WCAG 2.2 AA Partial Audit of the Heerlen Website Content

This sub-study pertains exclusively to the content of the website that the organization can enter or modify via the content management system.

This study evaluated 30 of the 55 success criteria of WCAG 2.2 Levels A and AA.

The remaining 25 success criteria relate to the technical aspects of the website and are evaluated in the separate technical sub-study.

Together, these two sub-studies constitute the complete evaluation of the website.

Success criteria assessed in the technical sub-study

The following success criteria were not evaluated in this content study and are covered in the separate technical sub-study:

The study was conducted using a representative sample. Within this sample, the accessibility issues identified were described as specifically as possible. Where possible, recommendations were included to address the issues.

This study does not provide an exhaustive overview of all possible accessibility issues. The findings represent a snapshot of the situation at the time of the study.

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) are internationally recognized guidelines for digital accessibility, based on four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Measurable success criteria have been established within these principles.
More information: WCAG 2.2 (Dutch translation)

The table below shows, for each WCAG principle and each WCAG level, how many success criteria were tested and how many of those were approved.

https://www.heerlen.nl/anne-rose-orbons

The page contains a portrait photo of Anne Rose Orbons with an empty alt text (alt=""). As a result, assistive technology skips over the image. This is incorrect because the image is a portrait of the person who is the focus of the page. Screen reader users are therefore unable to tell that there is an image on the page or who is depicted in it.

Advice

Provide the portrait photo with an appropriate alt text that includes the person's name, for example, alt="Portrait of Anne Rose Orbons".

https://www.heerlen.nl/circular-building-convert-oud-dsm-kantoor-wordt-woningen

The page displays the Interreg project logo. The text alternative is "Interreg North-West Europe logo." However, the logo also includes the name "Circular Building Convert" and the phrase "Co-funded by the European Union." This information is missing from the text alternative, which means that screen reader users are unable to determine which project and which funding body are represented in the logo.

Advice

Provide the logo with a text alternative that includes all the names appearing in the logo, for example, alt="Interreg North-West Europe – Circular Building Convert, co-funded by the European Union".

https://www.heerlen.nl

In the footer, under the heading "Follow us," there is a row of four links to social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Visually, this appears as a list, but in the code, the links are listed one after another in a paragraph (p element) rather than in a list (ul with li). As a result, assistive technology cannot identify that this is a list or determine how many items it contains.

Advice

Place the social media links in an unordered list, with each link in its own list item.

https://www.heerlen.nl/trouwen-en-partnerschap

On the page, under the h2 heading "Wedding Officials," there are nine cards listing the names of the wedding officials, such as Anne Rose Orbons, Arris Matlega, and Eva Tholen. These names are formatted as h2 headings. Since they are subordinate to the h2 heading above them, they should be h3 headings. As a result, the heading hierarchy is incorrect, and screen reader users cannot properly determine the structure of the page.

Advice

Make the names of the marriage officiants into h3 headings, so that they are subordinate to the h2 heading "Marriage Officiants".

https://digitaalpubliceren.com/heerlen/21179/1/files/assets/common/downloads/Heerlen%20Stadskrant.pdf

The PDF document "Heerlen City Newspaper March 2026" is not tagged. This means that no structure has been specified in the file using tags. As a result, assistive technology (such as a screen reader) cannot determine what constitutes headings, paragraphs, lists, and other elements.

Advice

Tag the PDF document. Make sure the structure (headings, paragraphs, lists, images) is marked up with tags so that assistive technology can read the content aloud and search through it effectively.

https://digitaalpubliceren.com/heerlen/21179/1/files/assets/common/downloads/Heerlen%20Stadskrant.pdf

The PDF document contains text with insufficient contrast in several places:

The cover features the handwritten text "In the mood?!" in light blue (#3BADEB) on a white background (#FFFFFF). The color contrast is 2.5:1. On page 2 (right side of the spread) in the article "Working Together in Eikenderveld," white text (#FFFFFF) appears on a green gradient that transitions from light to dark green. On the light green sections (#92BD10), the color contrast is 2.2:1. The orange headlines (#EC9100) on a white background (#FFFFFF), for example on page 4 (left side of the spread). The color contrast is 2.4:1. On page 5, the headline "Heerlen makes its voice heard" in white (#FFFFFF) on a soft pink background (#F1B8D5). The color contrast is 1.7:1.

As a result, the text is difficult to read for people with impaired vision.

Advice

The contrast ratio for standard text must be at least 4.5:1, and for large text, at least 3.0:1. Darken the green background color so that the contrast with the white text meets the requirement.

https://digitaalpubliceren.com/heerlen/21179/1/files/assets/common/downloads/Heerlen%20Stadskrant.pdf

The PDF document "Heerlen Stadskrant" has a title entered in the file properties ("Heerlen Stadskrant"). However, this title does not specify which issue it refers to (March 2026). In addition, the display setting is set to "filename," causing PDF readers and assistive software to display the filename instead of the title. As a result, screen reader users do not hear a descriptive document title.

Advice

Enter a descriptive title that also mentions the issue, for example, "Heerlen City Newspaper - March 2026 - In a good mood?!". In addition, in the PDF properties (File > Properties > Initial View), set the "Show" option to "Document Title" so that the title is displayed instead of the file name. It is best to do this in the source file before exporting to PDF.

https://www.heerlen.nl

In the top-right corner of the header, there are four links to other language versions of the website: NL, EN, DE, and FR. The link text consists solely of a two-letter abbreviation. Screen readers announce "link, NL," "link, EN," and so on; this does not make it clear that these are language selection links or exactly which language is being referred to. Furthermore, the links are located in a navigation bar with the aria-label "Quick Menu" alongside "Contact." Consequently, the surrounding text also does not indicate anywhere that this is a language selection.

Advice

For each language link, use the full name of the language in that language itself, for example, "Nederlands," "English," "Deutsch," and "Français." Add the lang attribute to each link with the correct language code (lang="en", lang="de", lang="fr") so that assistive technology can pronounce the name in the correct language.

https://www.heerlen.nl

In the footer, under the heading "Follow us," there are four links to social media platforms, each labeled simply by the platform’s name: "LinkedIn," "Facebook," "Instagram," and "YouTube." A screen reader announces "link, LinkedIn." This indicates that the link leads to LinkedIn, but does not specify that it is specifically the Heerlen municipality’s page on that platform.

Advice

Add the organization's name to the display name of each link, for example, "Heerlen Municipality on LinkedIn" or "Heerlen Municipality LinkedIn page."

https://digitaalpubliceren.com/heerlen/21179/1/files/assets/common/downloads/Heerlen%20Stadskrant.pdf

The PDF document is not tagged. As a result, informational images are not marked as "Figure" and do not have text alternatives. This means that people who are blind and use a screen reader do not receive this information. Because the document is not tagged, it is impossible to determine whether the images have been processed correctly. For this reason, the document is not currently being rejected. Once the document is tagged, it can be reviewed again.

Advice

Make sure the PDF includes a complete tag structure, and distinguish between informational and decorative images. Tag informational images as "Figure" and provide them with a short, descriptive text alternative. Mark decorative images as "Artifact" so that assistive technology can skip them.

https://www.heerlen.nl/contact

On the contact page, under the headings "Visit us:" and "Mailing address:", the addresses are listed as single items. A list should contain two or more items. The text would be better formatted as a paragraph.

Advice

Replace the list under the heading with a paragraph.

https://www.heerlen.nl/ondernemershuis

On the page, under the heading "Make an appointment," the phone number and email address are listed in a single paragraph (p element), separated by a br tag. These are two different types of contact information that should each be in their own paragraph, or would be better placed in a list (as on the Contact page).

Advice

Place the phone number and email address each in their own paragraph, or better yet, in a bulleted list, as on the Contact page.

The website offers a high-contrast version. This can be enabled using a "contrast switch." This success criterion has been fully tested in high-contrast mode. The high-contrast version is considered an alternative to the standard version.

This may cause contrast issues in the standard version. These issues have not been further evaluated.

Advice

We recommend ensuring that the standard version also includes sufficient color contrast in all text. This improves the website’s accessibility for visitors with visual impairments.

Texts with sufficient color contrast are also easier for all readers to read. This makes reading less taxing, requires less energy, and is (subconsciously) perceived as more enjoyable. As a result, readers are more likely to take action.

The high-contrast version can then be used to provide "enhanced contrast," thereby meeting the WCAG 1.4.6 Enhanced Contrast success criterion (Level AAA).

A high-contrast version is available on the website. It can be enabled using a "contrast switch."
This success criterion has been fully tested in high-contrast mode. The high-contrast version is considered an alternative to the standard version.
As a result, there may be contrast issues with graphic elements in the standard version. These have not been further evaluated.

Advice

We recommend ensuring that the standard version also provides sufficient contrast for graphic elements, such as icons, buttons, and form fields. This improves the website’s accessibility for visitors with visual impairments.
The high-contrast version can then be used to provide “enhanced contrast.”

• https://www.heerlen.nl
• https://en.heerlen.nl

The header features the Municipality of Heerlen logo as a link to the homepage. The text alternative is "Logo of the Municipality of Heerlen" (in the English version: "Logo of the Municipality of Heerlen"). This describes the type of graphic element and not the link destination. A screen reader reads "link, Logo of the Municipality of Heerlen"; it is not immediately clear from this that the link leads to the homepage.

Advice

Replace the text alternative with just the organization's name, for example, "City of Heerlen." A screen reader user will then hear a brief and clear description of where the link leads.

• https://www.heerlen.nl/trouwen-en-partnerschap
• https://www.heerlen.nl

Several pages feature the heading "Or are you looking for…" above a list of topics, for example on the homepage with topics such as "Non-residents (RNI)", "Parking", and "Extracts". This is not a descriptive heading. The heading does not make it clear what information follows.

Advice

Choose a heading that describes the content below, such as "Topics" or "By Topic."