Static rules ran green over hundreds of documents while six truths stayed invisible, because no regex can walk a page with a keyboard. Naming the blind spots was the fix.
Intermediate1 min read (computed · recorded 7)updated 2026-09-12a11ytestinglimits
by Motif Editors
revised 2026-09-12 — First publication in the suggestions-100 backlog batch.
— 39 static checks and 102 runtime-only truths live on different pages, on purpose.
— Focus order, announcement phrasing and composed-surface contrast are browser-only.
— A named blind spot is engineering; an unnamed one is a shrug.
The split
The markup pass reads 39 rules over every built document — names, labels, landmarks, caption grammar. It runs in seconds and it never flakes. What it cannot do is press Tab, hear a screen reader, or watch a gradient shift the surface under a focus ring.
The six hand checks
Focus order with a real keyboard. Announcement phrasing with a real reader. Contrast on composed surfaces. Zoom at two hundred percent. Motion with the preference set. The embed, inside someone else's page.
Each of the six is named on the aria page and the accessibility page — not as a disclaimer but as an instruction: this is the list a reviewer walks, and here is what each one protects.
The rule
A named blind spot is engineering. An unnamed blind spot is a shrug with a green checkmark next to it.
Practise the lesson
Theory sticks when you ship it. These original Motif assets put this guide's lesson to work — open one and copy it into your own page.