How to Check WCAG 2.1 AA Compliance

Start with an automated scan using ComplyKeep. Enter your website URL and the scanner will crawl your pages, testing each one against all WCAG 2.1 AA criteria. The free plan covers up to 20 pages.

• ComplyKeep checks: color contrast, alt text, heading order, form labels, landmarks, ARIA, link text, page titles, document language
• Review the report and note issues by severity: critical, serious, moderate, minor
• Download or print the full report for your development team

The scan report categorizes every issue by severity. Address them in this order:

• Critical: Issues that completely block access (missing form labels, no keyboard navigation, no main landmark)
• Serious: Issues that significantly impact usability (missing alt text on key images, incorrect ARIA)
• Moderate: Issues that affect some users (color contrast below 4.5:1, heading order violations)
• Minor: Issues that are best practice (missing skip links, vague link text)

WCAG 2.1 AA requires a minimum color contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (18pt or 14pt bold). ComplyKeep identifies every element that fails this threshold.

• Check all text against backgrounds, including text on buttons, badges, and overlays
• Use WebAIM Contrast Checker to test specific color combinations
• Common fix: darken text colors, lighten backgrounds, or both

All informative images must have descriptive alt text. Decorative images should have empty alt attributes (alt="").

• Informative images: describe what the image conveys (e.g., "Chart showing 30% growth in Q2")
• Decorative images: use alt="" so screen readers skip them
• Functional images: describe the action (e.g., "Search" for a magnifying glass icon)
• ComplyKeep flags all images missing alt text or with placeholder text like "image"

Headings must only increase by one level. Never skip from h1 to h3. Use one h1 per page.

• h1: Page title (one per page)
• h2: Major sections
• h3: Subsections within h2 sections
• h4-h6: Further nesting if needed
• ComplyKeep detects heading order violations across all scanned pages

Unplug your mouse and navigate the entire site using only the keyboard. This tests WCAG 2.1 AA criteria 2.1.1 (Keyboard) and 2.1.2 (No Keyboard Trap).

• Use Tab to move forward, Shift+Tab to move backward
• Use Enter to activate links and buttons
• Use Space for checkboxes and form buttons
• Use arrow keys for sliders, tabs, and custom widgets
• Verify every interactive element is reachable and functional
• Check that focus indicators are visible (not removed via CSS outline:none)
• Ensure modals and overlays can be closed with Escape

Install a screen reader and navigate your site as a blind user would. This reveals issues that automated tools cannot detect.

• NVDA (free, Windows): nvaccess.org/download
• VoiceOver (built into Mac): Press Cmd+F5 to enable
• TalkBack (built into Android): Settings → Accessibility
• Verify: page title is read, headings are announced correctly, form labels are read, links have descriptive text, images have alt text, landmarks are announced

After fixing all identified issues, run another ComplyKeep scan to verify everything is resolved. Set up ongoing monitoring to catch new issues.

• Run a full scan after every significant content or design change
• Minimum: quarterly scans
• Ideal: weekly automated rescans with Monitor Pro (€79/month)
• Document your compliance efforts for legal protection