← Blog

ADA Compliance Checker: Scan Your Website for Accessibility Lawsuits Before They Happen

We launched an ADA / WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit endpoint. Scan any URL for accessibility violations, get a lawsuit risk assessment, and fix issues before they become legal problems.

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 It Works

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 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:

Category Breakdowns

Every violation is organized into clear categories:

Category What It Checks
Images & Alt Text Missing or redundant alt attributes on images
Forms & Labels Unlabeled form inputs, missing select names
Color Contrast Text-to-background contrast ratios (4.5:1 minimum)
Keyboard & Navigation Skip links, tab order, focusable regions
ARIA Attributes Valid roles, required attributes, proper nesting
Document Structure Lang attribute, heading hierarchy, landmarks
Links & Buttons Empty links, unnamed buttons, duplicate IDs
Tables Missing headers, scope attributes
Audio & Video Captions, autoplay controls
Viewport & Zoom Meta viewport restrictions that block zooming

Fix Suggestions

Each violation comes with:

The Checks That 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:

We fixed all three:

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:

Plan ADA Audits/Month Price
Starter 5 $5/mo
Basic 20 $15/mo
Pro 100 $39/mo
Ultra 500 $99/mo

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 This Is For

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.

Try SEO Score API free

Get Free API Key