Free Website Accessibility Audit: How to Find and Fix WCAG Violations
Most websites have between 30 and 60 WCAG violations — and the majority of site owners have no idea. A free website accessibility audit takes under 5 minutes and tells you exactly what's broken, who can't use your site, and whether you're at risk of EAA fines. This guide walks you through how to audit your site for free, what the results mean, and the fastest way to fix what you find.
⚠️ EAA enforcement is active: Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act requires all websites serving EU consumers to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Fines reach €250,000 in France and €100,000 in Germany. A free audit is your first line of defence.
What Is a Website Accessibility Audit?
A website accessibility audit is a systematic review of your website to identify barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using it. These barriers are measured against the WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standard — specifically Level AA, which is the legal benchmark under the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and the UK's PSBAR.
Audits fall into two types:
- Automated audit — a tool scans your page's HTML in seconds and flags common issues. Free, fast, and covers roughly 30–40% of all WCAG criteria.
- Manual audit — a human tester (or assistive technology) checks the remaining 60–70% that automated tools cannot detect: keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, cognitive load, and more.
For most small businesses and agencies, an automated audit is the right starting point. It identifies the highest-volume, highest-risk violations quickly and for free.
The 5 Best Free Website Accessibility Audit Tools (2026)
How to Run a Free Website Accessibility Audit in 5 Steps
Follow this process to complete a thorough free audit of any webpage in under 15 minutes:
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1Run WAVE on your homepage and key pagesGo to wave.webaim.org, enter your URL, and press Enter. WAVE overlays red icons (errors), yellow icons (alerts), and blue icons (structural elements) directly on your page. Focus on red errors first — these are definite WCAG failures, not warnings.
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2Check colour contrast on your main elementsWAVE flags contrast failures automatically. Click any red "contrast" icon to see the actual ratio vs. the required 4.5:1 for normal text. Also check your navigation, buttons, and footer — these are commonly missed.
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3Install axe DevTools and audit your contact / checkout pageWAVE only scans public pages. For pages behind logins (checkout, account), install the free axe DevTools Chrome extension, navigate to the page while logged in, open DevTools (F12) → axe DevTools tab → Analyze. This catches form label errors that WAVE misses.
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4Test keyboard navigation manuallyPress Tab repeatedly from the top of your page. Every interactive element (links, buttons, form fields) must be reachable and show a visible focus outline. Press Enter to activate links and buttons. If Tab skips elements, gets stuck in a trap, or focus becomes invisible — that's a WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.7 failure.
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5Run Lighthouse for a scored summaryIn Chrome, press F12 → Lighthouse tab → select "Accessibility" → Generate report. The 0–100 score gives you a benchmark to track over time. Aim for 95+ for solid EAA compliance coverage. Note: a score of 100 does not mean full WCAG compliance — Lighthouse only covers automatable criteria.
The Most Common Accessibility Violations Found in Audits
Based on the WebAIM Million report (2026), these are the violations found on over 95% of audited websites:
| Violation | WCAG Criterion | % of Sites Affected | Fix Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low colour contrast text | 1.4.3 | 81% | 🟡 Medium |
| Missing alt text on images | 1.1.1 | 55% | 🟢 Easy |
| Missing form input labels | 1.3.1 / 3.3.2 | 49% | 🟢 Easy |
| Empty links (no text / aria-label) | 2.4.4 | 48% | 🟢 Easy |
Missing page language (lang) | 3.1.1 | 17% | 🟢 Easy |
| Empty button text | 4.1.2 | 27% | 🟢 Easy |
| No skip navigation link | 2.4.1 | ~90% | 🟢 Easy |
💡 Good news: The top 4 violations — contrast, alt text, form labels, and empty links — are all automatically fixable. Tools like AccessPatch patch these in real time with one line of JavaScript, without touching your source code — plans start from €19/month (Starter).
How to Fix What the Audit Finds
Option 1: Fix violations manually in your code (recommended for developers)
If you have developer access, fixing these violations in your source code is the most robust approach:
- Missing alt text: Add
alt="descriptive text"to every<img>tag. For decorative images, usealt="". - Missing form labels: Add a
<label for="inputId">element or usearia-label="..."on the input itself. - Low contrast: Adjust your CSS colour values until the ratio exceeds 4.5:1. Use WebAIM's contrast checker to test combinations.
- Missing page language: Add
lang="en"(or your site's language) to the<html>element. - Skip link: Add
<a href="#main-content" class="skip-link">Skip to main content</a>as the very first element inside<body>.
Option 2: Use an automated fix tool (recommended for non-developers)
If you manage a website but don't have a developer, automated fix tools apply WCAG patches in real time via JavaScript — no source code access required. You paste one script tag into your site's <head>, and the tool fixes violations on every page load.
✅ What AccessPatch auto-fixes: Missing alt text attributes · Missing form labels (via aria-label) · Missing lang attribute · Missing skip navigation link · Focus ring enforcement · Empty button aria-labels · ARIA landmark injection. These cover the majority of violations found by free audits.
Get Your Free Accessibility Audit + Auto-Fix
AccessPatch scans your site for WCAG violations and automatically fixes the most common ones — alt text, form labels, contrast, skip links, and more. Free 14-day trial. No credit card. No developer needed.
Start Free Audit & Auto-Fix →What a Free Audit Misses — and When You Need a Manual Audit
Automated tools are powerful, but they cannot detect everything. Here's what free tools cannot find:
- Screen reader compatibility — does your site actually work with NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver? Only human testing reveals this.
- Keyboard trap detection — some traps only appear in specific interaction sequences that automated tools don't simulate.
- Meaningful alt text quality — a tool can confirm alt text exists, but cannot judge whether "image.jpg" is meaningful to a blind user.
- Cognitive accessibility — plain language, reading level, and consistent navigation patterns require human judgement.
- Complex ARIA patterns — custom date pickers, carousels, modals, and autocompletes require manual testing against ARIA Authoring Practices.
💡 When to get a manual audit: If you're selling to public sector clients, operating in a regulated industry (healthcare, finance), or have received a formal complaint — a certified manual audit is worth the investment. AccessPatch offers expert manual audits from €149, delivered with an EAA-compliant report in 5 business days. View Manual Audit Plans →
Accessibility Audit Checklist: Top 10 Things to Check
Use this checklist as your quick reference after running your free audit tools:
| # | Check | WCAG | How to Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | All images have descriptive alt text | 1.1.1 A | WAVE → "Missing Alt" errors |
| 2 | All form fields have labels | 1.3.1 A | WAVE → "Missing Form Label" |
| 3 | Text contrast ≥ 4.5:1 | 1.4.3 AA | WAVE → Contrast tab |
| 4 | Page has lang attribute | 3.1.1 A | View page source → <html lang= |
| 5 | Videos have captions | 1.2.2 A | Manual check |
| 6 | Skip navigation link present | 2.4.1 A | Press Tab on page load — first focus should be skip link |
| 7 | All buttons have text or aria-label | 4.1.2 A | axe DevTools → "button-name" rule |
| 8 | Focus indicator visible | 2.4.7 AA | Tab through page — outline must be visible |
| 9 | No keyboard traps | 2.1.2 A | Tab through modals, menus — can you always Tab out? |
| 10 | Accessibility Statement published | EAA legal req. | Check for /accessibility-statement page |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a free accessibility audit enough for EAA compliance? ▼
A free automated audit is a strong starting point — it catches the most common violations quickly. However, EAA compliance requires both fixing violations and publishing an Accessibility Statement. Automated tools cover roughly 30–40% of WCAG criteria; for full compliance, you should combine an automated tool (like AccessPatch) with periodic manual testing of key user journeys.
How often should I audit my website for accessibility? ▼
You should run an automated audit whenever you release significant content or design changes — new pages, new image sections, form updates, or navigation changes can introduce new violations. A good practice is continuous monitoring (which AccessPatch provides) so violations are caught as they appear, rather than in periodic snapshots.
What is a good accessibility score? ▼
Google Lighthouse scores of 95+ indicate low automated violation counts, which is a good sign. However, a 100 Lighthouse score does not mean WCAG Level AA compliance — it means all automatable checks passed. Target 0 WAVE errors, 0 WAVE contrast errors, and 0 axe violations for the strongest baseline.
Can I use WAVE to audit my entire website? ▼
WAVE audits one page at a time for free. For site-wide scanning across all pages, you need either the WAVE API (paid), a crawler-based tool, or a monitoring solution like AccessPatch that runs continuous scans across every page you register. Manually spot-check your homepage, contact page, product pages, and checkout flow as a minimum.
Does fixing accessibility issues break my website design? ▼
Manual code fixes can require design adjustments — particularly for low-contrast colour schemes. Automated fix tools like AccessPatch add ARIA attributes and alt text without changing your visual design at all. Contrast fixes may require updating CSS colours, but this often improves readability for all users, not just those with disabilities.
Run Your Free Audit — Then Fix Everything Automatically
AccessPatch combines a free WCAG scanner with real-time auto-fixes, a live compliance dashboard, and an EAA Accessibility Statement generator. One line of JavaScript. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Start Free — No Credit Card →