treating a star rating as an image. A screen reader reading “image image image image” conveys nothing; “rated 4 out of 5 stars” conveys everything.

Whether they publish a conformance statement or VPAT. Whether the carousel can be paused and whether auto-advance is off by default. Whether star ratings have text alternatives. Whether the colour defaults meet contrast. Almost nobody in this category publishes any of it, so a straight answer is itself a signal.

Auto-advance is off by default, which is the right default for both accessibility and readability. A published conformance statement is the honest gap here, and it is on the list.