AcuityScan

Accessibility Check

Full WCAG 2.1 AA audit powered by axe-core — the same engine used by WAVE and Deque. Tests at both desktop and mobile viewports, plus 38+ custom checks for ARIA, alt text, headings, form labels, and keyboard accessibility.

axe-core v4.11Desktop + Mobile38+ custom checksWCAG 2.1 AAMulti-page scanning

What makes this different

Most accessibility scanners run one pass on your desktop view. We run two passes (desktop + mobile), then add 38+ custom checks that axe-core misses.

axe-core at Two Viewports

We run the full axe-core rule engine at 1280px (desktop) AND 390px (mobile), then merge results. Issues that only appear on mobile — like hidden nav buttons without ARIA — get caught.

38+ Custom HTML Checks

We check for issues axe-core misses: empty headings, empty buttons, suspicious alt text (filenames like IMG_1234.jpg), overly long alt text, broken ARIA references (aria-labelledby/describedby pointing to missing IDs), orphaned form labels, data tables without headers, document links without format warnings, audio/video without captions, onclick handlers without keyboard support, missing header/footer landmarks, noscript fallback, prefers-reduced-motion, honeypot fields, outline removal, ALL CAPS text, placeholder content, and more.

Multi-Page Scanning

Don't just check the homepage. Scan every page on your domain for accessibility issues — finds problems on contact forms, service pages, and blog posts that the homepage scan wouldn't catch.

WCAG 2.1 AA + Section 508

Tests against WCAG 2.0 A, 2.0 AA, 2.1 A, 2.1 AA, 2.2 AA, Section 508, and best practices. Covers the full scope of ADA compliance requirements.

Lawsuit Risk Assessment

ADA lawsuits cost $10K-$150K+ to settle. We flag issues by severity so you know which ones create the most legal exposure and should be fixed first.

Plain-English Fixes

Every violation includes what's wrong, why it matters, and exactly how to fix it — including code snippets you can copy and paste.

Common issues we find

These are the accessibility violations we see most often — and the ones that trigger lawsuits.

criticalImages missing alt text

Screen readers can't describe images without alt attributes. This is cited in the majority of ADA lawsuits.

Fix: Add alt="" for decorative images, descriptive alt for informative ones.

criticalMissing lang attribute on <html>

Screen readers need the language to pronounce content correctly. Without it, they guess — often wrong.

Fix: Add lang="en" to your <html> tag.

seriousNo skip-to-content link

Keyboard users have to tab through the entire navigation on every page before reaching content.

Fix: Add <a href="#main-content" class="sr-only focus:not-sr-only">Skip to content</a> as the first element.

seriousColor contrast failures

Text that doesn't meet the 4.5:1 contrast ratio is unreadable for users with low vision — and it's the #1 automated finding.

Fix: Use a contrast checker and ensure all text meets WCAG AA ratios.

moderateForm inputs without labels

Screen readers announce 'edit text' instead of 'Email address' when labels are missing. Users can't fill out your forms.

Fix: Add <label for="field-id"> matching each input's id.

Common questions

What accessibility standard do you test against?
WCAG 2.0 A, 2.0 AA, 2.1 A, 2.1 AA, 2.2 AA, Section 508, and best practices. This covers the requirements referenced by ADA Title III lawsuits.
Can automated tools catch all accessibility issues?
No — automated tools catch roughly 30-40% of issues. Manual testing (keyboard navigation, screen reader testing, zoom testing) is still required. But automated scanning catches the most common violations and the ones most likely to trigger lawsuits.
What's the difference between this and WAVE?
WAVE is a great tool. We use the same underlying engine (axe-core) plus 38+ additional custom checks that WAVE doesn't run — including empty headings/buttons, broken ARIA references, suspicious alt text, orphaned form labels, table structure, document link warnings, media captions, keyboard accessibility, prefers-reduced-motion, honeypot accessibility, placeholder detection, and landmark containment.
Do I need to fix everything to be ADA compliant?
Focus on critical and serious issues first — these create the most legal risk. In practice, most lawsuits cite: missing alt text, poor contrast, inaccessible forms, and no keyboard navigation. Fix those and you've addressed 80% of your exposure.

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