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August 18, 2026 · 1 min read

Visible text is not the same as accessible or semantic content

Extracting text is useful for inspection, but a text dump cannot represent all the semantics a browser exposes to assistive technology.

Extracting text is useful for inspection, but a text dump cannot represent all the semantics a browser exposes to assistive technology.

Use semantic elements and meaningful alternative text…

Use semantic elements and meaningful alternative text in the source document. A plain-text extraction cannot repair missing labels or poor heading structure.

Review links, form labels, landmarks, tables, and…

Review links, form labels, landmarks, tables, and images separately when accessibility matters. Text presence alone is not evidence of usability.

Parse untrusted HTML in a controlled context…

Parse untrusted HTML in a controlled context and keep the result escaped when displaying it as text.

Use the related tool carefully

This guide is paired with a browser-only utility. The tool is a practical aid for small examples and inspection; it is not a substitute for application testing, a formal data pipeline, or professional review where the decision has higher consequences.

Open the related HTML to Plain Text Extractor

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