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WCAG Accessibility Checker

This accessibility checker tests one web page, pasted HTML or an uploaded .html file against 70 automated rules mapped to WCAG 2.1 success criteria. You get a score out of 100, counts by severity and level, and every failing element with suggested fix code built from your own markup. Filter issues by level A, AA or AAA and by severity, group them by WCAG criterion, and open the W3C Understanding page for each one. Developers use it to check a template before it ships, and email designers paste in a newsletter to catch missing alt text before it goes out. Download the results as CSV, a PDF report or JSON, copy a Markdown summary for a ticket, or share a link that re-runs the check. For many pages at once, use the full scanner.

Always freeNo sign upRuns in your browser

How to use

01

Pick a URL or HTML

Click Check a URL and enter a page address, or click Paste HTML and paste markup, upload an .html file or load the sample. Use it for staging builds, local files and email templates.

02

Run the check

Press Check page, or Check HTML in paste mode. The 70 rules run on that single document, and the score, severity counts and failed checks appear within a few seconds.

03

Filter, fix and export

Filter by level and severity, or group by WCAG criterion. Open each failed check to see the element and copy the suggested fix, then download CSV, PDF or JSON, or copy a Markdown summary.

Why WCAG Accessibility Checker

What the 70 checks cover

Every rule is tied to one WCAG 2.1 success criterion. The table groups them by the four WCAG principles. Of the 70 rules, 62 map to Level A criteria, 3 to Level AA (contrast and text resizing) and 5 to Level AAA.

Automated rules find missing or broken things in the code. They cannot tell whether alt text describes the image well, whether a video's captions are accurate, or whether a form makes sense to someone using a screen reader. Treat a clean result as the starting point for a manual review, not the end of it.

PrincipleRulesWCAG criteria covered
Perceivable331.1.1 Non-text Content, 1.2.2 Captions, 1.3.1 Info and Relationships, 1.4.2 Audio Control, 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum), 1.4.4 Resize Text, 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced), 1.4.8 Visual Presentation
Operable102.2.1 Timing Adjustable, 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.2 Page Titled, 2.4.3 Focus Order, 2.4.4 Link Purpose, 2.5.3 Label in Name
Understandable93.1.1 Language of Page, 3.1.5 Reading Level, 3.2.1 On Focus, 3.2.5 Change on Request, 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions
Robust184.1.1 Parsing, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value

Checking HTML before it goes live

Most accessibility problems are cheaper to fix before a page is published. Paste HTML mode lets you run the checks at the point where you still control the code, without deploying anything or giving a crawler access to a private server.

Some page-level rules, such as skip links and landmarks, are written for full web pages. When you check an email template or a small component, you can ignore those results and focus on images, links, contrast and form labels.

  • Staging and preview builds: open the page, view its source, and paste the HTML.
  • Email templates: paste the final HTML from your email tool to catch missing alt text and vague link text.
  • CMS components: paste the rendered markup of a new block or widget before editors start using it.
  • Local builds: check pages from your own machine that no public URL points to.

Common questions

What does this WCAG accessibility checker test?
It runs 70 automated rules covering images, links, buttons, forms, headings, landmarks, color contrast, page language, tables, media and ARIA. Each rule maps to a WCAG 2.1 success criterion and level, and each failure gets a severity from minor to critical. A few rules are advisory and do not count toward the score.
Can I check the accessibility of HTML that isn't live yet?
Yes. Click Paste HTML and drop in markup from a staging server, a local build or an email template. The same 70 rules run on it, and nothing needs to be deployed or publicly reachable.
Does a score of 100 mean the page is fully accessible?
No. Automated rules catch many machine-detectable problems, but they cannot judge whether alt text is meaningful, whether captions are accurate or whether keyboard focus moves in a sensible order. When every check passes, the tool reminds you that manual testing is still needed for WCAG conformance.
Does the accessibility checker test WCAG 2.2?
No. The rules map to WCAG 2.1 criteria. WCAG 2.2 adds nine criteria, such as minimum target size and focus not obscured, that this checker does not test. Under the results, the Needs manual review list shows every WCAG 2.2 A and AA criterion no rule covers, with a link to the W3C explanation of each.
Can I download single-page accessibility results?
Yes. CSV (all issues) gives one row per recorded occurrence with the selector, snippet, suggested fix and WCAG criterion. CSV (this view) follows your filters and also lists passed and not applicable checks. PDF report gives a scored report, JSON gives the raw result, and Copy Markdown summary gives a short write-up for a ticket.
Why do some accessibility checks show as not applicable?
A check is marked not applicable when the page has nothing for it to inspect. A page with no tables cannot fail the table rules, and a page with no video cannot fail the caption rule. Open the Not applicable list under the results to see them, kept apart so passes are not inflated.
What do the severity labels on failed accessibility checks mean?
Each failure is rated critical, serious, moderate or minor, and the chip shows how many times it occurred. Fix critical and serious items first, since those block people the most. Use the severity buttons to hide the minor ones while you work, and untick Include best-practice checks to see only the scored rules.
Can I share an accessibility checker result with my team?
In URL mode, click Copy link to this check. The link opens this tool with the address filled in and runs the check again, so your colleague sees the page as it is at that moment. For a fixed record, send the PDF report or the JSON file instead.
How do I test a whole website instead of one page?
Use the WCAG Accessibility Scanner. It crawls pages from your site, runs the same rules on each one and exports PDF, XLSX and CSV reports. This checker is faster when you only need to look at one page or one template.
Can the accessibility checker reach password-protected pages?
Not in URL mode, because the page is fetched without your login session. Open the page in your browser while logged in, copy its HTML source, and use Paste HTML instead.

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