Free accessibility checker
Paste the address of any public page, such as a Shopify product page. We check it against the WCAG 2.2 AA rules a machine can test and explain each problem in plain words, with who can fix it.
What the free check looks for
The checker reads the page code and runs axe-core, the open source testing engine made by Deque, with the rules for WCAG (the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.2 levels A and AA. It finds the problems that turn up most on online stores:
- images with no alt text (a short description of an image for people who cannot see it)
- icon buttons and links with no name, such as cart, menu, search and social icons
- form fields with no label, such as newsletter and search boxes
- a missing page language or page title
- screen reader code (ARIA) that is broken, and zoom turned off on phones
Each result says who it affects, how to fix it on Shopify and who can do the fix: you in the Shopify admin, a theme setting, or a developer.
How can I check if a website is ADA compliant?
No tool can tell you a website is ADA compliant, and there is no official ADA certificate. Courts and settlements use WCAG 2.1 AA as the yardstick. Start with an automated check like this one, then use the page with only a keyboard and with a screen reader, and fix what you find.
For a Shopify store, test the pages a shopper needs to buy: the home page, a collection, a product page and the cart. Shopify runs checkout, so you cannot change its code, but you choose its colours and logo.
How can I test the accessibility of a website?
Use three kinds of test. Each one finds problems the others miss.
- An automated check. Run this checker on your key pages. It takes seconds and finds the common problems in the code.
- A keyboard test. Put the mouse away. Press Tab to move through the page and Enter or Space to use buttons. You should always see where you are, open and close the menu, pick a variant and add to cart.
- A screen reader test. Turn on VoiceOver on a Mac or iPhone, or the free NVDA on Windows. Listen to a product page. Do the images, buttons and price make sense read aloud?
Write down what you test and when. A dated record of tests and fixes is useful if a customer or a lawyer ever asks what you have done.
What an automated checker cannot find
Automated checks find some problems, not all. In a 2021 study of its own audits, Deque found that automated tests caught about 57% of issues by volume, but could test only about 16 of the 50 WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria (Deque, March 10, 2021). The rest need a person.
This free check has extra limits because it reads code on our server instead of opening the page in a browser. It does not measure colour contrast, does not run the page's scripts, and does not see content that apps load later, such as reviews, chat widgets and pop-ups.
Contrast is checked separately
ADA, AODA and EAA: which WCAG version we check against
We check against WCAG 2.2 level AA. It includes every level AA rule from WCAG 2.0 and 2.1, so one check covers what each of these laws points to.
ADA, Title III
United States
WCAG version it points toNo technical rule for private sites. Courts and settlements use WCAG 2.1 AA.
AODA
Ontario, 50 or more employees
WCAG version it points toWCAG 2.0 AA, except live captions and audio description.
European Accessibility Act
Stores selling to EU consumers
WCAG version it points toEN 301 549, which uses WCAG 2.1 AA today. Version 4.1.1 (September 2, 2026) moves to WCAG 2.2 once it is cited in the EU Official Journal.
| Law | Where | WCAG version it points to |
|---|---|---|
| ADA, Title III | United States | No technical rule for private sites. Courts and settlements use WCAG 2.1 AA. |
| AODA | Ontario, 50 or more employees | WCAG 2.0 AA, except live captions and audio description. |
| European Accessibility Act | Stores selling to EU consumers | EN 301 549, which uses WCAG 2.1 AA today. Version 4.1.1 (September 2, 2026) moves to WCAG 2.2 once it is cited in the EU Official Journal. |
More detail: ADA website compliance, AODA, the European Accessibility Act and our EAA checklist. How we test a whole store is on the methodology page.
Checker questions
Can I be sued for my website not being ADA compliant?
Yes. A customer who cannot use your store can sue under Title III of the ADA, and law firms file thousands of these suits every year. Seyfarth Shaw counted 3,117 in federal court in 2025, up 27% on 2024 (March 25, 2026). Being small or online only does not stop a suit from being filed.
Does ADA compliance apply to websites?
Usually, yes. Many US courts treat business websites as covered by Title III of the ADA, even though the Department of Justice has no technical rule for private sites. Settlements and courts use WCAG 2.1 AA as the yardstick.
Is the checker free, and do you keep my address?
It is free and needs no sign-up. Our server fetches the page once to run the check. We do not save the address or the results, and they are not added to the page link. You can run 10 checks every 10 minutes.
Can it check a password-protected Shopify store?
No. It sees what a visitor without the password sees, so on a store that is still password protected it checks the password page. Check a live store, or a development store with the password turned off.
Why does it not check colour contrast?
Contrast depends on your theme's stylesheets, fonts and background images, and measuring it reliably needs a real browser. Rather than guess, this free check leaves contrast out. Use our contrast checker for your theme colours.
If no problems are found, is my page accessible?
Not necessarily. An automated check finds the problems a machine can see in the page code. A person still has to test keyboard use, screen reader output, the meaning of alt text and video captions.
Sources
- Deque, Automated testing study identifies 57 percent of digital accessibility issues, March 10, 2021
- axe-core rule descriptions (version 4.14)
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2
- Seyfarth Shaw, Federal court website accessibility lawsuit filings bounce back in 2025, March 25, 2026
- U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, March 18, 2022
- Ontario, How to make websites accessible, updated September 21, 2026
- Deque, EN 301 549 v4.1.1 is final, 2026
This page explains the law in general terms. It is not legal advice. For advice about your business, speak with a lawyer.
Check your whole store, not one page.
Early access stores get a free scan of every page and a call with our team to go through it.
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