Accessibility Checker for your website
Accessibility checked automatically against WCAG 2.1 and the European Accessibility Act
What does the accessibility check cover?
Colour contrast of text and background against the WCAG minimum values
Alternative text for images, graphics and linked elements
Form labels and recognisable link text
Page structure: heading hierarchy, landmarks and language declaration
ARIA attributes for validity and correct usage
WCAG level A and AA reported separately, with a severity per violation
How the accessibility check works
4 steps to an overview of the barriers on your page
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1 Step 1
Enter the URL
Enter the address of the page you want to check. Exactly this one page is analysed.
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2 Step 2
Load the page completely
The page is opened in a real browser, JavaScript included – so whatever appears in the page content only after the fact is checked as well.
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3 Step 3
Test against WCAG rules
axe-core checks the finished page content against the rule sets for WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 at levels A and AA, as well as against established best practices.
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4 Step 4
Work through violations by severity
You get every violation with its severity, the affected element and the CSS selector, plus a link to the explanation of the respective rule.
Typical barriers the test finds
Eight of the most common violations and the corresponding WCAG success criterion
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Insufficient colour contrast
WCAG 1.4.3 (AA)Text stands out too weakly from the background. This particularly often affects light greys, coloured buttons and text placed over images.
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Image without alternative text
WCAG 1.1.1 (A)Informative images need an
altattribute that describes their content. Purely decorative images get an emptyalt=""so that screen readers skip them. -
Link without recognisable text
WCAG 4.1.2 (A)Links that contain nothing but an icon or an image are announced without an accessible name. The user hears that a link exists, but not where it leads.
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Form field without a label
WCAG 4.1.2 (A)An input field needs an associated
label. Placeholder text is not enough – it disappears as soon as you type and is not announced reliably. -
Missing language declaration
WCAG 3.1.1 (A)Without a
langattribute on thehtmlelement, the screen reader does not know which language to read out. English text in French pronunciation is practically incomprehensible. -
Content outside of landmarks
Best PracticeRegions such as
header,nav,mainandfootermake it possible to jump straight to the desired part of the page. If they are missing, the only option left is listening through the entire page. -
Skipped heading level
Best PracticeHeadings have to build on one another, so from h2 to h3 and not straight to h4. Screen reader users navigate via this structure like via a table of contents.
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Invalid ARIA attribute
WCAG 4.1.2 (A)ARIA attributes with a wrong value or an unsuitable role do more damage than none at all. The screen reader then announces information that does not apply.
The four severity levels
Every violation found is classified – so you know where to start
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Critical
Blocks usage entirely. Affected users cannot reach the content or the function at all.
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Serious
Makes usage considerably harder. The content is reachable in theory, but in practice only with great effort.
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Moderate
Noticeably impairs operation without preventing it. Typically structural and navigation problems.
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Minor
Smaller deviations that reduce comfort. They should be fixed, but have the lowest priority.
European Accessibility Act and national implementation
The European Accessibility Act requires numerous digital services for consumers to be accessible, and every EU member state has transposed it into national law – in Germany, for instance, through the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG), which applies from 28 June 2025. The scope covers online shops, banking services, telecommunications, passenger transport as well as e-books and their distribution platforms. What matters is not company size alone, but whether you provide services to consumers electronically.
The technical benchmark is the harmonised standard EN 301 549, which for web content essentially points to WCAG 2.1 at conformance level AA. That is precisely the level the accessibility check covers: all rules for WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 at levels A and AA are tested and reported separately.
National market surveillance authorities can pursue shortcomings on their own initiative or in response to a complaint. The specific consequences follow from the respective national law – in Germany, for example, orders to remedy the problem, fines of up to 100,000 euros and, in extreme cases, a ban on offering the service. On top of that comes the commercial risk: anyone who technically shuts out part of their customer base loses revenue – regardless of any authority.
What an automated test can do – and what it cannot
Automated checks reliably detect a portion of the WCAG criteria, typically around a third. Much of it cannot be measured technically: whether an alternative text really describes the content of the image, whether keyboard operation follows a sensible order, or whether the language is formulated understandably. This test also checks the requested page, not the entire website. It is therefore a dependable entry point and a good basis for prioritisation – it does not replace a legally sound conformance assessment. For that, additionally bring in an expert review as well as tests with people with disabilities.
Find real barriers with the accessibility check
Barriers are rarely visible when you do not face any yourself. A contrast ratio of 3:1 looks perfectly legible on a good monitor and is still insufficient for people with low vision. A button without a label is announced by the screen reader as “button” – without any hint of what it does. InspectWP tests the requested page with axe-core, the testing library by Deque Systems that also powers the developer tools in Chrome and Firefox. You get every violation found, with its severity, the affected HTML element and the CSS selector – exactly the information your developers need in order to fix it.
WCAG level A and AA assessed separately
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines define three conformance levels. Level A is the minimum requirement: if it is missed, core content is simply inaccessible to some users. Level AA is the level that legislators in the EU and beyond refer to – including the European Accessibility Act and its national implementations. InspectWP reports violations of both levels separately so that you have a dependable order of work: close the level A violations first, then level AA. In addition, the test checks best-practice rules that are not part of WCAG but that in practice often determine whether a page is actually usable.
Thousands of website owners trust InspectWP
The numbers speak for themselves
Frequently asked accessibility check questions
Everything you need to know about the WCAG and accessibility test
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