Question 1

What is WCAG and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard for web accessibility, published by the W3C. WCAG 2.1 AA is the most commonly required level for legal compliance in the US (ADA), UK (Equality Act), EU (EN 301 549), and Australia (DDA). Non-compliance can result in lawsuits — over 4,000 ADA web accessibility lawsuits were filed in the US in 2023 alone. 98% of websites have at least one WCAG failure on their homepage.

Question 2

What WCAG checks does this tool perform?

Accepted Answer

This tool checks for the most common WCAG 2.1 AA failures: (1) Images missing alt text, (2) Insufficient colour contrast ratio below 4.5:1 for normal text, (3) Form inputs without associated labels, (4) Broken heading hierarchy (H1→H2→H3 order), (5) Non-descriptive link text like 'click here' or 'read more', (6) Missing document language attribute, (7) Empty buttons and links, (8) Missing form field IDs, (9) Iframes without titles. Each issue includes a plain-English explanation and a specific code fix.

Question 3

How is the Accessibility Score calculated?

Accepted Answer

The Accessibility Score starts at 100. Each Critical issue deducts 15 points, each Serious issue deducts 8 points, and each Moderate issue deducts 3 points. The score is capped at a minimum of 0. Scores of 90–100 are excellent, 70–89 are good with minor issues, 50–69 need attention, and below 50 indicate significant barriers for disabled users.

Question 4

Is my HTML code sent to any server?

Accepted Answer

No. All analysis runs entirely in your browser using the built-in DOMParser JavaScript API. Your HTML is never uploaded or sent anywhere. You can disconnect from the internet after loading the page and the tool will still work.

Question 5

Is this tool a full WCAG audit?

Accepted Answer

This tool checks for the most common and automatable WCAG 2.1 AA failures — the issues that affect the majority of users and are responsible for most accessibility lawsuits. However, a complete WCAG audit also requires manual testing (e.g. keyboard navigation testing, screen reader testing, cognitive load assessment) that no automated tool can fully replicate. Use this as a first-pass audit to catch the most impactful issues quickly.

Check	Severity	WCAG Criterion	Why It Matters
Images missing alt text	Critical	1.1.1	Screen readers cannot describe the image to blind users
Colour contrast ratio below 4.5:1	Critical	1.4.3	Low-vision users cannot read the text
Form inputs without labels	Critical	1.3.1, 4.1.2	Screen reader users don't know what to enter in the field
Broken heading hierarchy	Serious	1.3.1	Screen reader users rely on headings to navigate the page
Non-descriptive link text	Serious	2.4.4	"Click here" is meaningless when read out of context by a screen reader
Missing document language	Serious	3.1.1	Screen readers need the lang attribute to use the correct pronunciation
Empty buttons	Serious	4.1.2	Buttons with no text or aria-label are unidentifiable to screen readers
Empty links	Serious	2.4.4	Links with no text are unintelligible to screen reader and keyboard users
Iframes without titles	Moderate	4.1.2	Screen readers announce iframes without titles as "frame" with no context
Inputs missing ID	Moderate	1.3.1	Without an ID, a <label for="…"> cannot be programmatically linked to its field

Free WCAG Accessibility Checker

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