MyClawn WCAG Audit › WCAG compliance
WCAG compliance: what it takes, and how to prove you did the work
WCAG compliance means your pages meet every Level A and AA success criterion of the version your law or contract names. This page covers which version that is, how a site is actually tested, what testing costs, and what you should have in hand at the end.
Which WCAG version applies to you
WCAG is a technical standard from the W3C. It has no legal force by itself; laws and contracts point to a version and a level. Level AA is the one almost all of them name.
| Who you are | Rule | Version named |
|---|---|---|
| US state or local government, or a contractor running a service for one | ADA Title II web rule | WCAG 2.1 AA, by April 26, 2027 or April 26, 2028 depending on population (details) |
| Selling software or web services to US federal agencies | Section 508 | WCAG 2.0 A and AA (details) |
| Private US business with a public website | ADA Title III, no technical rule written into it | WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA is the yardstick used in practice (details) |
| Selling to buyers who ask for a VPAT | Procurement contract | Whatever the buyer names, usually 2.1 or 2.2 AA (details) |
WCAG 2.2 keeps the criteria of 2.1 and 2.0, with one removal (4.1.1 Parsing, now obsolete). A site tested against 2.2 AA is therefore tested against the older two as well, which is why we test against 2.2 AA by default.
What a site is tested for
WCAG 2.2 has 55 success criteria at Level A and AA. Each one is a yes-or-no question about a page as delivered to the visitor, not about your theme or your platform. They fall into four groups:
- Perceivable: images have text alternatives, text has enough contrast (4.5:1 for normal text), content still works at 200% zoom and at phone width, video has captions.
- Operable: everything works with a keyboard alone, focus is visible and never trapped, targets are at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels, nothing depends on dragging.
- Understandable: form fields have labels, errors are explained in text, navigation is consistent, logging in does not depend on a memory test.
- Robust: every button, link and field exposes a name, a role and a state that assistive technology can read.
Some of these a machine can decide alone (a missing label, a contrast ratio). Others need judgement (is this alt text meaningful, does this error message help). A few need a person using a screen reader. A good audit says which is which.
Paste your address and see what fails WCAG 2.2 AA, where, and the code that fixes it. Starter $39/mo · Pro $129/mo. Refund within 14 days if it misses.
Check my siteScan, audit, widget: three different things
| Approach | What it does | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| Free scanner | Runs rules against the page code, one page at a time | Published estimates put automated rule coverage at roughly a quarter of the criteria, or 30 to 40 percent of issues. No keyboard test, no fixes written for your code, no record over time |
| Overlay widget | Adds a script that tries to patch the page in the visitor's browser | Your code stays as it is. In January 2025 the FTC announced an order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million over claims that its plug-in could make any website WCAG compliant |
| Manual audit by a specialist firm | People test key pages by keyboard and screen reader and write a findings report | Thorough, and priced for it: one firm lists $1,250 to $2,750 with a 1 to 2 week turnaround. Usually one-off, so the report ages as the site changes |
| MyClawn WCAG Audit | Drives a real browser through up to 10 pages each month: rules, keyboard walk, zoom, measured contrast, announced names, alt-text and heading review. Fixes written as code | No human screen-reader session. The report lists the checks that still need one, with steps |
What you should hold at the end
Buyers in the job posts we read ask for the same things in almost the same words: an audit report listing issues, WCAG criteria, severity and pages affected; a concrete fix for each; a retest after the fixes with a dated log; and an accessibility statement. One owner put the reason plainly: a documented audit as proof of the work, to confirm the site works and to limit liability.
That is the set we deliver each month:
- A report with every A and AA criterion marked pass, fail, not applicable or needs a human check.
- An issue sheet: page, element, screenshot, criterion, severity, who it stops, steps to reproduce, fix.
- The fixes as code: corrected HTML, a CSS file for contrast and focus, alt text for images that lack it.
- An accessibility statement ready to publish.
- A dated retest log from the second month on.
You can see the first part for your own site now: paste your address and the free check tests that page.
Questions
Is WCAG compliance a legal requirement?
WCAG itself is a standard, not a law. Laws and contracts adopt it: ADA Title II names WCAG 2.1 AA for US state and local governments, Section 508 uses WCAG 2.0 A and AA for federal purchasing, and private-sector claims under ADA Title III use WCAG AA as the practical yardstick.
Does WCAG 2.2 compliance cover WCAG 2.1?
Yes in practice. WCAG 2.2 contains the 2.1 criteria, adds nine and removes one (4.1.1 Parsing, which the W3C calls obsolete). A page that meets 2.2 AA meets 2.1 AA.
Can a tool make my site compliant automatically?
No. Tools find a part of the problems, and nothing that runs in the visitor's browser repairs your page code. Compliance comes from fixing the code and content, then testing again.
How long does it take?
The free check of one page takes about a minute. The full monthly audit of up to 10 pages is delivered the same day. How long the fixes take depends on who edits your site; most issues on small sites are contrast, alt text, labels and focus styles.
Paste your address and see what fails WCAG 2.2 AA, where, and the code that fixes it. Starter $39/mo · Pro $129/mo. Refund within 14 days if it misses.
Check my siteMore about WCAG Audit
Sources (checked 2026-11-11): www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-22/ · www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/ · www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-order-requires · accessible.org/services/audits/ · accessible.org/wcag-audit-questions/ · testpros.com/accessibility/wcag-audit/