Does automated testing catch everything?

No. Automated tools catch roughly 30-40% of WCAG violations — the deterministic, programmatic ones. The remaining 60% require human judgment: is this alt text actually descriptive? Does the screen reader flow make sense? Can someone complete the core task with keyboard alone? Automated scanning is the floor, not the ceiling. Pair it with manual testing on real assistive tech.

WCAG 2.2 or 2.1 — which should I pick?

2.2 if you're auditing in 2026 — it's the current standard with 9 additional success criteria around focus appearance, dragging movements, accessible authentication, and target size. 2.1 is legacy but still what most legal and procurement docs reference. When in doubt, scan with 2.2 — it's a superset. Failures against 2.2 usually fail 2.1 too.

Why would errors differ between desktop and mobile viewports?

Target size (2.5.5), reflow (1.4.10), and touch target spacing (2.5.8) are mobile-specific criteria. Menus that work on desktop hover often break keyboard/touch on mobile. Modals, drawers, and overlays behave differently under 375px viewport. Run both scans — the mobile scan catches issues desktop misses.

How does score get calculated?

Passed rules divided by total rules tested, expressed as a percentage. A score of 80+ means most rules pass but you still have violations worth fixing. 50-80 means the page has significant accessibility debt. Below 50 means structural accessibility problems — fix errors first, warnings second, notices last. Score is a signal, not a grade.

Is this a substitute for a WCAG audit from a certified expert?

No — and we don't claim it is. A certified IAAP WCAG auditor runs manual testing with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and keyboard navigation, plus cognitive load and readability checks that no tool can automate. This tool is a prerequisite: fix everything automated testing flags, then hire a human for the rest. Skipping the automated step wastes the auditor's time.

Does ADA compliance require passing this checker?

The ADA doesn't mandate a specific standard, but US court rulings and DOJ guidance point to WCAG 2.1/2.2 Level AA as the working benchmark. Passing automated checks isn't enough for legal safety — but failing automated checks almost guarantees you'd lose a demand letter. Fix what's flagged here, then do manual testing and procurement documentation.

Can I scan staging or localhost?

Public URLs only — our crawler runs in a browser cluster, so localhost and VPN-gated staging won't work. For private environments, install axe-core locally (npm install axe-core/cli) and run against your dev server. The rules are identical; only the hosting differs.

How accurate is the "Repair Guidance" field?

It comes from axe-core's rule definitions — written by Deque's accessibility team with 15+ years of enterprise audit experience. For common violations (missing alt, contrast, label association), the guidance tells you exactly what to change. For complex rules (ARIA patterns, heading order), it points you to the failing element so you can diagnose. Always cross-check with the linked WCAG success criterion for full context.

Will fixing these issues improve my SEO?

Yes, modestly. Google uses some accessibility signals — semantic HTML, heading hierarchy, alt text — as ranking inputs. More importantly, accessible pages tend to have cleaner markup and faster render paths, both of which correlate with Core Web Vitals. The bigger win is reach: WHO estimates 1.3 billion people have disabilities. An inaccessible site shuts them out.

Can I scan behind authentication?

Not directly. The scanner makes unauthenticated requests. Workarounds: (1) Create a public preview URL of the authenticated page, (2) Install the axe DevTools browser extension to scan any page while logged in, (3) Use Playwright/Cypress with @axe-core/playwright in CI to scan authenticated pages programmatically. See our Platform Guides section for examples.

Is this really free? What's the catch?

Completely free — no signup, no watermark, no usage limits. We run a Puppeteer cluster with axe-core behind the scenes. The "catch" is we hope some teams who use the free tools eventually try Grigora's Blog CMS or AI Website Builder when they need content + site infra. No pressure — the accessibility scanner stays free either way.

Accessibility Checker

Deep WCAG audit powered by axe-core. Scan any URL, see exact HTML + WCAG criterion for each violation, get repair guidance. Mobile + desktop. Free, no signup.

axe-core engine WCAG 2.2 AA Mobile + desktop Fix guidance

Ready to Begin Your Scan?

Enter a website URL to start analyzing its accessibility compliance. We'll audit structure, contrast, and navigation patterns.

Real-time Analysis

WCAG 2.2 AA

Multi-Device

89K+

URLs audited

130+

WCAG rules checked

4.6

G2 rating

4.8

Trustpilot

Visual Walkthrough

How to audit any page in 4 steps

Under 60 seconds end-to-end. Each screen mirrors what you'll actually see in the tool.

Enter any public URL

Paste the page you want audited. Landing page, blog post, SPA — anything axe-core can reach. Private/login-gated URLs need the CLI instead.

grigora.co/tools/accessibility-checker

Website URL

example.com/landing

Pick WCAG + viewport

WCAG 2.2 for modern audits (9 new criteria on touch targets, focus, auth). Desktop for standard, mobile for touch-specific rules.

grigora.co/tools/accessibility-checker

2.2Recommended

2.1Legacy

Desktop

Mobile

Review categorized issues

Errors are must-fix. Warnings need judgment. Notices are polish. Each issue shows WCAG criterion, affected HTML, and fix guidance.

grigora.co/tools/accessibility-checker

Images missing alt textCritical

Low contrast textWarning

Heading order skippedNotice

Fix and re-scan

Make changes guided by selector + failure summary. Re-scan. Iterate until errors hit zero. Export the final JSON or text report for records.

grigora.co/tools/accessibility-checker

accessibility-report.txt

Score: 92 · 0 errors · 3 warnings

WCAG 2.2 AA compliant

Original Research

What 89,000 accessibility scans reveal

Patterns in how real websites score against WCAG 2.2 — pulled from our anonymized scan telemetry across landing pages, blogs, and SaaS apps.

Median accessibility score

The average URL scanned scores 78/100. Top-decile sites hit 95+. The 78 median is better than 2023 (71) but still means nearly every site has 3-5 fixable violations.

67%

Have contrast failures

Color contrast is the #1 violation. Subtle gray-on-white body text, low-contrast button states, and placeholder text are the repeat offenders. Fix with a single design token audit.

42%

Have image alt issues

Missing or empty meaningful alt text. Hero images and CMS-uploaded content are the usual gaps. Fix with a CMS validator and default-required alt fields on upload.

31%

Small touch targets (mobile)

WCAG 2.2 2.5.8 requires 24×24px minimum. Icon-only buttons, close (×), and pagination controls are common offenders on mobile scans. min-h-[44px] solves it.

5-8

Avg violations per page

Typical URL has 5-8 unique violations. But these repeat across every page — fixing component-level issues in a design system can cut violations by 70%.

+3.2×

Reach lift from fixes

Pages that remediate all axe errors see 3.2× higher engagement from assistive tech users in the following quarter. Accessibility is a distribution strategy.

Integrate it yourself

Automate accessibility in CI

Five drop-in snippets to run axe-core in your test suite, CI pipeline, or component library.

Node / CLI

# Install axe-core CLI and scan any URL
npm install -g @axe-core/cli

# Run against a URL, output JSON
axe https://example.com --tags wcag2aa --save report.json

# Specific rule subset
axe https://example.com --rules color-contrast,image-alt

# Scan multiple URLs in a batch
axe https://a.com https://b.com https://c.com

# CI integration: fail build on any violations
axe https://staging.example.com --exit

axe-core/cli is the official Deque CLI. Pair it with your CI (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) to block PRs that introduce new violations.

Six Workflows

Six ways teams use this checker

Every workflow is under 10 minutes. Pick the one that matches your current goal.

Pre-launch audit

Run the full checker before pushing a new page to production. Fix every error, document warnings you're consciously accepting. Cleaner launches, fewer post-ship accessibility incidents.

Staging URL → fix errors → ship clean

Legal compliance gate

Before signing procurement contracts that require WCAG 2.2 AA, run your key pages and export the report. Flagged issues become your fix-forward plan. Documentation protects you.

Key pages → export report → remediation plan

Agency client audits

Audit client sites at project kickoff. Share the score and top 5 errors in the proposal. Turns accessibility from a "nice-to-have" into a quantified deliverable with measurable success criteria.

Client site → score snapshot → proposal

Design system validation

Scan your Storybook or pattern library live URL. Components that fail here will fail in every page they're used in. Fix the root, not every instance. Multiplicative return on remediation time.

Storybook URL → fix component → all pages inherit

Quarterly regression check

Accessibility debt creeps in as teams ship. Rerun your top 10 pages every quarter, compare scores to last quarter's snapshot. Spot the drift before a user or auditor does.

Top 10 pages → quarterly → track delta

SEO + accessibility double-check

Many WCAG violations also hurt SEO — missing headings, broken landmarks, invisible link text. One scan, two insights. Fix once, benefit twice on both rankings and reach.

Top pages → fix → rank + reach up

Common Violations

8 violations we flag on nearly every audit

The same 8 issues account for 80% of fixable accessibility debt on the web. Knock these out first.

Images missing alt text

high

Every <img> needs an alt attribute. Decorative images get alt="" (empty, not missing). Meaningful images get a short description of what the image conveys — not what it looks like. Logos get alt="CompanyName logo" or similar. Axe flags missing alt entirely; meaningful-vs-decorative is on you.

Color contrast below 4.5:1

high

Body text needs 4.5:1 contrast against its background (WCAG 1.4.3 AA). Large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold) needs 3:1. UI elements and graphical objects need 3:1 (WCAG 1.4.11). Use Grigora's Color Contrast Checker or the Chrome DevTools color picker to verify. Gray-on-white at #999 or lighter almost always fails.

Form inputs without labels

high

Every input, select, textarea needs a linked <label> (via for/id) or aria-label/aria-labelledby. Placeholders are not labels — they disappear when the user types. "Search" icons next to unlabeled inputs fail screen readers. Add a visually-hidden label with .sr-only or aria-label="Search".

Heading levels skipped (h1 → h3)

medium

Heading order matters for screen reader navigation. Going h1 → h3 → h2 disorients users skimming by headings. Use CSS for visual sizing, semantic HTML for hierarchy. One h1 per page. Nested sections go h2 → h3 → h4 without skips.

Low touch target size (<24×24px on mobile)

high

WCAG 2.2 2.5.8 requires 24×24 minimum; design best practice is 44×44. Buttons, links, and tap targets smaller than that fail users with motor impairments. Check your icon buttons, close buttons, and pagination controls — these are the usual offenders. min-h-[44px] + padding does the job.

Missing or invalid ARIA attributes

medium

ARIA is sharp — misuse breaks accessibility more than no ARIA. Common violations: role="button" on a <div> without tabindex and keydown handlers; aria-hidden="true" on a focusable element; aria-labelledby pointing to a nonexistent ID. Prefer native HTML (<button>, <nav>, <main>) before adding ARIA. If axe flags ARIA, read the rule — don't guess.

Keyboard focus invisible or trapped

high

Focus outlines must be visible — never outline: none without a :focus-visible replacement. Modal dialogs need focus trapping (focus stays inside the modal until closed). Skip links need to be reachable and visible on focus. Run your page with Tab-only navigation — if you lose the focus indicator, fix it.

Links with generic text ("click here", "read more")

medium

Screen reader users navigate by link list. "Click here" gives no context out of flow. Rewrite as "Read our pricing guide" or "Download the 2026 accessibility report". If you can't rewrite due to design, add aria-label with the descriptive text. Axe flags this under "link-name".

How we compare

Honest side-by-side against popular a11y tools. Overlay products like AccessiBe don't actually fix WCAG violations.

Feature	Grigora	WAVE	Lighthouse	AccessiBe
axe-core engine
WCAG 2.2 Level AA			Partial	Overlay
Mobile + desktop viewport
Free, no signup
Selector + HTML + repair guidance		Partial
WCAG criterion mapping			Partial
Unlimited URLs
CI-friendly (via axe-core CLI)	Via CLI

AI Search + Accessibility

Why accessible HTML ranks in AI search

Clean semantic markup isn't just for screen readers — it's how AI search engines parse and cite your content.

AI Search Indexers

Extracts structured content via semantic HTML (h1-h6, nav, main, article). Pages with correct heading order and landmarks get cited more reliably.

Search Crawlers

Favors pages with clear content hierarchy and alt-texted images. Accessibility fixes often improve crawl quality and result snippets as a side effect.

Summarization Assistants

Parse-heavy tools rely on stable structure. Well-labeled forms, proper landmarks, and descriptive link text improve extraction and summarization quality.

Meet Grigora

From accessibility fix to fully accessible site.
All on Grigora.

Website, blog, and email — all built with WCAG 2.2 AA as the default, not an afterthought. Fix scanned violations once, keep them fixed forever.

AI Website Builder

Describe your site, get a live website in 60 seconds. Accessible components, correct heading order, and high-contrast defaults built in.

Start building

Blog & CMS

Editor forces alt text, flags low-contrast links, and enforces heading hierarchy on publish. No more "fix accessibility later" debt.

Launch blog

Grigora Mail

Accessible transactional email templates. Proper color contrast, semantic structure, screen-reader-friendly layouts by default.

Get email

Try Grigora free

No credit card · Start in 60 seconds

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Frequently Asked Questions

Everything about automated WCAG scanning, axe-core, and what accessibility really means.

It runs axe-core — the same engine Google, Microsoft, and Deque use — against the URL you provide. Axe-core checks 130+ rules covering ARIA attributes, color contrast, heading order, form labels, image alt text, keyboard focus, landmark structure, and duplicate IDs. Results are mapped to specific WCAG 2.2 success criteria with the exact HTML element and a fix suggestion.

Accessible from line one.

Grigora's AI Website Builder ships with WCAG 2.2 AA defaults. Skip the post-launch remediation sprint.

Try Grigora free

4.6 on G2 4.8 on Trustpilot

Accessibility Checker

Ready to Begin Your Scan?

How to audit any page in 4 steps

Enter any public URL

Pick WCAG + viewport

Review categorized issues

Fix and re-scan

What 89,000 accessibility scans reveal

Automate accessibility in CI

Six ways teams use this checker

Pre-launch audit

Legal compliance gate

Agency client audits

Design system validation

Quarterly regression check

SEO + accessibility double-check

8 violations we flag on nearly every audit

Images missing alt text

Color contrast below 4.5:1

Form inputs without labels

Heading levels skipped (h1 → h3)

Low touch target size (<24×24px on mobile)

Missing or invalid ARIA attributes

Keyboard focus invisible or trapped

Links with generic text ("click here", "read more")

How we compare

Why accessible HTML ranks in AI search

From accessibility fix to fully accessible site.All on Grigora.

AI Website Builder

Blog & CMS

Grigora Mail

Related free SEO + a11y tools

Contrast Checker SEO

SEO Audit Mini Tool

HTML Validator

Broken Link Checker

Frequently Asked Questions

Accessible from line one.

From accessibility fix to fully accessible site.
All on Grigora.