Free WCAG 2.2 / ADA / Section 508 scanner
Free Accessibility Checker
Scan any website for accessibility issues against WCAG 2.2, ADA, and Section 508 in seconds. No signup, no credit card, instant report with fix suggestions.
50+ automated checks across the four WCAG POUR principles
What does an accessibility checker do?
An accessibility checker scans a web page and evaluates it against established accessibility standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the European Accessibility Act (EAA via EN 301 549), and US Section 508. It identifies barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using a website effectively — barriers like missing alternative text on images, insufficient color contrast, broken ARIA attributes, unlabeled form controls, keyboard traps, and pages that fail screen-reader navigation.
FixMyWeb runs the same axe-core engine that powers Lighthouse, Microsoft Accessibility Insights, and the Deque toolchain, so your results are directly comparable to industry-standard tools. Where we differ is in workflow: every finding is mapped to the exact WCAG success criterion, ranked by legal risk first (not alphabetically), and shipped with a one-click fix suggestion.
What we check (50+ automated rules)
The free scanner runs every check below on every page. No feature gating.
Color Contrast
WCAG 1.4.3 / 1.4.11Text-to-background ratio of 4.5:1 (small text) or 3:1 (large text). Includes UI components and graphical objects.
Alt Text
WCAG 1.1.1Every img element has descriptive alternative text. Decorative images use alt="" or role="presentation".
Heading Hierarchy
WCAG 1.3.1 / 2.4.6Headings follow a logical h1 -> h6 sequence with no level skips. Single descriptive h1 per page.
Form Labels
WCAG 1.3.1 / 4.1.2Every input, select, and textarea has an associated label, aria-label, or aria-labelledby attribute.
ARIA Roles
WCAG 4.1.2ARIA attributes are valid, correctly applied, and not duplicating native HTML semantics.
Skip Navigation
WCAG 2.4.1Skip-to-main-content link present and functional for keyboard users.
Page Title
WCAG 2.4.2Each page has a unique, descriptive title element that identifies its purpose.
Language Attribute
WCAG 3.1.1html element has a valid lang attribute (e.g., lang="en"). Sub-language used for content shifts.
Link Text
WCAG 2.4.4Links describe their destination. No "click here", "read more", or empty link text without aria-label.
Table Headers
WCAG 1.3.1Data tables have th elements with scope attributes. Layout tables use role="presentation".
Button Labels
WCAG 4.1.2Every button has accessible text via inner text, aria-label, or aria-labelledby.
Keyboard Trap
WCAG 2.1.2Focus can move into and out of every interactive component using only the keyboard.
Focus Visible
WCAG 2.4.7Visible focus indicator on every interactive element. No outline:none without replacement.
Touch Target Size
WCAG 2.5.5 / 2.5.8Interactive targets at least 24x24 CSS pixels (Level AA) or 44x44 (Level AAA).
Document Structure
WCAG 1.3.1Landmarks (header, nav, main, footer) used. Lists use ul/ol/dl. Quotes use blockquote.
How to check a website for accessibility issues
- Enter your URL. Paste the public URL of any website page into the scan form above. The free tier accepts http and https URLs without rate-limit headers.
- Run the automated scan. FixMyWeb fetches the page in a headless Chromium browser, renders JavaScript, and runs 50+ axe-core rules mapped to WCAG 2.2.
- Review the report. Issues are ranked by legal risk and grouped by WCAG criterion. Each finding shows the offending element, the standard violated, and a fix suggestion.
- Export or share the report. Free users can copy results as Markdown. Paid plans add branded PDF, CSV, JSON, and a public shareable link with comments.
- Fix and re-scan. Make the changes in your codebase, push to staging, and re-scan to verify. Paid plans include scheduled monitoring so regressions trigger an email alert.
Standards we cover
| Standard | Scope |
|---|---|
| WCAG 2.2 Level AA | Global standard. Required by ADA, EAA, AODA, Section 508. |
| ADA Title III | United States — businesses serving the public. |
| EAA / EN 301 549 | European Union — enters force June 2025. |
| Section 508 | United States federal agencies and contractors. |
| AODA | Ontario, Canada — phased deadlines through 2025. |
| EN 301 549 | Harmonized European standard for ICT procurement. |
Who needs an accessibility checker?
- Web developers — Catch accessibility regressions during pull-request review and before deploy.
- Designers — Verify color contrast, focus indicators, and target sizes early in the design phase.
- QA teams — Add accessibility to your existing automated test suite alongside functional and visual regression.
- Business owners — Reduce legal exposure under ADA, EAA, AODA, and Section 508. The 2024 ADA web-litigation report counts 4,000+ federal lawsuits per year.
- Government agencies & contractors — Meet Section 508 procurement requirements and ADA Title II obligations.
- Agencies & freelancers — Audit client websites and deliver white-labeled PDF reports as a paid service.
- Education — Ensure LMS and student-facing portals meet ADA Title II and state-level accessibility requirements.
Automated vs manual accessibility testing
Automated tools catch roughly 30-50% of accessibility issues. They are excellent at deterministic checks — missing alt attributes, insufficient color contrast, invalid ARIA, broken heading order, missing form labels, and similar machine-verifiable problems. They are unreliable at evaluating the quality of accessibility: whether alt text is meaningful, whether reading order matches visual order on complex layouts, whether instructions rely on color alone, whether the screen-reader announcement of a custom widget makes sense to a real user.
The recommended workflow is to run an automated scanner like FixMyWeb on every commit and every page, then add a manual review pass for the issues machines cannot detect: keyboard-only walkthroughs, screen-reader testing with NVDA or VoiceOver, and lived-experience testing with users with disabilities. Automated scanning gets you to compliance faster and cheaper; manual testing gets you to actual accessibility.
Frequently asked questions
What is an accessibility checker?v
An accessibility checker is a tool that scans web pages and evaluates them against established accessibility standards like WCAG 2.2, ADA, EN 301 549, and Section 508. It identifies issues that prevent users with disabilities from using a website effectively, including missing alt text, insufficient color contrast, broken ARIA attributes, keyboard navigation failures, and form-label problems.
Is this accessibility checker really free?v
Yes. You can scan any public URL up to three times per day with no signup, no credit card, and no email required. Paid plans are available for bulk scanning, monitoring, PDF reports, and team features, but the core scanner remains free forever.
Does this tool check for WCAG 2.2 compliance?v
Yes. The scanner runs 50+ automated rules mapped to WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA success criteria across all four POUR principles (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust). Each finding cites the exact WCAG criterion (e.g., 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum) so you can fix issues with confidence.
Will this make my website 100% ADA compliant?v
No automated tool can guarantee full ADA compliance. Industry research shows automated scanners catch roughly 30-50% of accessibility barriers. The remainder — alt-text quality, logical reading order, cognitive accessibility, screen-reader experience — requires manual review. FixMyWeb gives you the fastest path to fix the automated 30-50% and a clear roadmap for the rest.
How is this different from WAVE, axe, or Lighthouse?v
FixMyWeb uses the same axe-core engine as Lighthouse and Microsoft Accessibility Insights, so the rule coverage is industry-standard. The difference is workflow: bulk URL scanning, scheduled monitoring, branded PDF reports for clients, and a fix-first interface that ranks issues by legal risk rather than alphabetically.
Can I scan a site that requires login?v
Free scans cover public URLs only. Paid plans support authenticated scanning via cookies, headers, or scripted login flows so you can audit dashboards, member areas, and admin panels.
Do you store the scanned page or my data?v
Public scan results are cached for 24 hours to speed up repeat checks, then deleted. We never store the page HTML, screenshots, or your IP address beyond rate-limiting. Full details: see our privacy policy.
Will this help me prepare for the European Accessibility Act (EAA)?v
Yes. The EAA enters force on 28 June 2025 and applies to most consumer-facing digital products in the EU. FixMyWeb maps every finding to the relevant EN 301 549 clause, which is the harmonized European standard for EAA compliance. You get a deadline-aware checklist instead of a generic list.
Related resources
- WCAG 2.2 Checklist — every Level AA criterion explained
- ADA Compliance for Websites — legal overview and remediation playbook
- FixMyWeb blog — accessibility deep dives, case studies, EAA guidance
- Free tier limits and upgrade paths
- API documentation — automate accessibility checks in CI/CD
Ready to fix what the scan finds?
Bulk scanning, scheduled monitoring, branded PDF reports, authenticated scans, and team seats from $9/month.