Free Website Accessibility Checker: Test Your Site for WCAG 2.2 Compliance
Accessibility compliance isn't optional anymore. The European Accessibility Act takes full effect in 2025, the DOJ keeps expanding ADA enforcement to websites, and more procurement contracts require VPAT documentation. If you're building or maintaining a website, you need a quick, reliable way to check where you stand.
This article covers everything you need to know about free website accessibility checkers: what they check, what they miss, how to interpret the results, and — most importantly — where to get a free WCAG 2.2 AA scan right now with no signup required.
What's in this article
- What a free website accessibility checker actually does
- The 14 WCAG checkpoints our scanner tests automatically
- How to run a free scan (no account, no email)
- Free vs. paid: when to upgrade to a professional audit
- Common issues found by automated checkers
- Frequently asked questions
What Does a Free Website Accessibility Checker Do?
An automated accessibility checker (also called an a11y scanner) crawls the HTML of a given URL and evaluates it against WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria — the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the W3C. Unlike manual testing (which requires a human tester), automated checkers can run in seconds and catch dozens of issues on a single page.
A good free checker will identify problems like:
- Missing alt text on images that assistive technology needs
- Empty or broken links that confound keyboard navigation
- Heading hierarchy violations (skipping from h1 to h3, for example)
- Missing form labels that make input fields invisible to screen readers
- Unlabeled iframes that hide content from assistive tech
- Missing document language declaration
- Missing page title elements
- Duplicate IDs that break ARIA relationships
- Missing skip navigation links that help keyboard users
The results come back as a structured report: severity (error / warning / advisory), the exact HTML element causing the problem, the WCAG success criterion it violates, and a suggested fix.
🔍 Try Our Free Scanner Now
Enter any URL and get instant results across 14 WCAG 2.2 checkpoints. No account, no signup, no spam.
⚠️ Free scan checks 14 WCAG A/AA checkpoints. Upgrade to a full $249 audit →
Free vs. Professional: What You Get at Each Tier
Understanding the difference between an automated scan and a professional audit helps you decide when to upgrade.
| Feature | Free Scan | Full Audit ($249) |
|---|---|---|
| WCAG Checkpoints | 14 | 16 |
| Color Contrast Analysis | ❌ | ✅ |
| Touch Target Sizing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Styled PDF Report | ❌ | ✅ 24h turnaround |
| Per-Element Issue Map | ✅ | ✅ |
| WCAG + Fix Recommendations | ✅ | ✅ Prioritized |
If you're doing a quick check before a deploy or just curious where your site stands, the free scanner gives you what you need. If you need documentation for compliance (lawyers, procurement, VPAT), the full audit delivers a professional PDF you can hand off directly.
The 14 Checkpoints Our Free Scanner Tests
1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A)
Every <img> must have an alt attribute. Decorative images should use alt="" (empty) so screen readers ignore them. Informative images need descriptive alt text.
1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
Form inputs, selects, and textareas must have an associated label — either via <label for="...">, aria-label, or aria-labelledby. We flag any field with no programmatic label.
2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (Level A)
Links must have accessible text. "Click here" and "Read more" with no aria-label are flagged as empty links — screen reader users need to know where a link goes.
2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A)
We check for a skip-navigation link (usually the first focusable element). Without one, keyboard users tab through every nav item before reaching the main content.
3.1.1 Language of Page (Level A)
The <html> element must have a lang attribute so screen readers use the correct pronunciation rules.
2.4.2 Page Titled (Level A)
Every page needs a <title> element in the <head>. This is also critical for SEO.
4.1.1 Parsing (Level A)
Duplicate IDs break ARIA references. If two elements share the same id, assistive technology can't determine which one an aria-labelledby or aria-describedby links to.
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
Iframes must have a title attribute that describes their content. Image buttons need alt text.
Our full scan checks 14 criteria total, including empty headings, missing captions on video elements, and missing focus indicators (Level AA). The complete results include the element's CSS selector, so you can find and fix the issue immediately.
Common Issues Found by Automated Checkers (Real Data)
Based on thousands of scans, here are the most common accessibility failures we see:
- Missing alt text on images — Roughly 60% of scanned pages have at least one image without alt text. Usually decorative images with no
alt="". - Empty or generic link text — "Learn More", "Click Here", "Read More" with no
aria-label. These provide zero context when read out of context by a screen reader. - Missing form labels — Search bars and newsletter signup forms are the worst offenders. A placeholder is not a label.
- Missing document language — Still shockingly common. A missing
langattribute makes screen readers default to the OS language, which can mangle pronunciation. - Skipped heading levels — Going from h1 → h3 breaks the document outline and confuses screen reader navigation.
The good news: every single one of these is easy to fix. An automated scanner gives you an exact roadmap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a free accessibility checker catch everything?
No. Automated checkers catch about 30-40% of WCAG issues. They can't test for things like logical reading order, meaningful alternative text quality, keyboard interaction logic, or screen reader compatibility. That's why a professional audit includes manual review. But the 30-40% they do catch are the low-hanging fruit that most sites are getting wrong anyway.
Is WCAG compliance legally required?
In the US, federal websites must comply with WCAG 2.0 AA (Section 508). Private businesses face ADA lawsuits if their sites are inaccessible — demand letters are common. The EU's European Accessibility Act mandates WCAG 2.2 AA for most digital products by June 2025. Many enterprise procurement contracts now require VPAT documentation as a pre-condition.
Do I need a paid audit or is the free scan enough?
If you need a compliance document for legal or procurement purposes, you need a professional audit that includes manual testing and a formal PDF report. The free scan is ideal for quick checks, dev workflows, and catching obvious issues before they reach production.
How is the full audit delivered?
After purchase, the audit is typically delivered within 24 hours (Basic, $249, single page) or 48 hours (Full Site, $499, up to 50 pages) as a styled PDF report with prioritized fix recommendations. No account, no ongoing subscription.
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Paste any URL below. You'll get your accessibility score, a breakdown of every issue found, the exact HTML element causing each problem, and a suggested fix — all in seconds. No signup, no email, no commitment.
14 WCAG 2.2 checkpoints · Instant results · Free · No signup