ADA Website Compliance Checklist: What to Check on Your Site

The short answer

There is no official government checklist for ADA website compliance. In practice, courts, agencies and auditors measure websites against WCAG, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, usually at the AA level. The checklist below follows WCAG 2.2 AA and groups the checks by what you can review yourself and what needs a deeper audit.

This is a practical guide, not legal advice. If you have received a demand letter or a complaint, talk to a lawyer as well as a developer.

If you are still working out whether the ADA applies to you at all, start with Is my website ADA compliant? and come back here for the checklist.

Content and images

• Every meaningful image has alt text that describes what it shows or does. Decorative images have empty alt text so screen readers skip them.
• Images of text are avoided. Real text scales, translates and reads aloud. Text inside an image does not.
• Headings follow a logical order: one H1 per page, then H2s and H3s in sequence. Do not pick heading levels for their size.
• Link text makes sense on its own. "Read our pricing" is clear. "Click here" is not.
• Pages have unique, descriptive titles, and the page language is set in the code.

Color and visual design

• Body text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background. Large text needs at least 3:1.
• Buttons, form borders and icons that carry meaning have at least 3:1 contrast.
• Color is never the only signal. A required field or an error needs text or an icon too, not just red.
• The page still works when zoomed to 200 percent, and content reflows on a narrow screen without sideways scrolling.

Keyboard and navigation

Put your mouse away and try to use your site with only the Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and arrow keys. This one test finds a large share of real problems.

• Every link, button, menu and form field can be reached and used with a keyboard.
• A visible focus outline shows where you are on the page at all times.
• Menus, pop-ups and modals can be opened and closed with the keyboard, and focus does not get trapped.
• A "skip to content" link lets keyboard users jump past the navigation.
• Nothing flashes more than three times a second, and moving content like sliders can be paused.

Forms

• Every field has a visible label tied to it in the code. Placeholder text alone is not a label.
• Errors are described in text, explain how to fix the problem, and are announced to screen readers.
• Required fields are marked clearly, and the form does not time out without warning.
• CAPTCHAs have an accessible alternative, or are replaced with a less intrusive check.

Video, audio and documents

• Videos have accurate captions, not just auto-generated ones you have never reviewed.
• Audio-only content, like a podcast, has a transcript.
• Video does not autoplay with sound.
• PDFs and other downloads are tagged and readable by screen readers, or the same content is available as a web page.

Structure, timing and motion

• Pages use proper landmarks, like header, navigation, main and footer, so screen reader users can jump between sections.
• Lists are marked up as lists and data tables have header cells, so their structure is announced correctly.
• Any time limit, like a session timeout, can be extended or turned off.
• Animations respect the visitor's reduced-motion setting where possible.
• Touch targets, like buttons and links on mobile, are large enough to tap without hitting the wrong one.

Keep it compliant after launch

Accessibility is not a one-time project. Every new page, image, PDF and video can add a new issue. Give your editors a short checklist: write alt text, use real headings, caption videos, and check contrast on any new colors. Then review your key pages at least once a year and after any redesign.

What you can check yourself, and what needs an expert

You can do a useful first pass in an afternoon: the keyboard test, a contrast checker, a look at your alt text and headings, and a free automated scanner. That will catch the obvious issues.

Automated tools only catch part of the problem, though. They cannot tell whether alt text is accurate, whether a screen reader announces a menu correctly, or whether a checkout flow can actually be completed without a mouse. That takes manual testing with assistive technology.

A note on overlay widgets: tools that promise one-line compliance do not fix the underlying code, and they do not make a site WCAG conformant. We do not recommend relying on them.

What to fix first

Start with the pages that matter most to your visitors and your business: the home page, contact and booking forms, and anything involved in a purchase or donation. Fix keyboard traps, missing form labels and low contrast first, because those block people completely. Then work through images, headings and documents.

Nonprofits and organizations that receive federal funding often face stricter requirements. We cover that in nonprofit website accessibility.

What an audit costs

Our accessibility audits start at $1,500. We test your site manually against WCAG 2.2 AA, give you a prioritized report, and can fix the issues and re-test so you end up with a site that actually conforms, not just a list of problems.

Next step

Run the keyboard test on your home page today. If it turns up problems, or you want a documented audit you can stand behind, request an accessibility audit and we will scope it with a fixed price.