WCAG reference → 1.4.1
1.4.1 Use of Color (level A)
Colour must never be the only way information is conveyed.
How it shows up in Confluence
Status tables are where this shows up: a green cell means done, a red cell means blocked, and nothing says so in words. Status lozenges with no text are the same problem in a smaller package. Prose like “the rows in red need approval” carries it into the writing itself.
What to do about it
Add a second cue that does not depend on sight — a word in the cell, a labelled lozenge, a column called Status. Then refer to that label in the surrounding text rather than to the colour.
What Clearwren checks for this criterion
- Instructions rely on colour alone — A reader who cannot distinguish the colour, or who is using a screen reader, has no way to tell which items you mean.
- Status lozenge has no readable text — A lozenge is announced by its text; with none, its colour is the only thing carrying the meaning and a screen reader conveys nothing.