WEB ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALIST FINAL PAPER
2026 EXAM QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS 100
PERCENT CORRECT
◉ A link that opens in a new window or tab SHOULD indicate that it
opens in a new window or tab. Answer: It can be helpful to users to
know when a link will open a new window. Including a text
indication (e.g. "opens in a new window") or an icon with equivalent
alt text are two of the most common ways to indicate this. Ensure
the indication is available to both sighted users and blind screen
reader users.
◉ A link to a file or destination in an alternative or non-web format
SHOULD indicate the file or destination type. Answer: It can be
helpful to users to know when a link will open a file or lead to a
destination in a non-web format, such as a Word document, PDF
document, Photoshop document, etc. Including a text indication (e.g.
"PDF document") or an icon with equivalent alt text are two of the
most common ways to indicate this. Ensure the indication is
available to both sighted users and blind screen reader users.
◉ A link to an external site MAY indicate that it leads to an external
site. Answer: It can be helpful to users to know when a link will take
them away from the current web site to a different web site.
Including a text indication (e.g. "link leads to an external site") or an
icon with equivalent alt text are two of the most common ways to
,indicate this. Ensure the indication is available to both sighted users
and blind screen reader users.
◉ Links MUST be visually distinguishable from surrounding text.
Answer: Sighted users must be able to tell the difference visually
between link text that is within a paragraph or other block of text
and surrounding text. If they can't tell the difference, they won't
know what items are clickable, and they may miss important links.
There is no need to change the default styling to meet accessibility
best practices.
◉ All focusable elements MUST have a visual focus indicator when in
focus. Answer: Browsers typically indicate which element is in focus
by outlining it with either a dotted line (as in Edge, Internet
Explorer, and Firefox) or a solid colored line (as in Chrome and
Safari).
◉ Focusable elements SHOULD have enhanced visual focus indicator
styles. Answer: Although not typically required for minimum
compliance with guidelines, users with low vision can benefit
greatly from enhanced visual focus indicators on links, buttons, form
elements, and other focusable items. Enhancements can include a
different background color, different font color, outline, or border.
◉ A navigation list SHOULD be designated with the <nav> element
or role="navigation". Answer: The main navigation list(s) of a web
design — such as the main navigation menu — should be marked as
, navigation landmarks so that screen reader users can easily find
them when they pull up the list of landmarks.
It is not necessary, or even desirable, to mark every set of links as a
navigation landmark. The landmark should be reserved for the most
important navigation regions on the page, so that the list of
landmarks does not get too cluttered.
◉ A navigation list SHOULD include a visible method of informing
users which page within the navigation list is the currently
active/visible page. Answer:
◉ A navigation list SHOULD include a method of informing blind
users which page within the navigation list is the currently
active/visible page. Answer: Unfortunately, there is no official HTML
or ARIA attribute that can be used to designate the current page
within a navigation list (though there is talk of creating one for the
next version of ARIA), so we have to resort to techniques such as:
Visually hidden text
aria-label
aria-labelledby
aria-describedby
aria-current
2026 EXAM QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS 100
PERCENT CORRECT
◉ A link that opens in a new window or tab SHOULD indicate that it
opens in a new window or tab. Answer: It can be helpful to users to
know when a link will open a new window. Including a text
indication (e.g. "opens in a new window") or an icon with equivalent
alt text are two of the most common ways to indicate this. Ensure
the indication is available to both sighted users and blind screen
reader users.
◉ A link to a file or destination in an alternative or non-web format
SHOULD indicate the file or destination type. Answer: It can be
helpful to users to know when a link will open a file or lead to a
destination in a non-web format, such as a Word document, PDF
document, Photoshop document, etc. Including a text indication (e.g.
"PDF document") or an icon with equivalent alt text are two of the
most common ways to indicate this. Ensure the indication is
available to both sighted users and blind screen reader users.
◉ A link to an external site MAY indicate that it leads to an external
site. Answer: It can be helpful to users to know when a link will take
them away from the current web site to a different web site.
Including a text indication (e.g. "link leads to an external site") or an
icon with equivalent alt text are two of the most common ways to
,indicate this. Ensure the indication is available to both sighted users
and blind screen reader users.
◉ Links MUST be visually distinguishable from surrounding text.
Answer: Sighted users must be able to tell the difference visually
between link text that is within a paragraph or other block of text
and surrounding text. If they can't tell the difference, they won't
know what items are clickable, and they may miss important links.
There is no need to change the default styling to meet accessibility
best practices.
◉ All focusable elements MUST have a visual focus indicator when in
focus. Answer: Browsers typically indicate which element is in focus
by outlining it with either a dotted line (as in Edge, Internet
Explorer, and Firefox) or a solid colored line (as in Chrome and
Safari).
◉ Focusable elements SHOULD have enhanced visual focus indicator
styles. Answer: Although not typically required for minimum
compliance with guidelines, users with low vision can benefit
greatly from enhanced visual focus indicators on links, buttons, form
elements, and other focusable items. Enhancements can include a
different background color, different font color, outline, or border.
◉ A navigation list SHOULD be designated with the <nav> element
or role="navigation". Answer: The main navigation list(s) of a web
design — such as the main navigation menu — should be marked as
, navigation landmarks so that screen reader users can easily find
them when they pull up the list of landmarks.
It is not necessary, or even desirable, to mark every set of links as a
navigation landmark. The landmark should be reserved for the most
important navigation regions on the page, so that the list of
landmarks does not get too cluttered.
◉ A navigation list SHOULD include a visible method of informing
users which page within the navigation list is the currently
active/visible page. Answer:
◉ A navigation list SHOULD include a method of informing blind
users which page within the navigation list is the currently
active/visible page. Answer: Unfortunately, there is no official HTML
or ARIA attribute that can be used to designate the current page
within a navigation list (though there is talk of creating one for the
next version of ARIA), so we have to resort to techniques such as:
Visually hidden text
aria-label
aria-labelledby
aria-describedby
aria-current
