ADA Compliance Checker for Websites

ADA website lawsuits aren't slowing down. In 2025, over 4,000 lawsuits were filed against businesses for inaccessible websites — and that number has been climbing year over year. The targets aren't just Fortune 500 companies. Small businesses, restaurants, local shops, and SaaS startups are getting hit.

The standard that courts reference? WCAG 2.1 Level AA. If your site doesn't meet it, you're exposed.

Today we're launching the ADA Accessibility Audit — a new API endpoint that scans any URL against the full WCAG 2.1 AA standard and tells you exactly what's broken, how to fix it, and whether you're at risk.

How Does the Accessibility Audit Work?

The endpoint uses axe-core, the same accessibility engine used by Google, Microsoft, and the US Department of Homeland Security. It's the industry standard for automated WCAG testing.

When you call the endpoint, we:

1. Load your page in a headless browser (so we see what your users see, including JavaScript-rendered content)
2. Inject axe-core and run the full WCAG 2.1 AA ruleset
3. Analyze violations by severity (critical, serious, moderate, minor)
4. Assess your lawsuit risk based on which specific rules are failing
5. Return a structured report with fix suggestions for every issue

curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  "https://seoscoreapi.com/audit/accessibility?url=https://example.com"

What Do You Get Back?

The response includes everything you need to prioritize and fix accessibility issues:

Overall Score & Grade

A 0-100 score with a letter grade (A+ through F). This gives you an at-a-glance view of where you stand.

Lawsuit Risk Assessment

This is the part that matters for business owners. We flag violations that are commonly cited in ADA lawsuits and give you a risk level:

• High — Multiple critical barriers detected. You have significant compliance gaps that are actively targeted by plaintiffs.
• Medium — Some barriers found that could expose you to complaints. Remediation recommended.
• Low — Minor issues. Low lawsuit risk but fixes recommended for full compliance.
• Minimal — No WCAG 2.1 AA violations detected.

Category Breakdowns

Every violation is organized into clear categories:

Fix Suggestions

Each violation comes with:

• The specific HTML elements that are failing
• Which WCAG criterion is violated (e.g., WCAG 1.4.3 for contrast)
• A concrete fix suggestion
• A link to the full documentation for that rule

Which Violations Get You Sued?

Not all accessibility violations carry equal legal risk. Based on actual lawsuit filings, these are the issues that plaintiffs target most often:

1. Missing image alt text — The #1 cited violation in ADA lawsuits. Screen readers can't describe images without alt attributes.
2. Missing form labels — Users who navigate by screen reader can't tell what a form field is for.
3. Insufficient color contrast — Text that's hard to read for users with low vision.
4. No skip navigation — Keyboard users are forced to tab through every link on the page before reaching content.
5. Empty link/button text — Interactive elements with no accessible name.
6. Missing document language — Screen readers don't know what language to use for pronunciation.
7. Missing video captions — Deaf and hard-of-hearing users can't access video content.

Our audit flags all of these specifically in the lawsuit_risk.high_risk_violations array so you can prioritize them.

We Ate Our Own Dog Food

Before launching this feature, we ran the audit on our own site. The results weren't perfect:

• Color contrast failures — Our accent blue (#3b82f6) on dark backgrounds had a 3.67:1 ratio. WCAG requires 4.5:1.
• Links indistinguishable from text — Links in body text relied only on color to stand out. Users with color blindness couldn't tell them apart.
• Nested ARIA landmarks — An <aside> element was nested inside a <section>, confusing screen readers.

We fixed all three:

• Switched to a two-tone blue system: darker #2563eb for button backgrounds (white text on top), lighter #60a5fa for text on dark surfaces
• Added underlines to all in-text links
• Replaced the misused <aside> with a <div>

Our score went from 71 (C) to 100 (A+) — zero violations.

The point: even developers who care about accessibility miss things. Automated scanning catches what human eyes don't.

Pricing

ADA accessibility audits are available on all paid plans:

Python Example

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://seoscoreapi.com/audit/accessibility",
    params={"url": "https://example.com"},
    headers={"X-API-Key": "YOUR_KEY"},
)
result = resp.json()

print(f"Score: {result['score']} ({result['grade']})")
print(f"Lawsuit Risk: {result['lawsuit_risk']['level']}")

for priority in result["priorities"]:
    print(f"  [{priority['severity']}] {priority['issue']}")
    print(f"    Fix: {priority['fix'][:100]}")

Node.js Example

const resp = await fetch(
  "https://seoscoreapi.com/audit/accessibility?url=https://example.com",
  { headers: { "X-API-Key": "YOUR_KEY" } }
);
const result = await resp.json();

console.log(`Score: ${result.score} (${result.grade})`);
console.log(`Lawsuit Risk: ${result.lawsuit_risk.level}`);

result.priorities.forEach(p => {
  console.log(`  [${p.severity}] ${p.issue}`);
});

Who Is This For?

• Agencies managing client websites who need to prove compliance
• E-commerce businesses that are prime targets for ADA lawsuits
• SaaS companies that want to build accessibility into CI/CD
• Legal teams that need documentation of compliance efforts
• Developers building accessible applications from the start

Get Started

Sign up for a free API key at seoscoreapi.com, upgrade to any paid plan, and start scanning. One API call gives you a complete WCAG 2.1 AA audit with prioritized fixes.

Don't wait for the demand letter. Scan now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does ADA compliance mean for websites?

ADA compliance for websites means meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards so that users with disabilities can fully access your content. Courts have consistently ruled that websites are "places of public accommodation" under the Americans with Disabilities Act, making inaccessible sites a legal liability for businesses of all sizes.

What does the accessibility audit check?

The audit runs the full WCAG 2.1 AA ruleset via axe-core against your live, JavaScript-rendered page. It checks images and alt text, form labels, color contrast ratios, keyboard navigation, ARIA attributes, document structure, links and buttons, tables, audio/video captions, and viewport zoom restrictions — categorized by severity from critical to minor.

How many ADA audits are included per plan?

ADA accessibility audits are included on all paid plans: Starter ($5/mo) includes 5 audits/month, Basic ($15/mo) includes 20, Pro ($39/mo) includes 100, and Ultra ($99/mo) includes 500. The free tier does not include accessibility audits — a paid plan is required to access the /audit/accessibility endpoint.

Which WCAG guidelines does the audit test?

The audit tests against WCAG 2.1 Level AA — the standard referenced by courts in ADA lawsuits and required by most government accessibility policies. This includes all Level A and Level AA success criteria across four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Level AAA criteria are noted but not scored.

How do you fix the most common accessibility failures?

The fastest fixes: add alt attributes to all images, associate every form input with a <label>, increase text contrast to at least 4.5:1 (use a darker foreground color), add a "Skip to main content" link as the first focusable element, and set the lang attribute on your <html> tag. These five changes resolve the majority of high-risk ADA violations most sites face.