How to Check a Website for ADA Compliance: Step-by-Step Guide

Checking a website for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) sounds complicated and time-consuming. However, the reality is that with a few quick steps, you can gain a clear picture of how accessible your site really is — without requiring complex development work or extensive knowledge of digital accessibility laws. 

Below, we’ll break down exactly what to look for when checking for ADA compliance, what tools you can use, and simple ways to boost your site’s accessibility.

1. Run a Free Automated Accessibility Scan

The first step to check a website for ADA compliance is with a free accessibility scan. Most free accessibility tools will quickly scan your site and flag common accessibility issues, giving you a high-level look at where your site may not meet ADA standards. This includes issues like missing alt text, low color contrast, mislabeled forms, and broken ARIA attributes. 

Popular accessibility checkers include:

• AudioEye’s Web Accessibility Checker

• WAVE

• Google Lighthouse

• Pa11y

When you get the results from your scan, focus on the errors that block screen readers or prevent navigation. Use those insights to prioritize fixes — we recommend starting with high-traffic pages or pages that prevent users from interacting with your site altogether. 

Remember: Automated tools can only catch some issues. Things like confusing layouts, dynamic content, or unclear labels need testing from accessibility experts and real users with disabilities.

2. Test Keyboard Navigation

Once you’ve run an automated scan, the next step is to test keyboard navigation. This is a simple way to see if users can interact with your site without using a mouse — an essential capability for people with mobility impairments or certain visual disabilities. 

Here’s how to test for keyboard navigation:

• Start by pressing the ‘Tab’ key on your keyboard.

• Navigate through various parts of your content, including buttons, form fields, and menus.

• Ensure a visible focus indicator (usually a visible outline or highlight) clearly shows which element is selected at any given time.

• Use Shift + Tab to move backward through content, ensuring everything is accessible in reverse order.

When performing this test, look for common issues such as:

• Links or buttons that are skipped entirely

• Form fields that are hard to reach or unusable

• Focus indicators that are missing or hard to see

• Drop-downs or modal windows that trap focus

If any of these issues are on your site, you could be blocking keyboard users from interacting with your content (and potentially losing them as a customer altogether), which is a key ADA compliance issue. 

By combining keyboard testing with automated scans, you can identify accessibility issues that tools alone often overlook, providing a clearer picture of your website’s overall accessibility. 

3. Check for Assistive Technology Compatibility

Testing with assistive technology ensures your website works for people with disabilities. Screen readers are the most common tools, reading aloud page content for users with vision impairments. 

Common screen readers include:

• NVDA (Windows)

• JAWS (Windows)

• VoiceOver (iOS and Mac)

• TalkBack (Android)

You can test for assistive technology compatibility by:

• Opening a webpage and start reading with a screen reader.

• Checking that content follows a logical, meaningful order.

• Paying attention to unlabeled buttons, links, or confusing navigation. 

It’s highly recommended to bring in actual assistive technology users or accessibility experts, as they can test dynamic content, such as pop-ups or complex forms, with greater insight. They can also catch issues that basic checks might miss. 

4. Review Color Contrast and Text Readability

Good color contrast and readable text are essential for ADA compliance. Users with vision impairments or color blindness need text that stands out clearly from the background. 

To check for good color contrast:

• Use a color contrast checker (like this one from AudioEye) to ensure contrast ratios are at least 4.5:1 for normal text (this is the recommended ratio under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)).

• Test text color vs. background and font readability (pay attention to size, line spacing, letter spacing, etc.)

One additional best practice to keep in mind: Don’t use color alone to convey information. Use symbols, labels, or text cues in addition to color. For example, instead of using only red text to indicate a form error, combine it with a symbol or text cue. This way, users who can’t distinguish colors still understand there’s an issue. 

5. Verify Alternative Text and Captions

Alternative text (also known as alt text) and captions are both critical components of ADA compliance, as they make visual and audio content accessible to users with disabilities. Screen readers rely on alt text to describe images, and captions ensure that videos are understandable for people with auditory disabilities, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

How to check alt text: 

• Look for images missing alt text or with duplicate descriptions. 

• Ensure alt text is descriptive and meaningful, not just a list of keywords or “image”.

How to check video accessibility:

• Confirm all videos have captions or audio descriptions. 

• Provide transcripts for audio content.

Automated tools, such as AudioEye’s Web Accessibility Checker, are great for flagging these issues. Be sure to supplement this testing with hands-on testing to check for quality and accuracy. 

6. Have an Accessibility Expert Review Your Content

As mentioned above, automated tools are great for catching common accessibility issues; however, more complex barriers can still be present on your site, such as confusing navigation or inaccessible dynamic content (e.g., pop-ups or forms). 

Bringing in an expert can help:

• Identify complex issues that automation alone might miss.

• Ensure your site meets all ADA compliance requirements.

• Receive actionable guidance for fixing problems more efficiently.

Most expert audits include hands-on testing of pages, forms, and interactive content by accessibility experts or users with disabilities, as well as a review of assistive technology compatibility. You may also get a detailed report with recommended fixes and priority items.

For example, AudioEye supplements our automated testing with Expert Audits from our team of certified experts and user testers using a variety of assistive technologies and browsers. We then break down each test performed, what we found, and recommended fixes, helping you create a website that is truly accessible and usable. 

7. Monitor Accessibility Continuously

ADA compliance isn’t a one-time task. Think about how often your website changes — from updates and new content to redesigns. Each one can introduce new accessibility issues, even if your site was compliant yesterday. 

To avoid non-compliance risks, you need to monitor your content continuously. This helps you:

• Keep your website accessible even as content and features evolve.

• Catch issues before they impact your users. 

• Reduces the risk of ADA-related fines, complaints, or lawsuits. 

Here are some simple ways to monitor your site:

• Use automated monitoring tools to track accessibility in real time. 

• Review ongoing reports to identify and fix new issues quickly.

• Combine automation with periodic expert reviews for the most accurate results. 

• Build accessibility checks into your CI/CD processes.

• Establish a culture of accessibility within your organization to bake accessibility into all business processes. 

Stylized web browser with a checklist on the left and a ribbon with the accessibility symbol on the right.

AudioEye: Keeping Your Website ADA Compliant

Maintaining ADA compliance might seem daunting, but it’s much more achievable than you might think. With the right combination of automated tools, expert audits, assistive technology testing, and professional guidance, keeping your website compliant doesn’t have to take a huge amount of time, resources, or money.

And with AudioEye, achieving ADA compliance isn’t just easier — it’s smarter. Our platform expertly combines powerful automation with expert audits and continuous monitoring to navigate ADA compliance with confidence. From automated scans to Expert Audits and Active Monitoring, AudioEye helps you identify issues, fix them efficiently, and ensure every visitor can access your content — giving you peace of mind that your users are happy and your organization is protected.

Ready to see if your website is ADA compliant? Scan your content with AudioEye’s Web Accessibility Checker and get a clear idea of what’s working — and what needs improvement — in just minutes.