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ADA Compliance Checker: How to Test Your Website for Accessibility

With 8,667 ADA lawsuits filed in 2025 and 94.8% of websites failing basic accessibility checks, testing your site for compliance is no longer optional.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990, long before the modern web existed. But courts have consistently applied it to websites, and enforcement is accelerating.

Why ADA Compliance Matters for Websites

According to Seyfarth Shaw's annual ADA Title III lawsuit tracking, 8,667 ADA lawsuits were filed in federal court in 2025. A significant and growing share of these target websites and digital content.

Meanwhile, WebAIM's annual analysis of the top 1 million homepages found that 94.8% had detectable WCAG failures. The most common issues were low contrast text, missing alt text on images, empty links, missing form labels, and missing document language.

That gap between legal enforcement and actual compliance is where businesses get caught.

What Does "ADA Compliant" Mean for a Website?

The ADA itself does not specify technical standards for websites. However, the DOJ published a final rule in April 2024 (applying to state and local government websites under Title II) that explicitly references WCAG 2.1 Level AA. For private businesses under Title III, courts routinely use WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA as the de facto standard.

WCAG compliance means your website meets criteria across four principles:

  • Perceivable: Content can be perceived by all users (alt text, captions, sufficient contrast)
  • Operable: All functionality works via keyboard and assistive technology
  • Understandable: Content and navigation are predictable and readable
  • Robust: Content works with current and future assistive technologies

How to Check Your Website for ADA Compliance

Step 1: Run an Automated Scan

Start with a free automated tool. OnePageAudit scans your page against critical WCAG 2.2 AA criteria and provides fix instructions for every violation found.

Automated tools check for detectable issues: missing alt text, empty links, form labels, heading structure, color contrast ratios, language attributes, and more.

Step 2: Review the Results

Focus on critical and serious violations first. These are the issues most commonly cited in ADA lawsuits:

  • Images without alt text (WCAG 1.1.1)
  • Insufficient color contrast (WCAG 1.4.3)
  • Missing form labels (WCAG 1.3.1, 4.1.2)
  • Empty links or buttons (WCAG 2.4.4)
  • Missing page language (WCAG 3.1.1)
  • Keyboard navigation failures (WCAG 2.1.1)

Step 3: Test Manually

Automated tools catch roughly 30-50% of WCAG issues. After fixing automated findings, do basic manual testing:

  • Tab through your entire page using only a keyboard. Can you reach and operate every interactive element?
  • Test with a screen reader (NVDA on Windows is free, VoiceOver is built into macOS)
  • Check that all images have meaningful alt text, not just any alt text
  • Verify form error messages are announced to assistive technology

Step 4: Document Your Efforts

Courts look favorably on businesses that demonstrate good-faith remediation efforts. Keep records of your audit results, the fixes you made, and your ongoing monitoring plan.

Consequences of Non-Compliance

ADA web accessibility lawsuits typically settle in the $5,000 to $75,000 range, according to data compiled by Accessible.org. But costs go beyond settlements:

  • Attorney fees (yours and potentially the plaintiff's)
  • Remediation costs under court order (often on an accelerated timeline)
  • Reputational damage
  • Repeat lawsuits (serial plaintiffs frequently target the same business again)

Some high-profile cases have resulted in much larger settlements. Prevention through proactive compliance is significantly cheaper than reactive remediation under legal pressure.

Start Testing Now

The combination of high lawsuit volume, high failure rates, and clear legal precedent makes accessibility compliance a business priority. You do not need to achieve perfection overnight, but you need to start.

Run a free scan with OnePageAudit to see where your website stands. You will get a compliance score, a list of violations, and specific fix instructions in under 60 seconds. Related reading:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an ADA compliance checker?⌄
An ADA compliance checker is a tool that scans your website for accessibility barriers that may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. These tools test against WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards, which courts use as the benchmark for web accessibility compliance.
Does the ADA apply to websites?⌄
Yes. The DOJ has consistently maintained that websites of businesses open to the public are covered under ADA Title III. Multiple federal courts have agreed, and the DOJ published a final rule in April 2024 requiring state and local government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA.
How often should I check my website for ADA compliance?⌄
At minimum, you should audit after every major update or redesign. Ideally, run automated checks weekly or monthly, since content updates, new plugins, or CMS changes can introduce new accessibility issues at any time.
Can an automated checker catch all accessibility issues?⌄
No. Automated tools typically catch 30-50% of WCAG violations. Issues like whether alt text is actually meaningful, whether navigation is logical for screen reader users, or whether custom widgets are keyboard-operable often require manual testing. Automated scanning is a necessary starting point, not a complete solution.

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