Website accessibility and ADA questions, answered

It is a tool that tests a web page against a set of known accessibility rules, many of them drawn from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and lists possible barriers for people with disabilities. ADA Checkup runs axe-core, a widely used open source engine, on your page and explains each finding in plain English.

Yes. The scan and the report are free, with no credit card and no trial that turns into a bill. You see your grade right away. We ask for your name and email to unlock and send you the full report, and a person follows up only if you book a free review.

No. The U.S. Department of Justice says in its own web guidance that a clean automated report does not necessarily mean everything is accessible, and that pairing a manual check with automated checkers gives a better picture. Automated testing cannot establish full ADA compliance or guarantee protection from lawsuits.

For private businesses open to the public, the Department of Justice has not adopted a technical website standard. Its guidance says the ADA applies to web content and points to WCAG as helpful guidance, and WCAG 2.1 AA is a common yardstick for accessibility work. For state and local governments, a DOJ rule does name WCAG 2.1 Level AA, with compliance dates in 2027 and 2028. This is general information, not legal advice.

Under the April 2026 interim final rule, governments with a total population of 50,000 or more must comply by April 26, 2027. Governments with a population under 50,000, and special district governments of any size, must comply by April 26, 2028. See the municipalities page for details and sources.

It reads your page as first delivered by your server, so content built later by JavaScript may be missed. It does not measure color contrast, test keyboard use, listen with a screen reader, review video captions, or open your PDFs, and it scans one page. Those need a person. Your report lists them.

We store them securely so we can show and email your report and, if you book a review, call you. We do not sell your information. Our privacy page explains the details.

The Department of Justice local government rule and the HHS Section 504 rule both name WCAG 2.1 Level AA, so that is the usual target for accessibility work today. A newer version, WCAG 2.2, exists and builds on 2.1. Many projects aim for the higher bar so they stay ahead of rule changes.

We do not recommend relying on one. A widget that sits on top of a page cannot fix every problem in the underlying code. The Department of Justice notes in its web guidance that a clean automated report does not necessarily mean a site is accessible. Real fixes happen in the site itself.

It depends on the size of the site, the platform, how many templates and documents are involved, and how many issues are found. We do not publish a price list that would not fit your situation. Book a free website review and you will get an honest range and a written plan. We never recommend a rebuild when fixes will do.

The free scan checks the one page you enter, usually your homepage. A full accessibility audit looks at key pages and tasks, such as a contact form, a booking flow, a payment page, or a meeting agenda. That is part of our testing service.

Yes. PDFs, forms, and agendas are common sources of barriers. For local governments, the DOJ rule has limited exceptions, including for some older documents, but documents currently used to apply for or take part in services must be accessible. See 28 CFR 35.201 and ask an attorney how it applies to you.

ADA Checkup is a free accessibility checker from RankFlow Systems LLC, a web design and digital marketing company. See the about page.