Accessibility and localization are often treated as separate concerns, but failures emerge at their intersection. This guide presents a systematic approach to validating accessibility across multiple locales in React apps. Key topics include building a locale matrix to map accessibility risks per locale, automating axe-core checks via a Node.js/Puppeteer loop across locale URLs in CI/CD, tiering locales for manual testing based on traffic and regulatory exposure, explicitly testing RTL layouts for focus order and directional elements, using pseudolocalization to catch text expansion issues early, creating a shared defect taxonomy to route fixes correctly, and producing per-release coverage reports. The approach treats accessibility and localization as a shared, repeating process rather than a one-time audit.
Table of contents
Understand what changes across localesBuild a locale matrixAutomate what you can — and know its limitsSet up manual testing by locale tierTest right-to-left layouts explicitlyHandle text expansion proactivelyCreate a shared defect taxonomyDocument your validation coverageSort: