The 5 Categories of Web Accessibility Software vs. Tracker

Many consumers looking for ADA website software or web accessibility software don’t realize that none of the existing software on the market is predicated on making your digital asset fully WCAG conformant.

Instead, the best the market has to offer are

• tools / browser extensions for individual tasks (e.g., color contrast analyzers)
• scan-based platforms that slice and dice automated issues
• overlays and overlay widgets that render superficial adjustments
• tool suite with an accessibility scan packaged with SEO, speller checkers, etc.

Again, the problem is no software in the marketplace is built to help users with full WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.2 AA conformance.

This is why we built Accessibility Tracker.

Accessibility Tracker is a platform that is based on your audit report, the report that results from a fully manual evaluation by a technical accessibility expert).

This is essential to full WCAG conformance because we need to have all of the accessibility issues in place to know exactly what to fix. And this is what every organization is after because they want to be compliant and ensure no accessibility issues exist.

We’ll create a comparison breakdown of Tracker vs. the rest of the market options in a later post, but for now, let’s look at the accessibility software market categories.

Full-Site Accessibility Monitoring Platforms

These scan large numbers of pages on a set schedule and list issues found. They can show trends over time and assign issues to team members.

They offer:

• Automated scans of multiple or all site pages on a schedule
• Lists of detected issues, often sorted by severity or type
• Reports and dashboards for viewing scan results
• Options to integrate scan results into project management tools

Comprehensive review:
These platforms can check thousands of URLs and maintain a record of issues over time. They can highlight recurring problems and allow teams to track whether they have been fixed.

They are automated and do not perform accessibility audits. They will miss many WCAG issues, such as keyboard navigation problems, incorrect heading structure, or inaccurate alt text. The percentage of WCAG coverage from automation alone is limited.

What’s missing for WCAG conformance:

• Verification of content order and reading sequence
• Checking if link text and labels are descriptive in context
• Testing of interactive elements for focus order and keyboard traps
• Evaluation of alternative text accuracy and usefulness
• Assessing dynamic components and custom widgets for accessibility

Overlays and Accessibility Widgets

Overlays add an on-screen menu to a site for users to adjust things like text size, colors, and spacing. Some claim to automatically repair certain accessibility issues as the page loads.

They offer:

• On-screen menus for adjusting text, contrast, spacing, and navigation controls
• Claims of automatic fixes for certain WCAG success criteria
• Installation by adding JavaScript code to the site

Comprehensive review:

Overlays render superficial adjustments (e.g., zoom, color contrast), but don’t change the underlying code or content. Rely upon JavaScript to render superficial changes that lay over a website.

They do not address underlying code-level WCAG issues and may interfere with assistive technology. Problems such as reading order, interactive component behavior, and link purpose often remain. These products do not replace the need for an accessibility audit and code remediation.

What’s missing for WCAG conformance:

• Evaluation of issues
• Remediation of content and code-level issues

Developer Testing Tools

These run accessibility scans during development and provide results for developers to review and fix. They are generally built into browser developer tools or run from the command line.

They offer:

• Automated scanning in browser developer tools or CLI
• Some guided manual checks for specific issues
• Results linked to WCAG success criteria with technical details
• Ability to run in continuous integration and deployment pipelines

Comprehensive review:
These tools can find code-level issues early in the build process and connect results directly to the relevant code. They can be run repeatedly to check new code changes.

They only test the code or components selected for scanning and do not evaluate the entire site or full user experience. They do not perform accessibility audits, so many WCAG issues remain undetected.

What’s missing for WCAG conformance:

• Site-wide evaluation of navigation and user flows
• Assessment of alternative text, instructions, and descriptive content
• Verification of reading order and focus sequence
• Testing of custom UI components and widgets
• Review of multimedia captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions

Quick-Check Browser Extensions

These test a single page in a web browser and show detected issues on that page. They can be installed as a browser add-on and used without special setup.

They offer:

• Page-by-page scanning with instant display of results
• On-page visual markers for detected issues
• Automated checks, sometimes with prompts for manual follow-up
• Often free or low-cost

Comprehensive review:
Browser extensions can give immediate feedback on a page and make it easier to see what part of the page each issue relates to.

They do not scan entire sites or evaluate multi-page processes. They do not perform accessibility audits, so they cannot ensure full WCAG coverage.

What’s missing for WCAG conformance:

• Evaluation of user flows that span multiple pages
• Verification of accessible names, labels, and descriptions
• Testing interactive elements for keyboard accessibility and focus management
• Reviewing content for clarity and context relevance
• Checking for accurate captions, transcripts, and alternative media descriptions

Multi-Function Site Checkers

These scan for accessibility issues along with other website checks such as HTML/CSS validation, broken links, and SEO metrics.

They offer:

• Accessibility checks plus other site quality checks
• Whole-site or multi-page scanning
• Support for multiple compliance standards
• Reports combining accessibility findings with other site data

Comprehensive review:
These tools combine several types of checks in one product and can cover an entire site in a single scan.

Their accessibility checks are often less detailed than dedicated accessibility tools. They do not perform accessibility audits and will miss nuanced or interaction-based WCAG issues.

What’s missing for WCAG conformance:

• Detailed review of interaction and navigation patterns
• Verification of correct and descriptive text alternatives
• Testing for focus order, visible focus, and keyboard traps
• Assessment of dynamic and scripted content behavior
• Review of time-based media for captions and audio descriptions

Summary

The accessibility software market offers various automated tools, but none provide a path to full WCAG conformance. Every category relies on automation that only flags 25% of accessibility issues. This means the identification of the majority of accessibility issues including critical elements like keyboard navigation, content clarity, and assistive technology compatibility are not part of the software.

This gap in the market is why Accessibility Tracker exists. Unlike scan-based tools, Tracker works from your complete accessibility audit report, tracking every issue identified through manual expert evaluation. This fundamental difference means you’re working toward actual WCAG conformance, not just improving automated scan percentages.

The goal isn’t 100% on an automated scan, it’s full WCAG conformance.