• Success Criterion 1.4.11
  • Conformance level AA

Star Rating Icons Where Filled and Empty Look Too Similar

1.4.11 — Non-text Contrast

Scenario

Setting

A car-rental site's checkout flow

What’s wrong

Star/rating icons where filled vs — unfilled distinction <3:1.

Example

This shows up on a car-rental site's checkout flow: star/rating icons where filled vs — unfilled distinction <3:1.

Why it matters

Low-vision and color-blind people who need to perceive controls and meaningful graphics. In this case (a car-rental site's checkout flow), they can't perceive part of the content because of how it's displayed.

How to test

Measure the difference between filled and unfilled star icons in a rating widget: below 3:1 makes the current rating unreadable.

How to fix

The visual element (border, icon, indicator, state marker) must have at least 3:1 contrast against adjacent colors in every state.

Outcome

Once corrected, a car-rental site's checkout flow lets them tell the information apart without relying on color, specifically for the “Star Rating Icons Where Filled and Empty Look Too Similar” issue on a car-rental site's checkout flow.

Who is affected

Low-vision and color-blind people who need to perceive controls and meaningful graphics.

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