Making a website ADA compliant comes down to three services working together: a manual WCAG 2.1 AA audit, remediation support to fix the identified issues, and validation to confirm the fixes meet the standard. The audit documents where the website stands against WCAG. Remediation addresses the issues. Validation closes the loop. Skip any one of the three and the website is not actually ADA compliant. It only looks that way on paper.
This is the path Accessible.org recommends for any business that wants real conformance, not just a defensible position.
| Service | What It Does |
|---|---|
| WCAG Audit | A manual evaluation against WCAG 2.1 AA that identifies every accessibility issue on the website. |
| Remediation | Code-level and content-level fixes to address each issue identified in the audit report. |
| Validation | A second review by the auditor to confirm each fix meets the success criterion it was meant to address. |
Why These Three Services Are the Path to ADA Compliance
The ADA does not list technical requirements for websites. Courts and the Department of Justice have pointed to WCAG 2.1 AA as the working standard. That means ADA website compliance is, in practice, WCAG conformance backed by documentation.
You cannot document conformance without an audit. You cannot reach conformance without remediation. And you cannot claim conformance without validation. The three services map directly to those three requirements.
Service 1: A Manual WCAG Audit
The audit is the foundation. A qualified auditor evaluates the website against every applicable WCAG 2.1 AA success criterion and produces a report that identifies each issue, where it appears, why it fails, and how to fix it.
Scans cannot replace this work. Automated checkers only flag approximately 25% of issues, and they cannot evaluate things like keyboard operability, screen reader output, or whether an alt text actually describes the image. A manual audit is the only way to determine WCAG conformance.
The audit report becomes the source of truth for the entire project. Developers work from it. Content teams work from it. Leadership tracks progress against it.
Service 2: Remediation
Once the audit report is delivered, remediation begins. This is where the issues actually get fixed. Some issues are code-level: missing form labels, low contrast, focus order problems, ARIA misuse. Others are content-level: missing alt text, vague link text, video without captions.
Remediation can be done by the company’s internal developers using the audit report as a guide, or by an outside accessibility partner. Either path works as long as the fixes are made with care and the audit report is followed closely.
Prioritization matters here. Issues that affect the most users or the most critical workflows should be addressed first. The audit report should already include severity ratings to support this work.
Service 3: Validation
Validation is the step most companies skip, and it is the one that separates a website that is actually compliant from one that only appears to be. The original auditor reviews each fix and confirms it meets the success criterion it was meant to address.
Without validation, there is no proof that the remediation worked. Developers can introduce new issues while fixing old ones. A fix that looks correct in code can still fail with a screen reader. Validation catches these issues before they become a legal or user-facing problem.
After validation, the website has documented evidence of WCAG 2.1 AA conformance. That documentation is what supports ADA compliance claims, accessibility statements, and any response to a demand letter.
How Long Does the Full Process Take?
Timing depends on the size of the website and how quickly the remediation work moves. A small marketing site can move through audit, remediation, and validation in a few weeks. A large ecommerce site or web app can take several months.
The audit itself can be completed in one to two weeks for most sites. Remediation is the variable. Validation is typically a one to two week review after the fixes are submitted.
What About Ongoing Monitoring?
ADA compliance is not a one-time project. Websites change. New pages get added. Themes and plugins update. Each change can introduce new accessibility issues.
After the initial audit, remediation, and validation, ongoing monitoring keeps the website in conformance. This can include periodic scans for regression checks, a yearly audit of new and updated pages, and training for the team that publishes content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need all three services, or can I just get the audit?
An audit alone identifies the issues but does not fix them. If the goal is ADA compliance, the audit must be paired with remediation and validation. An audit by itself is a snapshot, not a path to conformance.
Can my internal developers do the remediation?
Yes. A well-written audit report gives developers the detail they need to fix each issue. Many companies confirm conformance using their own team for remediation and an outside auditor for the initial evaluation and final validation.
What if a scan says my website is 100% accessible?
Scans only detect a small portion of WCAG issues. A perfect scan score does not mean the website is ADA compliant. The only way to know is through a manual audit by a qualified auditor.
How often should I get a new audit after validation?
For most websites, an annual audit is reasonable. Sites that change frequently or add new functionality may benefit from more frequent reviews of the updated content.
Audit, remediation, and validation are the three services that actually move a website from inaccessible to ADA compliant. Anything less is a partial effort.
For a quote on any of the three, contact Accessible.org.
