Rapid identification
Quickly scan hundreds of pages to find common technical issues like missing alt text or poor contrast.
Technology Guide
What is an accessibility checker?
An accessibility checker is a software tool designed to automatically scan websites and digital content for accessibility barriers. It tests your site against established standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to identify issues that could prevent people with disabilities from using your site.
This guide explains the role of automated checkers in an accessibility strategy, their benefits, and their limitations.
Rapid identification
Quickly scan hundreds of pages to find common technical issues like missing alt text or poor contrast.
Continuous monitoring
Integrate checking into your development process to catch accessibility regressions before they go live.
Educational tool
Help content creators and developers understand accessibility requirements through immediate feedback.
How checkers help
Continuous monitoring
Integrate checking into your development process to catch accessibility regressions before they go live.
Educational tool
Help content creators and developers understand accessibility requirements through immediate feedback.
What can a checker find?
Automated checkers are highly effective at identifying issues that have clear, code-based rules.
Commonly detected issues
- Missing alternative text: Identifying images that lack a description for screen reader users.
- Contrast errors: Detecting text that is difficult to read against its background colour.
- Empty links and buttons: Finding interactive elements that have no descriptive text.
- Heading structure: Checking for a logical and consistent use of heading tags (H1, H2, etc.).
- Form labels: Ensuring that all form inputs have associated labels for accessibility.
- Language attributes: Verifying that the website's primary language is correctly defined in the code.
The limitations of automation
While checkers are essential, they cannot identify every accessibility barrier. A complete strategy must include expert manual review.
1
Contextual meaning
A checker can tell if alt text exists, but not if it accurately describes the image's context.
2
Complex interactions
Automated tools often struggle with complex dynamic content and custom interactive components.
3
Usability testing
Checkers cannot replicate the experience of a real user with a disability navigating your site.
4
False positives
Sometimes tools flag issues that aren't actually barriers, requiring expert interpretation.
How Calling All Minds can help
We provide AI-powered accessibility checking tools and expert auditing services to help you achieve true inclusivity.
Questions people often ask
No. Automated checkers typically catch about 30-50% of accessibility issues. They are a vital part of the process, but manual testing is required for full compliance.
We recommend running a scan whenever new content is published or code changes are made, and at least once a month for ongoing monitoring.
Many checkers provide user-friendly reports that content creators can use, though some technical issues will require a developer to fix.