Evidence review
What to inspect before changing anything
Start with the delivered website and the real user journey. Record the current state so the team can distinguish an observed problem from an assumption and compare the same surface after deployment.
- 01Inventory shadow values and affected components
- 02Identify surfaces that do not actually overlap
- 03Compare hover and focus changes
Implementation
A practical improvement plan
Make the smallest coherent change that solves the observed problem. Keep normal code review, accessibility, security and product checks in the loop instead of optimizing for the scan alone.
- 01Define a small elevation scale
- 02Use borders or background contrast for static grouping
- 03Reserve stronger shadows for active overlays
Verification
How to verify the result
Verification should test the intended outcome and the most likely regression. Use the production delivery path whenever headers, caching, rendering or third-party services affect the result.
- 01Inspect the interface with shadows disabled
- 02Test contrast in light and dark environments
- 03Verify focus is not communicated by shadow alone
Common pitfall
A shortcut to avoid
Standardizing every shadow token does not solve unnecessary elevation or explain why a surface should appear above another.
Further reading
Primary guidance and references
These sources provide standards, security guidance or the interpretation framework used to keep this guide bounded. Product-specific implementation still requires review in the actual codebase.