Free Tool
Accessibility Quick Audit
Point it at a page and get a fast WCAG 2.2 AA pass over everything the page source can prove, with the exact elements to fix. It also tells you plainly what it cannot test, and how to test that by hand.
Reads the page source and runs the WCAG 2.2 AA checks the source can prove. It does not render the page, so it cannot test rendered contrast, focus order or screen reader output. The result lists what to test by hand.
Free, no signup. Live scan.
Every result has a shareable link.
What This Accessibility Checker Does
This tool reads the HTML source of a page and runs the checks from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, level AA, that the source alone can prove. It is fast, it names the exact elements to fix, and it is honest about its limits. It is a quick audit, not a full WCAG audit. A full audit needs a rendered page, a keyboard and a screen reader, and the result ends with a checklist of exactly those tests.
What It Checks And How
Our server fetches the page as delivered, before any JavaScript runs, and your browser parses it. Hidden elements (aria-hidden, the hidden attribute and inline display none) are skipped. Then it checks:
- Language (3.1.1): the html element has a valid
langattribute. - Page title (2.4.2): a non empty title element.
- Headings (1.3.1, 2.4.6): the number of h1s, levels that skip (h2 to h4), and headings with no text. WCAG does not require exactly one h1, so extra or missing h1s are marked for review, not failed.
- Images (1.1.1): img elements with no alt attribute. An empty
alt=""is correct for decorative images and is not flagged. - Links and buttons (2.4.4, 4.1.2): no text, no aria-label, no aria-labelledby, no image alt and no title. These are announced as just "link" or "button".
- Form fields (1.3.1, 4.1.2): inputs, selects and textareas with no label element, wrapping label, aria-label or title. Placeholder text alone is called out because it disappears when typing starts.
- Duplicate ids: WCAG 2.2 made the old 4.1.1 Parsing criterion obsolete, so a duplicate id is only failed when a label or ARIA attribute points at it and could attach to the wrong element.
- Contrast (1.4.3): where a text colour and a background colour are both declared inline, the contrast ratio is calculated with the WCAG formula and checked against 4.5:1, or 3:1 for large text (24px, or 18.66px bold). A pair on the same element can fail; a background found on a parent is marked for review, because a stylesheet could paint something in between.
- Autoplay (1.4.2, 2.2.2): audio, or video without muted, that autoplays fails. Muted autoplaying video is marked for review because it still needs a pause control.
- Zoom (1.4.4): a viewport tag with
user-scalable=noor amaximum-scalebelow 2 fails, because people must be able to zoom to 200%. - Tab order (2.4.3): positive tabindex values.
- Iframes (4.1.2): iframes with no title, such as map and video embeds.
- Bypass blocks (2.4.1): a skip link near the top that points at an element that exists.
What It Cannot Test
A source scan cannot see the page the way a person does. It does not know the final colours once stylesheets apply, whether the focus ring is visible, what order the keyboard moves in, whether a sticky header hides the focused element, or what a screen reader actually says. Pages built in the browser by JavaScript frameworks show only a shell in the source, and the tool warns you when that happens. Every result therefore ends with the hand tests to run, including the criteria new in WCAG 2.2: Focus Not Obscured (2.4.11), Target Size (2.5.8), Redundant Entry (3.3.7) and Accessible Authentication (3.3.8).
How To Read The Result
Fails are proven from the source and should be fixed. Review items are likely problems that need a human to confirm. Passes mean the source check passed, not that the page meets WCAG. Read the alt text on passing images too: present is not the same as useful.
What To Do Next
- Fix the fails on your most visited templates first: header, footer, contact form. One fix in a template fixes every page.
- Run the hand tests with a keyboard and a screen reader such as VoiceOver or NVDA.
- Run a rendered checker like axe DevTools or WAVE for contrast and ARIA on the live page.
- Re-run this audit after deploying.
Mistakes To Avoid
- Installing an overlay widget and calling the site compliant. Overlays do not fix the source, and the issues here remain.
- Writing alt text like "image" or the file name. Describe what the image shows or does.
- Using placeholders as labels to save space.
- Blocking zoom to keep a layout tidy on phones.
For Agencies
Accessibility issues are concentrated in templates, which makes them efficient to fix and easy to scope. Wise Media runs a source audit like this before quoting remediation, then confirms with hand testing. A short list of specific failures on a client's contact page is a concrete, useful reason to start that conversation.
Fix What This Measured
Web Design Agency Course
The Web Design Agency Course builds accessibility into the process instead of auditing it at the end: accessible components, a launch checklist with the hand tests, and how to scope and price remediation work for existing sites.
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Straight answers on using it and acting on the result.
Quick Answer
How Do I Check If My Website Is Accessible?
Start with a quick source audit for missing alt text, unlabelled form fields, empty links and buttons, heading structure, zoom blocking and iframe titles. Then test by hand: keyboard only, visible focus, rendered contrast at 4.5:1, zoom to 200% and a screen reader. A source scan alone cannot prove WCAG conformance.
- Standard. WCAG 2.2 level AA
- Contrast. 4.5:1 normal text, 3:1 large text
- Scope. Page source checks plus a hand test list
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It proves what the page source can prove. Rendered contrast, keyboard access, focus visibility, focus order and screen reader output need a person to test. Use the hand test list under the result, and a rendered tool such as axe DevTools or WAVE.
WCAG 2.2 added criteria including Focus Not Obscured (2.4.11), Dragging Movements (2.5.7), Target Size Minimum (2.5.8), Consistent Help (3.2.6), Redundant Entry (3.3.7) and Accessible Authentication (3.3.8). It also made 4.1.1 Parsing obsolete.
They need an alt attribute, left empty: alt="". That tells screen readers to skip the image. An image with no alt attribute at all is a failure, because many screen readers then read out the file name.
No. Placeholder text disappears as soon as someone types, is often low contrast, and is not reliably announced. Use a visible label connected to the field with for and id, or wrap the field in its label.
It stops people pinching to zoom on phones, which fails WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text. People with low vision rely on zoom. Remove maximum-scale and user-scalable=no from the viewport meta tag.
At least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, which is 24px regular or 18.66px bold and up. User interface parts such as input borders and focus rings need 3:1 against what is next to them.
The page probably builds its content with JavaScript, so the source our server fetched is a near empty shell. The tool warns you when it detects that. Use a rendered checker on the live page for those sites.
No. Overlay widgets add a toolbar on top of the page but leave the source problems in place: missing labels, empty buttons and blocked zoom stay broken for assistive technology. Fix the templates instead.
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