diff --git a/.github/workflows/prerelease.yml b/.github/workflows/prerelease.yml
index b412337c0..41f96dc63 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/prerelease.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/prerelease.yml
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Check that there are no unexpected Sphinx warnings
         if: matrix.python-version == '3.10'
-        run: python tests/check_warnings.py
+        run: python tests/utils/check_warnings.py
 
       - name: Run the tests
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index d3b8efdf4..29297b792 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -56,6 +56,9 @@ jobs:
           # windows test
           - os: windows-latest
             python-version: "3.11"
+    # needed to cache the browsers for the accessibility tests
+    env:
+      PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH: ${{ github.workspace }}/pw-browsers
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v3
@@ -90,7 +93,7 @@ jobs:
           pip install nox
           nox -s compile
       - name: Run tests
-        run: pytest --color=yes --cov pydata_sphinx_theme --cov-branch --cov-report xml:cov.xml --cov-report= --cov-fail-under ${{ env.COVERAGE_THRESHOLD }}
+        run: pytest -m "not a11y" --color=yes --cov pydata_sphinx_theme --cov-branch --cov-report xml:cov.xml --cov-report= --cov-fail-under ${{ env.COVERAGE_THRESHOLD }}
       - name: Upload to Codecov
         if: matrix.python-version == '3.11' && matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
         uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3.1.2
@@ -98,6 +101,22 @@ jobs:
           files: cov.xml
           fail_ci_if_error: true
 
+      # note I am setting this on top of the Python cache as I could not find
+      # how to set the hash key on the python one
+      - name: Set up browser cache (for accessibility tests)
+        uses: actions/cache@v3
+        with:
+          path: |
+            ${{ github.workspace }}/pw-browsers
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-pw-${{ hashFiles('pyproject.toml') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            ${{ runner.os }}-pw-
+
+      - name: Run accessibility tests with playwright
+        if: matrix.python-version == '3.11' && matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
+        run: |
+          nox -s a11y
+
   # Build our site on the 3 major OSes and check for Sphinx warnings
   build-site:
     needs: [lint]
@@ -124,7 +143,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build docs
         run: sphinx-build -b html docs/ docs/_build/html --keep-going -w warnings.txt
       - name: Check for unexpected Sphinx warnings
-        run: python tests/check_warnings.py
+        run: python tests/utils/check_warnings.py
 
   # Run local Lighthouse audit against built site
   audit:
diff --git a/docs/community/setup.md b/docs/community/setup.md
index 3e732e14f..6777a53cd 100644
--- a/docs/community/setup.md
+++ b/docs/community/setup.md
@@ -22,10 +22,10 @@ The sections below cover the steps to do this in more detail.
 
 ## Clone the repository
 
-First off you'll need your own copy of the `pydata-sphinx-theme` codebase.
+First off you'll need your copy of the `pydata-sphinx-theme` codebase.
 You can clone it for local development like so:
 
-1. **Fork the repository** so you have your own copy on GitHub.
+1. **Fork the repository**, so you have your own copy on GitHub.
    See [the GitHub forking guide](https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/quickstart/fork-a-repo) for more information.
 2. **Clone the repository locally** so that you have a local copy to work from:
 
@@ -36,14 +36,14 @@ You can clone it for local development like so:
 
 ## Install your tools
 
-Building a Sphinx site uses a combination of Python and Jinja to manage HTML, SCSS, and Javascript.
+Building a Sphinx site uses a combination of Python and Jinja to manage HTML, SCSS, and JavaScript.
 To simplify this process, we use a few helper tools:
 
-- [The Sphinx Theme Builder](https://sphinx-theme-builder.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) to automatically perform compilation of web assets.
+- [The Sphinx Theme Builder](https://sphinx-theme-builder.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) compiles web assets in an automated way.
 - [pre-commit](https://pre-commit.com/) for automatically enforcing code standards and quality checks before commits.
-- [nox](https://nox.thea.codes/), for automating common development tasks.
+- [nox](https://nox.thea.codes/) for automating common development tasks.
 
-In particular, `nox` can be used to automatically create isolated local development environments with all of the correct packages installed to work on the theme.
+In particular, `nox` can be used to automatically create isolated local development environments with all the correct packages installed to work on the theme.
 The rest of this guide focuses on using `nox` to start with a basic environment.
 
 ```{seealso}
@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ To start, install `nox`:
 $ pip install nox
 ```
 
-You can call `nox` from the command line in order to perform common actions that are needed in building the theme.
+You can call `nox` from the command line to perform common actions that are needed in building the theme.
 `nox` operates with isolated environments, so each action has its own packages installed in a local directory (`.nox`).
-For common development actions, you'll simply need to use `nox` and won't need to set up any other packages.
+For common development actions, you'll only need to use `nox` and won't need to set up any other packages.
 
 ### Setup `pre-commit`
 
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ Now that you've built the documentation, edit one of the source files to see how
 1. **Make an edit to a page**. For example, add a word or fix a typo on any page.
 2. **Rebuild the documentation** with `nox -s docs`
 
-It should go much faster this time, because `nox` is re-using the old environment, and because Sphinx has cached the pages that you didn't change.
+It should go much faster this time because `nox` is re-using the previously created environment, and because Sphinx has cached the pages that you didn't change.
 
 ## Compile the CSS/JS assets
 
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ The `sphinx-theme-builder` will bundle these assets automatically when we make a
 
 ## Run a development server
 
-You can combine the above two actions and run a development server so that changes to `src/` are automatically bundled with the package, and the documentation is immediately reloaded in a live preview window.
+You can combine the above two actions (build the docs and compile JS/CSS assets) and run a development server so that changes to `src/` are automatically bundled with the package, and the documentation is immediately reloaded in a live preview window.
 
 To run the development server with `nox`, run the following command:
 
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ To run the development server with `nox`, run the following command:
 $ nox -s docs-live
 ```
 
-When working on the theme, saving changes to any of these directories:
+When working on the theme, making changes to any of these directories:
 
 - `src/js/index.js`
 - `src/scss/index.scss`
@@ -161,19 +161,33 @@ will cause the development server to do the following:
 
 ## Run the tests
 
-This theme uses `pytest` for its testing, with a lightweight fixture defined
-in the `test_build.py` script that makes it easy to run a Sphinx build using
-this theme and inspect the results.
+This theme uses `pytest` for its testing. There is a lightweight fixture defined
+in the `test_build.py` script that makes it straightforward to run a Sphinx build using
+this theme and inspect the results. There are also several automated accessibility checks in
+`test_a11y.py`.
 
-In addition, we use [pytest-regressions](https://pytest-regressions.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)
-to ensure that the HTML generated by the theme is what we'd expect. This module
+```{warning}
+Currently, the automated accessibility tests check the Kitchen Sink page only.
+We are working on extending coverage to the rest of the theme.
+```
+
+In addition, we use
+[pytest-regressions](https://pytest-regressions.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) to
+ensure that the HTML generated by the theme is what we'd expect. This module
 provides a `file_regression` fixture that will check the contents of an object
 against a reference file on disk. If the structure of the two differs, then the
 test will fail. If we _expect_ the structure to differ, then delete the file on
-disk and run the test. A new file will be created, and subsequent tests will pass.
+disk and run the test. A new file will be created, and subsequent tests will
+pass.
 
-To run the tests with `nox`, run the following command:
+To run the build tests with `nox`, run the following command:
 
 ```console
 $ nox -s test
 ```
+
+To run the accessibility checks:
+
+```console
+$ nox -s a11y
+```
diff --git a/docs/community/topics/accessibility.md b/docs/community/topics/accessibility.md
index 5bff788de..b667a195e 100644
--- a/docs/community/topics/accessibility.md
+++ b/docs/community/topics/accessibility.md
@@ -1,11 +1,18 @@
 # Accessibility checks
 
-The accessibility checking tools can find a number of common HTML patterns which
+```{note}
+April-2023: we are currently
+[re-evaluating how we do accessibility checks](https://github.com/pydata/pydata-sphinx-theme/issues/1168)
+and reporting, so this may change soon.
+```
+
+In general, accessibility-checking tools can find a limited number of common HTML patterns which
 assistive technology can't help users understand.
-We run a [Lighthouse](https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse) job in our CI/CD, which generates a "score" for all pages in our **Kitchen Sink** example documentation.
-The configuration for Lighthouse is in:
 
-- `.github/workflows/lighthouserc.json`
+## Accessibility checks as part of our development process
+
+We run a [Lighthouse](https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse) job in our CI/CD, which generates a "score" for all pages in our **Kitchen Sink** example documentation.
+The configuration for Lighthouse can be found in the `.github/workflows/lighthouserc.json` file.
 
-For more information about configuring lighthouse, see [the lighthouse documentation](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/lighthouse-ci/blob/main/docs/configuration.md).
+For more information about configuring Lighthouse, see [the Lighthouse documentation](https://github.com/GoogleChrome/lighthouse-ci/blob/main/docs/configuration.md).
 For more information about Accessibility in general, see [](../../user_guide/accessibility.rst).
diff --git a/noxfile.py b/noxfile.py
index 71903094f..24fe688f3 100644
--- a/noxfile.py
+++ b/noxfile.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
     nox -s docs -- -r
 """
+import os
 import shutil as sh
 import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -87,7 +88,28 @@ def test(session: nox.Session) -> None:
     if _should_install(session):
         session.install("-e", ".[test]")
     session.run(*split("pybabel compile -d src/pydata_sphinx_theme/locale -D sphinx"))
-    session.run("pytest", *session.posargs)
+    session.run("pytest", "-m", "not a11y", *session.posargs)
+
+
+@nox.session()
+def a11y(session: nox.Session) -> None:
+    """Run the accessibility test suite only."""
+    if _should_install(session):
+        session.install("-e", ".[test, a11y]")
+        # Install the drivers that Playwright needs to control the browsers.
+        if os.environ.get("CI") or os.environ.get("GITPOD_WORKSPACE_ID"):
+            # CI and other cloud environments are potentially missing system
+            # dependencies, so we tell Playwright to also install the system
+            # dependencies
+            session.run("playwright", "install", "--with-deps")
+        else:
+            # But most dev environments have the needed system dependencies
+            session.run("playwright", "install")
+    # Build the docs so we can run accessibility tests against them.
+    session.run("nox", "-s", "docs")
+    # The next step would be to open a server to the docs for Playwright, but
+    # that is done in the test file, along with the accessibility checks.
+    session.run("pytest", "-m", "a11y", *session.posargs)
 
 
 @nox.session(name="test-sphinx")
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index bfb1c6ef7..89c5c3906 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
         "bootstrap": "^5.2.2"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
+        "axe-core": "^4.6.3",
         "copy-webpack-plugin": "^11.0.0",
         "css-loader": "^3.4.2",
         "css-minimizer-webpack-plugin": "^4.2.2",
@@ -312,9 +313,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/@types/yargs": {
-      "version": "17.0.23",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/yargs/-/yargs-17.0.23.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-yuogunc04OnzGQCrfHx+Kk883Q4X0aSwmYZhKjI21m+SVYzjIbrWl8dOOwSv5hf2Um2pdCOXWo9isteZTNXUZQ==",
+      "version": "17.0.24",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/yargs/-/yargs-17.0.24.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6i0aC7jV6QzQB8ne1joVZ0eSFIstHsCrobmOtghM11yGlH0j43FKL2UhWdELkyps0zuf7qVTUVCCR+tgSlyLLw==",
       "dev": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@types/yargs-parser": "*"
@@ -675,6 +676,15 @@
         "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/ljharb"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/axe-core": {
+      "version": "4.6.3",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/axe-core/-/axe-core-4.6.3.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-/BQzOX780JhsxDnPpH4ZiyrJAzcd8AfzFPkv+89veFSr1rcMjuq2JDCwypKaPeB6ljHp9KjXhPpjgCvQlWYuqg==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=4"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/big.js": {
       "version": "5.2.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/big.js/-/big.js-5.2.2.tgz",
@@ -808,9 +818,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/caniuse-lite": {
-      "version": "1.0.30001470",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/caniuse-lite/-/caniuse-lite-1.0.30001470.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-065uNwY6QtHCBOExzbV6m236DDhYCCtPmQUCoQtwkVqzud8v5QPidoMr6CoMkC2nfp6nksjttqWQRRh75LqUmA==",
+      "version": "1.0.30001472",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/caniuse-lite/-/caniuse-lite-1.0.30001472.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-xWC/0+hHHQgj3/vrKYY0AAzeIUgr7L9wlELIcAvZdDUHlhL/kNxMdnQLOSOQfP8R51ZzPhmHdyMkI0MMpmxCfg==",
       "dev": true,
       "funding": [
         {
@@ -820,6 +830,10 @@
         {
           "type": "tidelift",
           "url": "https://tidelift.com/funding/github/npm/caniuse-lite"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "github",
+          "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/ai"
         }
       ]
     },
@@ -1854,9 +1868,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/electron-to-chromium": {
-      "version": "1.4.340",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/electron-to-chromium/-/electron-to-chromium-1.4.340.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-zx8hqumOqltKsv/MF50yvdAlPF9S/4PXbyfzJS6ZGhbddGkRegdwImmfSVqCkEziYzrIGZ/TlrzBND4FysfkDg==",
+      "version": "1.4.341",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/electron-to-chromium/-/electron-to-chromium-1.4.341.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-R4A8VfUBQY9WmAhuqY5tjHRf5fH2AAf6vqitBOE0y6u2PgHgqHSrhZmu78dIX3fVZtjqlwJNX1i2zwC3VpHtQQ==",
       "dev": true
     },
     "node_modules/emojis-list": {
@@ -4775,9 +4789,9 @@
       }
     },
     "@types/yargs": {
-      "version": "17.0.23",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/yargs/-/yargs-17.0.23.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-yuogunc04OnzGQCrfHx+Kk883Q4X0aSwmYZhKjI21m+SVYzjIbrWl8dOOwSv5hf2Um2pdCOXWo9isteZTNXUZQ==",
+      "version": "17.0.24",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/yargs/-/yargs-17.0.24.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6i0aC7jV6QzQB8ne1joVZ0eSFIstHsCrobmOtghM11yGlH0j43FKL2UhWdELkyps0zuf7qVTUVCCR+tgSlyLLw==",
       "dev": true,
       "requires": {
         "@types/yargs-parser": "*"
@@ -5065,6 +5079,12 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-DMD0KiN46eipeziST1LPP/STfDU0sufISXmjSgvVsoU2tqxctQeASejWcfNtxYKqETM1UxQ8sp2OrSBWpHY6sw==",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "axe-core": {
+      "version": "4.6.3",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/axe-core/-/axe-core-4.6.3.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-/BQzOX780JhsxDnPpH4ZiyrJAzcd8AfzFPkv+89veFSr1rcMjuq2JDCwypKaPeB6ljHp9KjXhPpjgCvQlWYuqg==",
+      "dev": true
+    },
     "big.js": {
       "version": "5.2.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/big.js/-/big.js-5.2.2.tgz",
@@ -5155,9 +5175,9 @@
       }
     },
     "caniuse-lite": {
-      "version": "1.0.30001470",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/caniuse-lite/-/caniuse-lite-1.0.30001470.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-065uNwY6QtHCBOExzbV6m236DDhYCCtPmQUCoQtwkVqzud8v5QPidoMr6CoMkC2nfp6nksjttqWQRRh75LqUmA==",
+      "version": "1.0.30001472",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/caniuse-lite/-/caniuse-lite-1.0.30001472.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-xWC/0+hHHQgj3/vrKYY0AAzeIUgr7L9wlELIcAvZdDUHlhL/kNxMdnQLOSOQfP8R51ZzPhmHdyMkI0MMpmxCfg==",
       "dev": true
     },
     "chalk": {
@@ -5839,9 +5859,9 @@
       }
     },
     "electron-to-chromium": {
-      "version": "1.4.340",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/electron-to-chromium/-/electron-to-chromium-1.4.340.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-zx8hqumOqltKsv/MF50yvdAlPF9S/4PXbyfzJS6ZGhbddGkRegdwImmfSVqCkEziYzrIGZ/TlrzBND4FysfkDg==",
+      "version": "1.4.341",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/electron-to-chromium/-/electron-to-chromium-1.4.341.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-R4A8VfUBQY9WmAhuqY5tjHRf5fH2AAf6vqitBOE0y6u2PgHgqHSrhZmu78dIX3fVZtjqlwJNX1i2zwC3VpHtQQ==",
       "dev": true
     },
     "emojis-list": {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 4422ccb5d..f615c4a97 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
     "build": "webpack"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
+    "axe-core": "^4.6.3",
     "copy-webpack-plugin": "^11.0.0",
     "css-loader": "^3.4.2",
     "css-minimizer-webpack-plugin": "^4.2.2",
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 02df26e15..bd32ec296 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ name = "pydata-sphinx-theme"
 description = "Bootstrap-based Sphinx theme from the PyData community"
 dynamic = ["version"]
 readme = "README.md"
-
 requires-python = ">=3.7"
 dependencies = [
   "sphinx>=4.2",
@@ -30,12 +29,10 @@ dependencies = [
   "accessible-pygments",
   "typing-extensions"
 ]
-
 license = { file = "LICENSE" }
 maintainers = [
   { name = "Joris Van den Bossche", email = "jorisvandenbossche@gmail.com" },
 ]
-
 classifiers = [
   "Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable",
   "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
@@ -54,7 +51,7 @@ classifiers = [
 doc = [
   "numpydoc",
   "myst-nb",
-  "linkify-it-py",  # for link shortening
+  "linkify-it-py", # for link shortening
   "rich",
   "sphinxext-rediraffe",
   "sphinx-sitemap",
@@ -77,17 +74,9 @@ doc = [
   "ipyleaflet",
   "colorama",
 ]
-test = [
-  "pytest",
-  "pytest-cov",
-  "pytest-regressions",
-]
-dev = [
-  "pyyaml",
-  "pre-commit",
-  "nox",
-  "pydata-sphinx-theme[doc,test]",
-]
+test = ["pytest", "pytest-cov", "pytest-regressions"]
+dev = ["pyyaml", "pre-commit", "nox", "pydata-sphinx-theme[doc,test]"]
+a11y = ["pytest-playwright"]
 
 [project.entry-points]
 "sphinx.html_themes" = { pydata_sphinx_theme = "pydata_sphinx_theme" }
@@ -100,8 +89,9 @@ ignore-init-module-imports = true
 fix = true
 select = ["E", "F", "W", "I", "D", "RUF"]
 ignore = [
-    "E501",  # line too long | Black take care of it
-    "D107",  # Missing docstring in `__init__` | set the docstring in the class
+  "E501", # line too long | Black take care of it
+  "D107", # Missing docstring in `__init__` | set the docstring in the class
+
 ]
 
 [tool.ruff.flake8-quotes]
@@ -119,3 +109,6 @@ use_gitignore = true
 format_js = true
 format_css = true
 ignore = "H006,J018,T003,H025"
+
+[tool.pytest.ini_options]
+markers = "a11y: mark a test as an accessibility test"
diff --git a/tests/README.md b/tests/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6608c4815
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# PyData Sphinx tests
+
+This directory contains the Python tests for the theme. These tests are built with [pytest](https://docs.pytest.org/en/stable/) and are called through `nox`.
+
+- `test_build.py` checks that the static HTML output of the build process conforms
+  to various expectations. It builds static HTML pages based on configurations in
+  the `sites/` directory. The tests run various assertions on the static HTML
+  output, including snapshot comparisons with previously compiled outputs that are
+  stored in `test_build/`. In other words, it uses
+  [`pytest-regressions`](https://pytest-regressions.readthedocs.io/) to compare
+  the output created during the test run with a previously known and verified output
+  (stored under `test_build`) to make sure nothing has changed.
+
+- `test_a11y.py` checks PyData Sphinx Theme components for accessibility issues.
+  It's important to note that [only a fraction of accessibility issues can be
+  caught with automated
+  testing](https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2017/02/24/what-we-found-when-we-tested-tools-on-the-worlds-least-accessible-webpage/).
+  In contrast to the build test suite, the accessibility suite checks components as
+  they appear in the browser, meaning with any CSS and JavaScript applied. It does
+  this by building the PyData Sphinx Theme docs, launching a local server to the
+  docs, then checking the "Kitchen Sink" example pages with
+  [Playwright](https://playwright.dev), a program for developers that allows
+  loading and manipulating pages with various browsers, such as Chrome (chromium),
+  Firefox (gecko), Safari (WebKit).
+
+The ["Kitchen Sink" examples](https://pydata-sphinx-theme.readthedocs.io/en/stable/examples/kitchen-sink/index.html)
+are taken from [sphinx-themes.org](https://sphinx-themes.org/) and showcase
+components of the PyData Sphinx Theme, such as admonitions, lists, and headings.
diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cb0779c65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+"""Tests for pydata-sphinx-theme."""
diff --git a/tests/test_a11y.py b/tests/test_a11y.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d007724a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_a11y.py
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+"""Using Axe-core, scan the Kitchen Sink pages for accessibility violations."""
+
+import time
+from http.client import HTTPConnection
+from pathlib import Path
+from subprocess import PIPE, Popen
+from urllib.parse import urljoin
+
+import pytest
+
+from .utils.pretty_axe_results import pretty_axe_results
+
+# Important note: automated accessibility scans can only find a fraction of
+# potential accessibility issues.
+#
+# This test file scans pages from the Kitchen Sink examples with a JavaScript
+# library called Axe-core, which checks the page for accessibility violations,
+# such as places on the page with poor color contrast that would be hard for
+# people with low vision to see.
+#
+# Just because a page passes the scan with no accessibility violations does
+# *not* mean that it will be generally usable by a broad range of disabled
+# people. It just means that page is free of common testable accessibility
+# pitfalls.
+
+path_repo = Path(__file__).parent.parent
+path_docs_build = path_repo / "docs" / "_build" / "html"
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def url_base():
+    """Start local server on built docs and return the localhost URL as the base URL."""
+    # Use a port that is not commonly used during development or else you will
+    # force the developer to stop running their dev server in order to run the
+    # tests.
+    port = "8213"
+    host = "localhost"
+    url = f"http://{host}:{port}"
+
+    # Try starting the server
+    process = Popen(
+        ["python", "-m", "http.server", port, "--directory", path_docs_build],
+        stdout=PIPE,
+    )
+
+    # Try connecting to the server
+    retries = 5
+    while retries > 0:
+        conn = HTTPConnection(host, port)
+        try:
+            conn.request("HEAD", "/")
+            response = conn.getresponse()
+            if response is not None:
+                yield url
+                break
+        except ConnectionRefusedError:
+            time.sleep(1)
+            retries -= 1
+
+    # If the code above never yields a URL, then we were never able to connect
+    # to the server and retries == 0.
+    if not retries:
+        raise RuntimeError("Failed to start http server in 5 seconds")
+    else:
+        # Otherwise the server started and this fixture is done now and we clean
+        # up by stopping the server.
+        process.terminate()
+        process.wait()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.a11y
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("theme", ["light", "dark"])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "url_page,selector",
+    [
+        ("admonitions.html", "#admonitions"),
+        ("api.html", "#api-documentation"),
+        ("blocks.html", "#blocks"),
+        ("generic.html", "#generic-items"),
+        ("images.html", "#images-figures"),
+        ("lists.html", "#lists"),
+        ("structure.html", "#structural-elements"),
+        ("structure.html", "#structural-elements-2"),
+        ("tables.html", "#tables"),
+        ("typography.html", "#typography"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_axe_core_kitchen_sink(theme: str, url_base: str, url_page: str, selector: str):
+    """Should have no Axe-core violations at the provided theme and page section."""
+    # Using importorskip ensures that the test is skipped if not running within
+    # the a11y session
+    page = pytest.importorskip("playwright.sync_api.Page")
+
+    # Load the page at the provided path
+    url_base_kitchen_sink = urljoin(url_base, "/examples/kitchen-sink/")
+    url_full = urljoin(url_base_kitchen_sink, url_page)
+    page.goto(url_full)
+
+    # Run a line of JavaScript that sets the light/dark theme on the page
+    page.evaluate(f"document.documentElement.dataset.theme = '{theme}'")
+
+    # Inject the Axe-core JavaScript library into the page
+    page.add_script_tag(path="node_modules/axe-core/axe.min.js")
+
+    # Run the Axe-core library against a section of the page. (Don't run it
+    # against the whole page because in this test we're not trying to find
+    # accessibility violations in the nav, sidebar, footer, or other parts of
+    # the PyData Sphinx Theme documentation website.)
+    results = page.evaluate(f"axe.run('{selector}')")
+
+    # Expect Axe-core to have found 0 accessibility violations
+    assert len(results["violations"]) == 0, pretty_axe_results(results)
diff --git a/tests/utils/__init__.py b/tests/utils/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a9abe4c5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/utils/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+"""Utility functions for testing pydata-sphinx-theme."""
diff --git a/tests/check_warnings.py b/tests/utils/check_warnings.py
similarity index 96%
rename from tests/check_warnings.py
rename to tests/utils/check_warnings.py
index 241f4acf1..9e790b835 100644
--- a/tests/check_warnings.py
+++ b/tests/utils/check_warnings.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def check_warnings(file: Path) -> bool:
     print("\n=== Sphinx Warnings test ===\n")
 
     # find the file where all the known warnings are stored
-    warning_file = Path(__file__).parent / "warning_list.txt"
+    warning_file = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "warning_list.txt"
 
     test_warnings = file.read_text().strip().split("\n")
     ref_warnings = warning_file.read_text().strip().split("\n")
diff --git a/tests/utils/pretty_axe_results.py b/tests/utils/pretty_axe_results.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..698d42efd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/utils/pretty_axe_results.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+"""Readable report of accessibility violations."""
+
+# This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+# License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+# file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
+
+# This code taken from:
+# https://github.com/mozilla-services/axe-selenium-python/blob/3cfbdd67c9b40ab03f37b3ba2521f77c2071827b/axe_selenium_python/axe.py
+# Typical usage:
+# assert(len(results["violations"])) == 0, pretty_axe_results(results)
+
+
+def pretty_axe_results(results: dict) -> str:
+    """Create readable string that can be printed to console from the Axe-core results object.
+
+    :param results: The object promised by `axe.run()`.
+    :type results: dict
+    :return report: Readable report of violations.
+    :rtype: string.
+
+    """
+    violations = results["violations"]
+    string = ""
+    string += f"Found {len(violations)} accessibility violations:"
+    for violation in violations:
+        string += (
+            f"\n\n\nRule Violated:\n {violation['id']} - {violation['description']} \n\t"
+            f"URL: {violation['helpUrl']} \n\t"
+            f"Impact Level: {violation['impact']} \n\tTags:"
+        )
+        for tag in violation["tags"]:
+            string += f" {tag}"
+        string += "\n\tElements Affected:"
+        i = 1
+        for node in violation["nodes"]:
+            for target in node["target"]:
+                string += f"\n\t {i} Target: {target}"
+                i += 1
+            for item in node["all"]:
+                string += f"\n\t\t {item['message']}"
+            for item in node["any"]:
+                string += f"\n\t\t {item['message']}"
+            for item in node["none"]:
+                string += f"\n\t\t {item['message']}"
+        string += "\n\n\n"
+    return string