Contrast ratios, WCAG thresholds, and how to test the colour pairs your website actually renders.
Colour contrast is the most measurable part of web accessibility, and the most commonly failed. WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 between body text and its background, and 3:1 for large text and interface components. The maths behind those numbers is public and takes seconds to run, yet most brand palettes we are handed at kickoff contain at least one colour that cannot legally carry text.
These articles show the meter in action on real client palettes: the ratios we measured, the colours that failed, the fixes we chose and the ones we rejected. If you have ever wondered whether your brand orange, your subtle grey or your pastel hero banner actually passes, the tools and the method here will tell you in minutes.
At kickoff, a new client's brief specified navy #0F2744, silver #8A9199 and accent orange #F58220. We contrast-tested the palette before designing anything: the orange measured 2.59:1 on white and failed WCAG 2.2 AA twice over. Here is the full audit with every number intact, what measuring his five reference sites revealed, and how to test your own brand colours before they cost you a redesign.
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