Free Website Accessibility Checker
Test any website against WCAG 2.1 A and AA in about a minute. See exactly what screen-reader and keyboard users run into — in plain English, with a fix for every issue.
Check my website free3 free scans per day · No credit card · Results in 60 seconds
What this accessibility checker does
An accessibility checker scans your web pages and reports where they break the rules that make a site usable for people with disabilities. Those rules are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and Level AA is the version referenced by the ADA, AODA, and the European Accessibility Act.
The problem with most tools is that they hand you a wall of technical error codes. WCAGsafe runs the same trusted engine — axe-core, the open-source scanner behind Google Lighthouse — then translates every finding into a sentence a non-developer can act on, points to the exact element, and gives you the fix. You get a score, a legal risk level, and a complete list of what to change.
What the checker tests
WCAG is built on four principles — content should be Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. The scan covers all four across 55+ automated checks.
Perceivable
People must be able to perceive your content. The checker flags missing image alt text, low color contrast, captions, and text that only conveys meaning through color.
Operable
Everything has to work by keyboard, not just a mouse. It catches keyboard traps, missing focus indicators, skip links, and controls a screen-reader user can never reach.
Understandable
Content and controls must be predictable. It checks page language, form field labels and instructions, and error messages that assistive technology can actually read.
Robust
Your markup has to work with screen readers and other assistive tech. It validates ARIA usage, name/role/value on custom widgets, and duplicate IDs that break navigation.
Who accessibility actually helps
Over 1 billion people worldwide live with a disability. Accessibility barriers quietly turn them away — here is who your fixes reach.
Blind & low-vision users
Rely on screen readers like JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver — they need alt text, labels, and semantic structure.
Motor-impaired users
Navigate by keyboard or switch device — every button, link, and menu must be reachable and operable without a mouse.
Deaf & hard-of-hearing users
Need captions and transcripts for audio and video content to access the same information as everyone else.
Users with cognitive differences
Benefit from clear labels, consistent navigation, readable contrast, and predictable page behavior.
The most common barriers — and who they block
WebAIM's 2025 scan of the top one million home pages found that six issue types account for about 96% of all detected errors — and 94.8% of home pages had at least one WCAG failure. Here's what each barrier does to a real person trying to use your site.
79.1%
of home pages
Low-contrast text
Low-vision users, older users, and anyone on a phone in sunlight. Grey-on-white text below the 4.5:1 ratio is the single most common barrier on the web.
55.5%
of home pages
Missing image alt text
Blind and low-vision users. A screen reader announces an unlabeled image as "image" or reads out the file name, so any information the picture carries is simply lost.
48.2%
of home pages
Unlabeled form fields
Screen-reader users. A field with no programmatic label is announced as "edit text," leaving the person to guess whether they're typing an email, a name, or a card number.
45.4%
of home pages
Empty links
Keyboard and screen-reader users. An icon-only or "click here" link with no accessible name is announced as "link, blank" — impossible to act on with confidence.
29.6%
of home pages
Empty buttons
Everyone using assistive tech. A button with no accessible name can be seen but never operated — the hamburger menu, the "add to cart," the dialog close.
15.8%
of home pages
Missing document language
Screen-reader users. Without a declared language, the wrong voice engine may read the page, turning clear English into unintelligible sound.
Frequencies: WebAIM Million 2025. See sources.
What an automated scan can and can't catch
We'll be straight with you: no automated checker finds 100% of issues. Here's exactly where the line falls, so you know what you're getting.
Caught automatically
- Missing or empty image alt text
- Insufficient color contrast (4.5:1 / 3:1)
- Form inputs with no associated label
- Missing page language attribute
- Empty links and buttons
- Broken or misused ARIA attributes
- Missing document title or heading structure
- Duplicate element IDs that break screen readers
Needs a human check
- Whether alt text actually describes the image well
- Logical reading and focus order across a page
- Whether error messages make sense in context
- Keyboard operation of complex custom widgets
- Caption accuracy and video audio-description
Need help with the manual side? Our team can fix it for you.
Website accessibility testing: the full picture
Website accessibility testing is the practice of checking your pages against WCAG using three complementary methods. An automated checker like this one is the fast, repeatable layer — it scans every page and reliably catches the machine-testable failures (contrast, alt text, labels, ARIA, structure). It's where nearly every accessibility testing workflow starts, and for most sites it surfaces the majority of the violations that get cited.
The other two layers are manual testing — a human checking reading order, keyboard operation, and whether alt text is actually meaningful — and assistive-technology testing, where you navigate the page with a screen reader like NVDA or VoiceOver. Automated testing tells you where to look; the manual pass confirms the judgment calls. Run the automated scan first, on every page, then spend your manual time only where it flags something ambiguous.
The three layers of accessibility testing
No single method finds everything. A mature program layers all three — and each one answers a different question about your site.
Automated testing
A scanner checks every page against the machine-testable success criteria — contrast, alt text, labels, ARIA, structure — in seconds. It gives you breadth and repeatability, and it catches the high-frequency failures that make up the bulk of real-world barriers. This is where WCAGsafe works, and where any testing program should start.
Best for: coverage, speed, catching regressions after every change.
Manual testing
A person checks the things a machine can't judge: whether alt text is actually meaningful, whether the reading and focus order make sense, whether error messages are clear, and whether custom widgets behave. It's slower but essential for the criteria that hinge on human judgment.
Best for: judgment calls automated tools flag but can't decide.
Assistive-technology testing
You navigate the site the way disabled users actually do — with a screen reader (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver), by keyboard only, with the page zoomed to 200%, or with voice control. Nothing reveals a broken experience faster than hearing your own checkout read aloud.
Best for: confirming the real experience, not just the code.
Test your website yourself in 5 minutes
An automated scan is faster and more thorough for the code-level checks, but these four hands-on tests show you what the experience actually feels like. No tools to buy — just your own browser.
Unplug the mouse
Press Tab to move through the page. Every link, button, and form field should receive a visible focus outline in a logical order, and you should be able to reach and operate everything — menus, modals, carousels — without a click.
Turn on a screen reader
VoiceOver is built into Mac (Cmd+F5) and NVDA is a free download on Windows. Close your eyes and listen: are images described, are buttons named, do form fields announce what they're for?
Zoom to 200%
Press Ctrl/Cmd and + until the page is at 200%. Text should reflow without content overlapping, getting cut off, or forcing horizontal scrolling.
Check color alone
Look for anywhere meaning is carried only by color — a red "required" field, a green "in stock" dot. If the color were removed, would the information survive? It needs to.
Found something? Run a full automated scan to get the complete list, mapped to WCAG with a fix for each issue — the two together are far stronger than either alone.
How the accessibility checker works
Enter your URL
Paste any public web page. No installation, extension, or code added to your site.
Automated scan
Our engine runs axe-core plus enhanced checks across 55+ WCAG 2.1 A and AA criteria.
Plain-English report
See every issue explained simply, with the exact element, your score, and how to fix it.
Why check your website's accessibility
Reach more customers
One in four U.S. adults has a disability. An inaccessible checkout or form quietly loses those sales — accessible pages serve everyone.
Lower your lawsuit risk
Over 5,000 digital accessibility lawsuits were filed in the U.S. in 2025 (federal and state), nearly all citing WCAG failures. Finding and fixing them removes the common triggers.
Better SEO and UX
Alt text, semantic headings, clear labels, and readable contrast help every visitor — and the same signals help your Google rankings.
It's tempting to treat accessibility as pure risk avoidance, but the business case stands on its own. Roughly one in four U.S. adults lives with a disability, and that share climbs with an aging population — this is a large, loyal market that competitors routinely lock out. When a form can't be completed with a screen reader or a checkout button can't be reached by keyboard, you don't see the lost sale; the visitor simply leaves.
The same work pays off for everyone else, too. The changes that help disabled users — descriptive headings, meaningful link text, captions, fast and readable pages — are the exact signals search engines reward, which is why accessible sites tend to rank better. Captions get watched on mute in public. High-contrast text is easier to read on a phone in bright sun. Clear labels and predictable navigation reduce support tickets and cart abandonment across your whole audience. Accessibility isn't a tax on the few; it's better usability for the many, with legal protection as the bonus.
WCAGsafe vs. other ways to check
| WCAGsafe | Browser extension | Overlay widget | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain-English results | |||
| No setup or install | |||
| Fix instructions included | |||
| Scans multiple pages | |||
| Fixes real code (not a script) | |||
| Shareable report & certificate |
Which accessibility standard applies to you?
Wherever you operate, the answer traces back to the same technical standard: WCAG. Accessibility laws around the world adopt it as their benchmark, which is why one clean WCAG 2.1 AA scan satisfies most of them at once.
| Region | Key law(s) | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| United States | ADA (Title II & III), Section 508 | WCAG 2.1 AA |
| Canada | AODA, ACA | WCAG 2.0 / 2.1 AA |
| European Union | European Accessibility Act, EN 301 549 | WCAG 2.1 AA |
| United Kingdom | Equality Act, PSBAR | WCAG 2.1 AA |
Summary for orientation, not legal advice. If you need to comply with a specific law, confirm the exact version and scope with a qualified professional. In the U.S., see our ADA compliance for websites guide.
After the scan: turning findings into fixes
A long list of issues can feel overwhelming, but you rarely need to fix everything at once — and you shouldn't try to. Work in order of impact. Start with the barriers that completely block a task: unlabeled checkout or contact fields, buttons a screen reader can't operate, keyboard traps that strand a user on one element. If someone can't finish what they came to do, that's your priority-one list.
Next, clear the high-frequency, low-effort wins — image alt text, color contrast, page language, and descriptive link and button names. These four categories cover the majority of what any scan surfaces, and most are quick edits rather than rebuilds. Because they're so common, fixing them moves your score (and the real experience) more than almost anything else you can do in an afternoon.
Finally, handle the judgment-based items a scan can only flag: reading order, meaningful alt text on complex images, and the keyboard behavior of custom widgets like date pickers and menus. WCAGsafe gives you the exact element and a recommended fix for each issue, so whoever does the work — you, your developer, or our remediation team — isn't guessing. Then re-scan to confirm the fixes landed, and keep a dated record. For a hands-on walkthrough with code, read how to fix WCAG violations.
Accessibility Checker FAQs
What is a website accessibility checker?
A website accessibility checker is a tool that scans your web pages and reports where they fail accessibility standards — the rules that make a site usable for people with disabilities. WCAGsafe tests your pages against WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA and returns each issue in plain English, with the specific element and a fix, instead of raw error codes.
Is the WCAGsafe accessibility checker really free?
Yes. You get 3 free scans per day, no credit card. Each free scan returns your issue count and a preview of the violations found; create a free account to reveal your full accessibility score and every violation. Paid plans unlock step-by-step fix instructions, PDF export, and automated monitoring.
Which accessibility standard does it test against?
WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA — the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines maintained by the W3C. This is the same benchmark referenced by the U.S. Department of Justice for the ADA, by AODA in Canada, and by the European Accessibility Act. The scan runs axe-core, the open-source engine behind Google Lighthouse and Chrome DevTools, plus our own enhanced checks.
Can an automated checker find every accessibility problem?
No — and any tool that claims otherwise is not being honest. Automated testing reliably catches a large share of issues (missing alt text, contrast, labels, ARIA errors), but some things need human judgment: whether alt text is meaningful, whether reading order makes sense, whether a custom widget is truly keyboard-operable. WCAGsafe automates everything it safely can and tells you plainly where a manual check is still needed.
Do I need to install anything or add code to my site?
No. Paste your URL and the scan runs on our servers — no browser extension, no plugin, and no script added to your website. Nothing changes on your site; the checker only reads your public pages the way a visitor would.
How is this different from an accessibility overlay widget?
An overlay is a script you add to your site that claims to auto-fix accessibility. Overlays are widely criticized by disabled users and have been named in lawsuits because they do not fix the underlying code. WCAGsafe is the opposite: it finds the real code issues so you (or a developer) can fix them properly. It changes nothing on your site.
How is this different from a browser extension like Lighthouse or axe DevTools?
They share the same axe-core engine, so the underlying checks overlap — but a browser extension tests one page at a time on your machine and returns technical output. WCAGsafe scans without any setup, explains each issue in plain English, adds enhanced checks beyond axe-core, can crawl multiple pages on paid plans, and produces a shareable report and certificate.
Will fixing the issues it finds make my website accessible?
Fixing them removes the most common and most-cited barriers, which is a large and important step. But full accessibility also depends on the manual factors above and on new content staying accessible over time. Treat the checker as your fast, repeatable baseline — not a one-time guarantee. WCAGsafe does not provide legal advice.
Can I check accessibility on a WordPress, Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace site?
Yes. The checker works on any public URL regardless of the platform — WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, or fully custom code. It reads the rendered page the way a browser does, so it tests the real HTML your visitors get, not the builder you used to create it. Platform-specific guides are on our blog for Wix, Shopify, and WordPress/WooCommerce.
How does WCAGsafe compare to WAVE, Lighthouse, or axe DevTools?
WAVE, Lighthouse, and axe DevTools are solid free tools aimed at developers — they annotate one page at a time and return technical output you interpret yourself. WCAGsafe uses the same axe-core engine under the hood, then adds plain-English explanations, enhanced checks beyond axe-core, multi-page crawling on paid plans, per-issue fix instructions, and a shareable report and certificate. If you are a developer who lives in DevTools, keep using them; if you want a clear answer and a fix list without reading spec numbers, this is built for that.
How often should I run an accessibility check?
Any time your site changes — a new theme, a redesign, added pages, a new plugin or app, or fresh content — can introduce new accessibility issues. A good rhythm is to scan after every significant change and at least monthly. Paid plans include automated monitoring that re-scans your site and emails you if a regression appears, so you are not relying on memory.
What is the difference between WCAG Level A, AA, and AAA?
They are conformance levels. Level A covers the most basic requirements and removes the most severe barriers. Level AA adds the criteria most laws and organizations require — it is the practical target for nearly everyone and the level the ADA, AODA, Section 508, and the EU EAA reference. Level AAA is the strictest and is rarely required for an entire site because some of its criteria cannot be met for all content. WCAGsafe tests against Level A and AA.
Do I need to know how to code to use an accessibility checker?
No. The scan and the results are written for non-developers — each issue is a plain-English sentence describing what is wrong and how to fix it, not a raw error code. That said, applying some fixes (editing HTML, ARIA, or CSS) is easier with a developer, or you can hand the report to whoever manages your site. If you would rather not touch code at all, our team offers done-for-you remediation.
Can I check a single page, or my whole website?
Both. A free scan checks the URL you paste, page by page. Paid plans crawl multiple pages of your site automatically so you can see accessibility across templates, not just your home page — which matters because a product page, a blog post, and a checkout can each fail differently. Monitoring then re-checks those pages on a schedule.
Does an accessibility checker slow down or change my website?
No. The scan runs on our servers and only reads your public pages the way a browser would — it adds nothing to your site, changes no code, and has no effect on your load times or your visitors. This is the opposite of an overlay widget, which injects a script into every page load.
What does the accessibility score actually mean?
The score is a single number summarizing how your page measures up against WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA — it weighs the number and severity of issues against the size of the page so you can track progress over time and compare pages fairly. Treat it as a health indicator and a baseline, not a legal grade or a guarantee: a high score means few automated failures remain, but the manual and assistive-technology checks still matter for full accessibility.
Which browsers and screen readers does accessibility need to support?
Accessibility is about supporting assistive technology in general, not one specific product. In practice that means your site should work with the major screen readers — JAWS and NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS and iOS, TalkBack on Android — as well as keyboard-only navigation, browser zoom, and voice control. Building to WCAG 2.1 AA is how you cover all of them at once, because the standard targets the underlying markup every assistive tool relies on rather than any single app.
Sources
- WebAIM — The WebAIM Million 2025 (94.8% of home pages with WCAG failures; the six most common failure types and their frequencies). webaim.org
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative — Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (the POUR principles and A/AA/AAA levels). w3.org/WAI
- U.S. Department of Justice — ADA Title II Web Rule fact sheet (WCAG 2.1 AA as the referenced standard). ada.gov
Last reviewed July 2026.
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