Awe CheckHow to check a website’s accessibility: WCAG in plain words
Image alt text, contrast, labelled forms, zoom: what to check in a site’s accessibility and what an automated scan cannot see.
Checked against sources: 8 October 2026
- WCAG 2.2the current accessibility standard
- 4.5 to 1minimum text contrast, level AA
- 3conformance levels: A, AA, AAA
The short answer
An accessible site can be used by people with poor sight, without a mouse, with a screen reader. There is one benchmark, the international standard WCAG 2.2. An automated scan catches roughly a third of its requirements: alt text and field labels, heading order, button names, a ban on zoom on phones. The rest needs a human. Awe Check covers the first part for free.
What an automated scan sees
- Images have descriptions (alt), decorative ones an empty alt.
- Form fields have labels, buttons have names, embedded frames have titles.
- Headings go in order, with no skipped levels.
- Link text makes sense on its own: not “click here”.
- The page can be zoomed on a phone: scaling is not blocked.
What to check by hand
- Text contrast against the background: at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text (level AA).
- The whole site works from the keyboard, focus is visible, no traps.
- Screen readers read the page in a sensible order and it is clear what is in focus.
- Videos have captions, animations can be stopped.
Why it matters for business
An accessible site is easier for everyone: in bright sun, with one hand, on a slow connection. In the EU and US accessibility is set out in law, and attention to it is growing in Kazakhstan and Russia. Some fixes, like image alt text, also help search and AI read the site.
The limits of an automated scan
Awe Check does not replace a full accessibility audit and does not issue a WCAG conformance certificate. It shows the main errors a robot can see and the page where each was found, so you can start with the easy ones.
Frequently asked
How do I check a website’s accessibility online?
Enter the address in Awe Check: it finds images without descriptions, fields without labels, heading gaps and blocked zoom. For a full check add a manual pass with a keyboard and a screen reader.
What is WCAG?
The international web content accessibility standard from W3C. The current version is 2.2, with conformance levels A, AA and AAA. In practice most aim for AA.
What text contrast is enough?
At least 4.5 to 1 for normal text and 3 to 1 for large text (level AA).
Will an accessibility plugin replace manual work?
No. Overlays fix only part of the problems automatically; the main things, page structure and labels, stay on the site.
