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User GuideUnderstanding ResultsConfirmed vs Potential

Confirmed vs Potential Issues

ClearSight marks every issue as either Confirmed or Potential.

Confirmed issues

Confirmed issues are definite WCAG violations that axe-core can detect with certainty. There is no ambiguity — the page fails this rule.

Examples:

  • An <img> with no alt attribute
  • A button with no accessible name
  • Color contrast below the required ratio

Act on these immediately. They are real failures.

Potential issues

Potential issues are cases where automated testing can’t be certain, but a violation is likely. They require human judgment to confirm or dismiss.

Examples:

  • An <img> where axe-core detected alt text but can’t tell if it meaningfully describes the image
  • A link whose text is technically present but may not be descriptive enough (“click here”)
  • Touch targets that are close to but not definitively under the size threshold

Potential issues have a confidence score (0–100%) indicating how likely they are to be real violations. Higher confidence = more likely to be a real problem.

What to do with Potential issues

  1. Review each one using the Visual Inspector
  2. If it’s a real problem — fix it like any other issue
  3. If it’s a false positive — dismiss it so it doesn’t affect your score

Next steps

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Severity LevelsVisual Inspector