--- title: "Accessibility is not a “React Problem” | Netlify" description: "Realize the speed, agility and performance of a scalable, composable web architecture with Netlify. Explore the composable web platform now!" source: "https://www.netlify.com/blog/2019/02/25/accessibility-is-not-a-react-problem/" last_updated: "2026-08-05T04:36:38.000Z" --- Every few months, it seems like there’s a revival of the Twitter War™ about JavaScript libraries and accessibility. React is a common target, with developers naming a litany of issues: - infinite wrapper `
`s - inline styles overriding custom user stylesheets - no focus management when navigating between routes - and on and on… While these are valid concerns, it should be noted that **nothing in React prevents us from building accessible web apps**. At Netlify, we believe [accessibility on the modern web](https://www.netlify.com/blog/2017/05/18/accessibility-on-the-modern-web/) is important. We also spend a lot of time in React; it actually powers the frontend of our app. As such, we’ve collected some tips from our frontend engineers on how to leverage accessibility best practices in React. ## Semantics matter - **Check your DOM structure.** Building with components can make it harder to scan your app’s document structure for accessibility. Use dev tools or a browser extension like [HTML5 Outliner for Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/html5-outliner/afoibpobokebhgfnknfndkgemglggomo/) to scan the DOM for a reasonable outline as you write JSX and nest components. - **Use semantic HTML structuring.** Instead of using `
`s and ``s as generic wrappers, err on the side of using [semantic elements](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Semantics#Semantic_elements) with inherent meaning, like `
`, `
`, and `