Website accessibility is about people: customers who want to find information, move around your pages and finish what they came to do, whether that's booking, buying or getting in touch. If you're looking into it for your business, you're already doing something good for the people you serve.
A single product rarely covers every need. You may care about price, how much of the work is automated and how much is done by people, whether someone will fix issues in your site's code, and what support looks like afterward. The right mix depends on your site and how much help you want from a team. Here's a plain guide to the options.
What automated tools can and can't do
Automated tools are useful. They help you find and identify common issues quickly, like missing image descriptions, low color contrast or form fields without labels. They're a good way to see where to start.
But they can't check everything. The W3C, which writes the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), says it plainly: "Tools cannot check all accessibility aspects automatically. Human judgement is required." (W3C, Selecting Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools)
Questions like "Does this image description make sense?" or "Can I use this whole page with just a keyboard?" need a person to answer them.
The same goes for a visitor toolbar. A toolbar lets visitors adjust things like text size and contrast, and that helps them. It doesn't replace fixing your site. Your site is made of its own code: menus, forms, images, buttons and checkout pages. When something in that code gets in someone's way, the lasting answer is to change the code itself.
When a manual audit helps
A manual audit is a person checking your site by hand, the way real visitors use it. It's worth considering when:
- Your site has forms, booking, a shop or a checkout that customers need to finish.
- An automated scan found issues and you'd like to know what matters most.
- A customer told you something on your site was hard to use.
- You're redesigning or launching a site and want to get it right from the start.
A good audit tells you what's getting in people's way, where it is and what to change. Then the next step is making those changes.
What WebMax includes
- A free one-page scan. Our scanner at webmax.co/audit runs an automated, partial check of one page you choose against WCAG rules. It helps you find issues on that page. It doesn't replace a full audit or fixing your site.
- A visitor toolbar. It helps visitors adjust how your pages look and read. It doesn't replace fixing your site.
- Real people. Our team can do a manual audit, fix the issues we find in your site's own code, and stay with you for ongoing support.
- Tools built in-house. Our scanner, toolbar and monitoring tools are built by WebMax. We don't resell another company's product, so when you have a question, you're talking to the people who made it.
- Small-business pricing. Plans are Starter at $19, Business at $49 and Pro at $99 a month, or $190, $490 and $990 a year. The scanner is free.
How to choose what you need next
There's no single right answer, so start with your site and your time:
- Just getting started? Run a free scan on your most important page, like your home page or your booking page, and look at what it finds.
- Want something for visitors today? Add the toolbar, and keep in mind it works alongside fixing your site, not instead of it.
- Have forms, a shop or a lot of pages? A manual audit shows what an automated check can't, and our team can fix what we find.
- Don't have time to manage it yourself? Ongoing support means you have people to ask when your site changes or a question comes up.
Whatever you choose, ask any provider the same simple questions: What does this tool check, and what doesn't it? Who fixes the issues? Who do I talk to afterward?
Start with a free scan
See what an automated check finds on one page of your site. It's free, and it's a clear first step. If you'd like a person to take a closer look, our team is here to help.