You have a feeling something is off with your site, but you are not ready to commission an audit. Perhaps a vendor’s email said your site “fails ADA”, with a red score to prove it. Perhaps a free online checker produced forty warnings in language you do not recognize. Perhaps you just launched a new WordPress theme and want a second opinion before customers find the problems for you. What you want is a person who understands this work to review the site and explain, without jargon, whether there is a real problem and what to do about it.
That is what our free website accessibility check is for. One of our team looks at a handful of your most important pages by hand, runs them through automated tools, and sends you a short list of the main barriers found and a suggested next step. This page explains exactly what we look at, what the check cannot tell you, what to send us, and how to make sense of the result, whether or not you ever hire us.
What the free website accessibility check looks at
The check is deliberately small. We look at a few key pages, usually the home page, one main service or product page, your contact or booking page, and one other page you choose. Within those pages we focus on the problems most likely to stop a real visitor:
- Keyboard use. We put the mouse away and move through each page with Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space and Escape. Can the menu be opened? Is the focus outline visible all the way through? Does anything trap the keyboard or hide behind a sticky header?
- The main form. Does each field have a real label, not only placeholder text? What happens when you submit it empty? Is the error explained in words, or only shown as a red border?
- A screen-reader pass. A short listen with NVDA or VoiceOver to hear how the page is announced: whether headings make sense, whether buttons have names, whether images say anything useful.
- Zoom and narrow screens. We enlarge the page and narrow the window to see whether text reflows or gets cut off and whether the mobile menu still works.
- Color contrast. Spot checks on body text, buttons, links and text placed over images.
- Automated scan results. We run each page through common scanners and read the output ourselves, separating real issues from noise.
- Obvious extras. Overlay widgets, autoplaying sliders, cookie banners, chat buttons and popups, because these are frequent sources of trouble.
We test against WCAG 2.2 Level AA, the same benchmark we use in paid work, but only at a sampling depth. Think of it as a trained eye on a few rooms of the house, not a full inspection.
What a free check is not
We would rather be clear about this up front than have you rely on the check for something it was never meant to do.
- It is not a full audit. A few pages cannot represent every template, form, document and journey on your site. Problems on pages we did not look at will not appear in our notes.
- It is not a compliance verdict. We will not tell you your site “passes” or is “ADA compliant”, and you should be cautious of anyone who does. A short check can show you that barriers exist; it cannot show that none exist.
- It is not legal advice. If you have received a demand letter or complaint, speak with an attorney. Our notes can be shared with them, but they are not a legal assessment and are not designed to be submitted as evidence of anything.
- It is not a fix. Nothing on the site is touched while we look, and no login is required.
People sometimes search for a “free ADA website check” hoping for a yes-or-no answer. There is no honest version of that answer from a quick look, and our explainer on what free ADA compliance checkers really measure sets out why those instant scores so often mislead.
How the check runs from request to reply
The process is short and does not ask much of you.
- You send the request using the form on this page, with your site address and the pages that matter most to you.
- We confirm the pages if anything is unclear, for example if your booking happens on a separate system or your store has a members-only area.
- We run the scans on each chosen page and note what the tools report.
- We test by hand with the keyboard, a screen reader and browser zoom, which is where most of the useful findings come from.
- We write up the main barriers in plain language, ordered by how badly they affect visitors.
- We send the notes with a suggested next step and answer any follow-up questions you have about them.
We do not attach a timescale to this, because it depends on how many requests are waiting and how complicated your pages are. If you are under a deadline, say so in your message and we will tell you honestly whether the free check is the right tool or whether you should go straight to a paid audit.
What you receive after the check
You get a short written summary, not a fifty-page report. In general terms it contains:
- A short list of the main barriers we found on the pages we looked at, each described in everyday words: what happens, who it affects, and where you can see it.
- The WCAG success criterion each one relates to, so a developer can look it up.
- A note on anything that looked like a site-wide pattern, such as a theme that hides the focus outline everywhere.
- A plain comment on any overlay or accessibility widget we noticed.
- Suggested next steps, which might be “fix these three things yourself”, “have your developer look at the menu”, or “this needs a proper audit”.
What you will not receive is a score, a badge, a certificate or a promise. If the summary says we found no major barriers on four pages, that is exactly what it means: four pages, a limited set of checks, no major barriers seen. It does not mean the rest of the site is fine.
What to include with your request
The more context you give, the more useful the check becomes. Helpful things to mention:
- Your site address and the three to five pages you consider most important. If you are unsure, tell us what visitors usually come to do, and we will pick.
- Why you are asking. A customer complaint, a vendor’s warning, a contract or grant requirement, a letter from a lawyer, or plain curiosity. This changes what we look at first.
- Your platform. WordPress with a particular theme or page builder, WooCommerce, Shopify, or something else.
- Third-party tools you rely on, such as an embedded booking system, donation form or payment page.
- Any earlier reports you have, including free scanner results, so we do not repeat work already done.
You do not need to give us a login, a staging site or any admin access. Everything in the check is done from the public side of the site, the way a visitor would experience it. If a key page is behind a login, mention it and we will explain what can and cannot be looked at.
Free check, free scanner or full audit: how they compare
There are several ways to get a first read on your site’s accessibility. They answer different questions.
| Option | Who does it | What it can tell you | What it cannot tell you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own quick self check | You, with a keyboard and browser zoom | Whether obvious barriers exist on pages you try | Screen-reader problems, code-level issues, severity |
| Free online scanner | Software only | Machine-detectable issues such as missing alt attributes and some contrast failures | Anything that needs human judgment, such as focus order or meaningful labels |
| Our free check | A person, using scans plus manual testing | The main barriers on a few key pages, explained, with a suggested next step | The state of the whole site; any kind of conformance statement |
| Full WCAG audit | A person, on a structured sample of templates and journeys | A detailed, prioritized issue list with criteria, severity and reproduction steps | Still a snapshot; the site can change after it |
If you want to try the first row yourself before asking us, our guide to checking whether your website meets ADA expectations yourself walks through a thirty-minute version, and the accessibility checklist for small business sites is useful alongside it. When you need the last row, the full WCAG audit is where that work happens.
How to read the results without panic or false comfort
A short list of barriers can feel alarming, especially if it arrives after a vendor’s scary email. A short list with nothing serious on it can feel like an all-clear. Neither reaction is quite right.
If we found serious barriers
Serious usually means a visitor relying on a keyboard or screen reader cannot complete something important: open the menu, submit the form, add to cart, book an appointment. That is worth acting on, but it is rarely a sign the whole site must be rebuilt. Many of these problems come from one component, such as the theme’s menu script or a form plugin’s markup, and fixing that one component fixes every page that uses it.
If we found mostly minor issues
Low-contrast footer text or a decorative image missing an empty alt attribute is real but less urgent. It is often something you or your developer can clean up without specialist help. Our notes will say which items you could reasonably handle yourself.
If we found little
Good news, with limits. We looked at a few pages. Your blog posts, PDFs, older landing pages or checkout may tell a different story. If the site matters to your business, or you have a specific obligation, a sampled audit is still the honest next step.
Whatever the result, it helps to know why the manual part matters. Our article on what automated tools can and cannot judge explains why a clean scanner report and a usable site are not the same thing.
Barriers a quick look often finds on WordPress sites
Every site is different, but a few findings come up often enough that you may recognize your own site in them.
- An invisible focus outline. The theme’s CSS removes it, so keyboard users lose their place within two or three presses of Tab.
- A mobile menu button with no name. Screen readers announce it only as “button”, and on some themes it cannot be opened from the keyboard at all.
- Dropdown menus that open on hover only. Whole sections of the site are out of reach without a mouse.
- Contact forms labeled by placeholder text. The hint disappears as soon as someone types, and screen readers may not announce it.
- Slider or hero carousels that autoplay. No pause control, slides that change while someone is reading, and arrow buttons with no text.
- Headings picked for size. A page that jumps from H1 to H4, or has no headings because titles were styled as bold paragraphs.
- An overlay toolbar. Often installed in good faith, often conflicting with the screen reader we test with, and never a substitute for fixing the page.
If an overlay is on your site, our notes will say so plainly. The overlay removal and replacement service explains how to take one off without leaving visitors worse off.
Your options after the check
There is no obligation and no follow-up sales sequence. Once you have the notes, you can reasonably do any of the following:
- Fix small items yourself. Alt text, link wording, heading levels and some contrast issues are within reach of most site owners who use the block editor.
- Pass the notes to your developer. The WCAG references make it easier for them to look things up and fix them.
- Book a proper audit. If the check suggests deeper problems, or you need documented testing for a contract, a grant or an attorney, a full audit gives you the evidence a short check cannot. You may prefer to start with hands-on keyboard and screen reader testing across more pages before deciding on fixes.
- Ask us to fix what we found. Our remediation work on the issues found covers theme, plugin, form and content fixes with retesting.
- Do nothing for now. That is your choice to make. The notes will still be useful later.
For a wider view of how audits, fixes and ongoing checks fit together, see our overview of accessibility services for US businesses.
Mistakes to avoid after any free scan or check
The same few missteps tend to follow a free scan, whoever ran it.
- Chasing the score. Tools that give a number reward the issues they can measure. Raising the number can leave the real barriers untouched.
- Installing a widget to make the warnings go away. An overlay does not change your theme or forms, and it does not change what a screen-reader user experiences in the ways that matter.
- Treating a short check as proof. Do not tell customers, partners or a lawyer that your site “passed” an accessibility check. Say what was actually done.
- Fixing in the wrong order. Start with whatever blocks a visitor from completing a task, then work outward to the cosmetic issues.
- Forgetting the next update. A fix made today can be undone by a theme or plugin update next month if nobody looks again.
If you are curious what a full written report looks like by comparison, our piece on reading an accessibility audit report describes the parts a good one should have.
Questions to ask about any free accessibility offer
Free checks are common, and they vary a great deal. Before you hand over your details to anyone, including us, these questions are worth asking:
- Will a person look at my site, or is this an automated report with a sales email attached?
- Which pages will you look at, and which standard will you check against?
- Will the result include a score or a pass/fail? If yes, what does that score actually measure?
- Is the free check a route to selling me a widget or subscription?
- Will you explain the findings in plain language, with enough detail for my own developer to act on them?
- Do you need my login? (For a check from the public side, you should not have to give one.)
Our own answers are on this page: a person, a few key pages you help choose, WCAG 2.2 AA, no score, no widget, plain-language notes, no login.
Where a one-time check fits with ongoing WordPress care
A check is a snapshot. WordPress sites move constantly: plugins update, editors publish, marketing adds a popup for a sale. Accessibility that is checked once tends to drift, slowly and quietly, until someone complains.
If you run your own site, build a small habit: after any theme or plugin update, open your key pages and press Tab through them. If someone else maintains it, ask whether their care plan includes any accessibility checks. Our monthly WordPress maintenance can include them, and sites with more at stake can add dedicated accessibility monitoring on top.
One last distinction, because the names are similar: our free website health check is a different service that looks from the outside at speed, mobile display, broken links, SSL and other general technical condition. The free website accessibility check on this page is only about accessibility. You are welcome to ask for both, but they answer different questions.