Who this affects
Text does not meet the 4.5:1 contrast minimum. Users with low vision, and anyone on a phone in daylight, cannot read it.
How to fix it
Darken the foreground or lighten the background until the ratio reaches 4.5:1 (3:1 for text 18pt and above). This is usually a design-token change.
Effort Medium · ~2-4 h for a design system pass
Before and after
Fails
/* 3.1:1 against white — fails */
.price-note { color: #949494; background: #fff; }Passes
/* 4.6:1 against white — passes */
.price-note { color: #6b6b6b; background: #fff; }Where this sits in the standard
| WCAG success criterion | Level | EN 301 549 clause |
|---|---|---|
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) | AA | 301-549, 9.1.4.3 |
EN 301 549 clause 9 applies these criteria to web content. The published version referenced by the European Accessibility Act is V3.2.1, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 level A and AA. More on the standard.
How to check it by hand
Sample the foreground and background with a contrast checker and compare against 4.5:1, or 3:1 for text at 18pt and above or 14pt bold. Check hover, focus and disabled states too — they are the ones usually missed.
Automated testing settles roughly a third of the WCAG success criteria. This rule is one an automated tool detects reliably — but a clean automated result is not proof of conformance.
Reference
Deque's technical write-up for this rule: color-contrast
See whether your site trips this rule
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