Performing a quick accessibility scan of your website is a great first step toward understanding how inclusive your digital experience is. While it won’t catch every issue, an automated scan can highlight obvious barriers and help prioritise fixes.
Why run a quick scan?
- Identify low-hanging issues – Automated tools can flag common problems like missing alt text, colour contrast failures and form label mismatches.
- Establish a baseline – A scan gives you a snapshot of where you stand today, which helps measure progress over time.
- Educate your team – Seeing real issues in your own pages increases awareness and engagement.
Choosing the right tools
Several free tools make it easy to run an accessibility scan directly in your browser:
- WAVE – A browser extension from WebAIM that overlays icons and errors onto your page.
- Axe DevTools – A Chrome and Firefox extension providing detailed issue descriptions and references to WCAG.
- Lighthouse – Built into Chrome DevTools; includes an accessibility audit alongside performance and SEO checks.
- Accessibility Insights – Microsoft’s suite of tools with FastPass for quick checks and Assessment mode for deeper testing.
All of these tools can be installed as extensions and run on any page you visit.
Step-by-step process
- Pick representative pages – Select a handful of pages that cover your main templates and user journeys (e.g., homepage, product page, checkout).
- Run the scan – Open the chosen page, launch your preferred tool and start the audit. Review the list of errors and warnings.
- Review issues – Focus on high-impact items like missing labels, contrast errors and keyboard traps. Click each issue to see where it occurs and guidance on how to fix it.
- Fix and retest – Work with your designers and developers to correct the issues. After changes are deployed, rerun the scan to verify improvements.
- Document your findings – Keep a simple log of what was detected, how you resolved it and any limitations you noted.
Understand the limitations
Automated tools catch about 20–40% of accessibility issues. They are excellent for spotting technical errors, but they cannot judge context, keyboard usability, focus order or the clarity of link and button text. Manual testing (including keyboard navigation and screen reader use) is still essential.
Next steps
After completing a quick scan, plan a more comprehensive evaluation. This may include manual testing with assistive technologies, user testing with people with disabilities, and a full WCAG audit. A quick scan is a starting point—not a finish line.
Conclusion
Running a free accessibility scan empowers you to catch obvious issues quickly and build momentum for more thorough remediation. For a detailed review aligned to WCAG 2.2 and actionable recommendations, request an accessibility audit.