Catalog

Accessibility tools

Every tool runs real WCAG 2.2 checks in your browser. No accounts, no telemetry, no AI guesses.

Showing 65 of 65 tools

Accessibility workflow

How to choose the right accessibility tool

Start with structure

Begin with headings, landmarks, forms, links, and keyboard navigation. These checks reveal whether people can understand the page layout, move through controls, and reach the primary task without relying on a mouse.

Validate presentation

After the structure is sound, review color contrast, focus indicators, touch targets, motion, reading level, and media captions. Presentation issues often appear late in design QA, but they can block real users just as much as invalid markup.

Confirm with manual testing

Automated tools are strongest when paired with manual review. Run keyboard-only tests, zoom and reflow checks, and screen-reader passes on the actual task flow before making accessibility or compliance claims.

Why these pages include guidance, examples, and limitations

A11y Lens is built as an educational toolset, not a collection of thin automated widgets. Each tool page combines a working checker or generator with plain-language guidance, WCAG context, example workflows, FAQs, and manual verification notes. This helps readers understand both what the tool can detect and what still requires human judgment.

That distinction matters for accessibility quality and for publisher review. A useful accessibility site should explain methods, limitations, and next steps instead of implying that one automated score guarantees compliance. The catalog is structured to help visitors learn, test, fix, and document accessibility improvements responsibly.

Guide

Digital accessibility tools

A mature accessibility workflow uses several kinds of tools together. Automated scanners catch repeatable code defects, assistive technology reveals the real user experience, and governance tools keep accessibility from becoming a last-minute task.

Automated page scanners

Examples: A11y Lens, WAVE, axe DevTools, Lighthouse, ARC Toolkit

What it covers
Best for fast checks against repeatable rules: missing text alternatives, low contrast, invalid ARIA, duplicate ids, missing labels, heading structure, landmarks, and common form issues.
When to use it
Run during design QA, local development, pull-request review, and before release. Treat results as a starting point for manual verification.

Site-wide monitoring platforms

Examples: Siteimprove, Pope Tech, Deque axe Monitor, Accessibility Cloud, Monsido

What it covers
Crawl many pages, track trends, assign issues, export reports, and help teams manage accessibility debt across templates, content, and product areas.
When to use it
Use for large public sites, regulated programs, content-heavy estates, or any team that needs recurring compliance evidence.

Developer linting and CI tools

Examples: axe-core, jest-axe, Playwright + axe, Pa11y CI, eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y

What it covers
Catch accessibility defects where code changes happen: component markup, ARIA attributes, keyboard traps, color tokens, form labels, and regression-prone UI states.
When to use it
Add to component tests, end-to-end smoke tests, pull requests, and design-system packages so accessibility checks run before code ships.

Keyboard and focus testing

Examples: Browser DevTools, A11y Lens keyboard tools, Accessibility Insights, manual tab testing

What it covers
Verifies tab order, visible focus, skip links, modal focus management, escape behavior, focus return, roving tabindex, and keyboard-only task completion.
When to use it
Use on every interactive flow. Automated tools can flag patterns, but real keyboard testing confirms whether a task is actually usable.

Screen readers and assistive tech

Examples: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, TalkBack, Narrator, ZoomText

What it covers
Reveal the real spoken experience: accessible names, roles, state changes, reading order, live regions, form errors, headings, tables, dialogs, and custom widgets.
When to use it
Test critical journeys with the assistive technologies your audience uses. Pair screen-reader testing with keyboard checks, not mouse-only demos.

Design and content review tools

Examples: Stark, Figma accessibility plugins, contrast analyzers, readability analyzers, content style guides

What it covers
Help designers and writers catch contrast, type scale, color-only meaning, motion, reading level, alt-text planning, focus states, and error-message quality before implementation.
When to use it
Use before development starts, during design handoff, and when auditing copy-heavy pages or reusable components.

Document and PDF accessibility tools

Examples: Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker, PAC, axesPDF, CommonLook PDF, Microsoft Office checker

What it covers
Check tags, reading order, headings, table headers, language, document title, link purpose, alt text, form fields, bookmarks, and PDF/UA readiness.
When to use it
Use for policies, reports, forms, brochures, invoices, and any downloadable content that users may navigate with assistive technology.

Media captioning and transcript tools

Examples: WebVTT validators, YouTube captions, Amara, 3Play Media, Descript

What it covers
Support captions, transcripts, audio descriptions, timing checks, speaker labels, sound-effect notation, and media-player control accessibility.
When to use it
Use for training videos, webinars, product demos, podcasts, livestreams, and embedded media players.

Mobile accessibility tools

Examples: Accessibility Scanner, Xcode Accessibility Inspector, Android Studio, axe DevTools Mobile

What it covers
Test touch targets, labels, traits, dynamic type, screen-reader order, orientation, contrast, gestures, focus order, and native control semantics.
When to use it
Use for iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, and mobile web flows where touch, zoom, and platform assistive tech change the experience.

Manual audits and user research

Examples: Expert WCAG audits, assistive-technology testing, moderated usability sessions

What it covers
Finds issues automation misses: confusing instructions, inaccessible task design, cognitive load, visual hierarchy, error recovery, timing, and real-world workflow barriers.
When to use it
Use for high-risk journeys, procurement, conformance claims, redesigns, and products serving people with disabilities directly.

AI-assisted remediation

Examples: Code suggestions, alt-text drafts, issue clustering, guided fixes

What it covers
Can speed up triage and draft fixes, but outputs still need human review against WCAG, product context, and actual assistive-technology behavior.
When to use it
Use to accelerate repetitive work, then verify with deterministic checks, manual review, and user-centered testing.

Governance and compliance systems

Examples: VPAT/ACR tooling, issue trackers, design-system docs, accessibility statements

What it covers
Connects test results to ownership, policy, procurement, release gates, training, exceptions, risk tracking, and public accessibility commitments.
When to use it
Use when accessibility needs to be managed as an ongoing program instead of a one-time audit.

Practical testing stack

Start with browser and CI scanners, add keyboard and screen-reader testing for critical flows, include design/content reviews before build, and use monitoring or governance tools when the site is large enough to need ownership, trend reporting, and release discipline.

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