Use this guide to check a published site after changing content, a skin or an integration. Have the home page, a representative article and search open, along with any galleries, videos or comments you use.
Some expected controls require v2.2.0, not the v2.1.0 gem or pin. Compare your installed version with the behavior reference. These checks do not establish WCAG compliance by themselves.
Check your own pages
Open those pages at a narrow phone width and enlarge their text. Confirm that content remains readable and controls stay reachable. Check long headings and your actual images, not only short sample content. Repeat after fixing a problem.
Use the steps below for each representative page. Record the page, browser, viewport and problem so you can verify the same case after changing it.
Keyboard navigation
- Use Tab without a mouse. Confirm you can see which link or control has focus. Activate Skip to content when available and check that it bypasses the menu.
- Open and close your menu and dropdowns. Use Enter for links, Enter/Space for buttons and Escape where a panel supports it. Confirm focus returns to the trigger after closing the floating menu.
- If you use the sidebar TOC, open it, Tab through its controls and close it with Escape. Check that closed controls are no longer reachable and that section highlighting does not move keyboard focus while you read.
- In a PhotoSwipe gallery, open an image, browse with arrow keys and close with Escape. Check the return to the image link. Try search, comments and your other widgets too.
For exact supported behaviors and fallback limits, use the keyboard reference. If you use custom layouts or widgets, check their headings, labels and controls as well as the theme’s own navigation.
Colors and content
Check text and link contrast on the actual backgrounds after changing colors. Confirm that links remain distinguishable without relying only on color and that keyboard focus is visible. Use meaningful link text, such as “View my portfolio”, rather than “Click here”.
Review informative photographs for descriptive alternative text. Gallery snippets
supply generic descriptions; use custom image markup where the
individual photograph conveys information. Give videos a descriptive name and
provide captions/transcripts where needed. Give Mermaid diagrams accTitle and
accDescr and explain complex diagrams in prose. Begin article sections with
## below the page title.
Enable reduced motion in your device/browser settings and reload an automatically cycling carousel. Check that it starts paused, that play/pause is operable and that the chosen state survives interaction as described by the motion reference.
PWA and offline behavior
Do not infer offline support from a favicon, manifest or an app-like window. The theme provides no built-in offline mode; see offline constraints. If you added a separate offline implementation, disconnect the network and test the published pages and integrations before promising that behavior to visitors.
Resource loading
Check loading on the published home page and an article using your real images and enabled integrations. Resize large photographs before uploading. Remove unneeded fonts/integrations and enable MathJax or Mermaid only where needed.
Open a deferred YouTube video or PhotoSwipe image and verify its loading/fallback behavior. Check comments on an enabled post and confirm that any configured analytics matches your intended setup. For expected loading behavior and version limits, use the resource reference.
A score measured on the demo cannot replace these checks on your own site.
Review coverage
After correcting a problem, repeat the affected steps on the same pages and check related controls. Include custom headings/labels and third-party widgets in your review. Record anything you could not test, including browsers or assistive technologies that were unavailable.
The theme’s automated-review scope is a separate reference; a passing theme suite does not test your whole site.