How to Check Website Accessibility in 2026: Manual Checks and Tools

What is Website Accessibility?

Website accessibility refers to the design and development of websites that can be used by people of all abilities and disabilities. This includes accommodating users with visual impairments, motor control challenges, hearing loss, and cognitive disabilities.

Checking your website's accessibility involves evaluating how well it accommodates diverse user needs through features like sufficient color contrast, resizable text, screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, and large, usable cursors and controls.

It's the responsibility of every organization to ensure their websites are easy to navigate and use without excluding any user groups. Beyond being the right thing to do, accessibility makes business sense by expanding your potential customer base and improving overall user experience.

Types of Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing should be centered around the users you're serving to ensure it remains human-centric. Consider tailoring your testing for the following groups:

When checking website accessibility for these groups, you should carry out testing in all of the following ways:

• Manual testing – Have team members try website flows themselves and note any barriers
• Automated testing – Apply tools that repeatedly detect, fix, and flag accessibility problems
• User testing – Conduct regular interviews with a diverse group of people to gather feedback

Why Accessibility is Essential for All Organizations

Prioritizing accessibility keeps you ahead of the curve as laws evolve. In the US, ADA Standards for Accessible Designs and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) require sites to be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

While it's not a one-time fix, you'll be delivering a great user experience for all clients and visitors by removing frustrating barriers. Features like closed captions accommodate people with hearing impairments and help younger people avoid distractions when watching content.

Other essential accessibility features include color contrast, keyboard navigation, alt text, and text-to-speech. An accessible site is good business—it expands your reach, delivers stellar UX, and demonstrates your commitment to inclusion.

How to Check Website Accessibility in 5 Steps

Manually checking your website's accessibility is a great starting point to identify potential barriers. Here are 5 key areas to assess:

1. Add Closed Captioning for All Videos and Audio Content

Closed captions (subtitles) are words displayed in sync with visual or audio content. They assist people with hearing difficulties and those in loud environments. Transcripts can also boost your SEO efforts by making content more discoverable.

• Enable closed captions on your video hosting platform
• Review captions yourself to confirm accuracy
• Provide full-text transcripts for audio-only content

2. Include Alt Text for Images

Alt text (alternative text) is a written description for non-text content like images and videos. It's used by assistive technologies, such as screen readers, to interpret objects on screen.

When writing alt text, aim to be clear, concise, and informative, focusing on the image's purpose. While tools can identify missing alt text, they can't tell you if existing alt text is accessible enough—human review is essential.

3. Ensure Color Contrast

Color contrast is the difference in light between foreground and background elements. Greater difference makes it easier for people to read and explore your website.

Free tools can scan your website and highlight color contrast issues, making it easier to adhere to these technical specifications.

4. Test Keyboard Navigation

Many users with motor disabilities rely on keyboards to navigate websites. All core functionalities and interactive elements should be fully operable with a keyboard.

Keyboard navigation requires clear visual indications of where a user is on a page and what actions they can take. To check your keyboard navigation:

1. Try to complete tasks on your website using only your keyboard
2. Note any flows that aren't clear or elements you can't reach
3. Encourage team members to do the same and report issues

5. Use Heading Styles Correctly

Heading styles (H1-H6) define the hierarchy of content on your website. They help users understand the flow of text and inform screen readers to support visually impaired users.

Follow a logical hierarchy: one H1 (page title), followed by H2s for main sections, H3s for sub-sections, etc. You can check heading structures via your website backend or by right-clicking and selecting "inspect" on any web page.

How to Check ADA Compliance

ADA standards set the minimum legal requirements for building an accessible website. Alongside WCAG, it's the most commonly referenced document for accessibility.

To ensure ADA compliance, continuously test your website with a diverse group of real users to meet these key principles:

Accessibility Testing Tools

Many tools exist to make checking website accessibility smoother. These tools can automate checks and streamline your accessibility strategy. However, automated tools are not a complete solution—you must use them together with manual checks and user testing.

AI-Powered Accessibility Scanners

Modern accessibility scanners use AI to check websites' WCAG and ADA compliance, including links, images, videos, and form fields that aren't accessible. Simply enter your URL and define your parameters to begin.

• Conduct up to 30,000 scans across 15,000 pages in under an hour
• Scan for issues that appear on specific sized devices and screens
• Generate detailed reports with prioritized fixes

AI Accessibility Widgets

AI Accessibility Widgets automatically detect and fix many WCAG and ADA compliance issues in real time. They increase website usability by adding a menu of accessibility options for visitors.

• Localized customer support in 57+ languages
• Text-to-speech responsive voice tool supporting 50+ languages
• Real-time issue detection and automatic fixes

Conclusion: Make Accessibility an Ongoing Commitment

Web accessibility is not a one-time goal but an ongoing commitment to inclusivity. By proactively addressing accessibility, you reduce legal risks, demonstrate corporate responsibility, and enhance access to your website for a broader audience.

Best practices for 2026:

• Start with manual checks to understand user barriers firsthand
• Use automated tools to scale your testing across all pages
• Include real users with disabilities in your testing process
• Monitor compliance regularly as your site evolves
• Document your accessibility efforts for legal protection
• Stay updated on evolving WCAG and ADA requirements