A practical cadence to schedule ongoing accessibility scans is weekly for active websites, monthly for stable sites, and after every significant release for web apps and mobile apps. Scans flag approximately 25% of issues, so they are a monitoring layer, not a conformance check. Pair them with periodic expert audits to keep WCAG conformance accurate. The right schedule depends on how often your content and code change, how large the site is, and how visible the asset is to users and regulators.
| Asset Type | Recommended Cadence | Primary Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| High-traffic marketing site | Weekly | Content updates |
| Ecommerce (Shopify, WooCommerce) | Weekly | Product and theme changes |
| Stable informational site | Monthly | Page additions |
| Web app (SaaS) | Per release plus weekly | Code deploys |
| Mobile app | Per release | Build submission |
| Government or education site | Weekly | Title II obligations |
What scans actually do for you
Automated scans apply rule-based checks against your code. They catch missing alt attributes, empty buttons, low color contrast, missing form labels, and similar issues that have a clear pass or fail signal.
What scans cannot do is determine WCAG conformance. They flag approximately 25% of issues. The remaining issues, including most issues tied to keyboard operability, screen reader output, focus management, and meaningful content, require human evaluation.
Treat scans as a monitoring layer that catches regressions between audits. The schedule should reflect that purpose.
How often should you schedule ongoing accessibility scans?
The right cadence comes down to change velocity. The more your content and code change, the more often you should scan.
Weekly works for most active websites. Marketing teams publish, products get added, themes get tweaked, and a weekly scan catches regressions before they pile up.
Monthly works for sites that rarely change. A small business site with static pages does not need weekly scans. Monthly catches new issues without generating noise.
Per-release works for web apps and mobile apps. Every deploy is a potential source of new issues. Scanning after each release ties detection to the change that caused it.
Triggers that should override your cadence
A fixed schedule is the floor, not the ceiling. Certain events warrant an immediate scan regardless of when the last one ran.
Theme or design system changes, major content migrations, new page templates or components, third-party embed additions, framework or CMS upgrades, and pre-launch checks for new sections or microsites all qualify. These events introduce risk that your standard cadence will not catch in time. Scan immediately after, then return to your normal schedule.
Where audits fit alongside scans
Scans and audits are separate activities. An expert audit identifies the full set of WCAG issues across your asset and is the only way to determine conformance. Scans monitor between audits.
A common rhythm: a thorough audit annually or after major releases, with weekly or monthly scans running in between. The audit sets the baseline. The scans alert you when something changes.
If you have never had an expert audit, scheduling scans first is putting the cart before the horse. Start with the audit, then layer in monitoring.
Setting up scans inside a tracking workflow
Scans produce findings. Findings need owners, priority, and a path to resolution. Without a workflow, scan reports lose freshness fast.
The best approach is to map each finding into your issue tracking system with severity and status fields. Whatever system you use, the rule holds: a scan that does not lead to a tracked, prioritized issue is not doing its job.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I decide between weekly and monthly scans?
Look at your release and content cadence. If you publish content or push code more than a few times a month, weekly is the right call. If your site is largely static, monthly is enough. The cost of an extra scan is low. The cost of missing a regression for weeks is higher.
Can scans replace an accessibility audit?
No. Scans flag approximately 25% of issues and cannot determine WCAG conformance. Only an expert audit conducted by a qualified auditor identifies the full set of issues. Scans monitor; audits evaluate.
Should mobile apps be scanned on the same schedule as websites?
Mobile apps are typically scanned per release rather than on a recurring time-based cadence. The release cycle is the natural trigger because that is when new code reaches users. For apps with long release cycles, add a monthly scan as a backstop.
What happens if a scan flags an issue we cannot fix immediately?
Log it with severity and assign an owner. Use Risk Factor or User Impact prioritization formulas to decide ordering. Not every flagged issue requires a same-week fix, but every flagged issue requires a tracked path forward.
Do scans catch issues introduced by content editors?
Some. Scans can catch missing alt text, empty links, and heading structure problems introduced through a CMS. They will not catch poor alt text quality, confusing link text, or content that reads incorrectly to a screen reader. That is why training content editors matters as much as scanning their output.
A scanning schedule is a maintenance habit, not a conformance strategy. Pair it with audits, tie findings to a tracked workflow, and adjust the cadence when your asset changes faster or slower than expected.
To set up scanning and tracking against a current audit baseline, Contact Accessible.org.
