At Equalize Digital, we envision a world where, one day, all people will have equal access to information and tools on the internet, regardless of ability. We know that hiring an accessibility company to thoroughly audit and remediate website accessibility problems can be financially challenging for businesses, especially in 2020.
This year, our team put a lot of thought into how we can make web accessibility feel more within reach for small businesses. With this goal in mind, we are excited to roll out two new options for making your website accessible, which are perfect for organizations with a limited budget or those that prefer to manage their audit process in-house.
Accessibility Checker
Accessibility Checker is a WordPress plugin that provides easy to understand accessibility error and warning notifications right on your post and page edit screens.
Automatically scan your content each time you save a draft or hit publish and receive real-time feedback on your post’s or page’s accessibility. No waiting for an external scan to run or relying on expensive third-party APIs with per page or per scan fees.
Features
Accessibility Checker is the best and most comprehensive accessibility scanning tool for WordPress websites. Features of the plugin include:
- Full site scanning to help you achieve and maintain an accessible website.
- No limits on pages scanned.
- A visual overview of how your content stacks up against more than 40 different accessibility checks created to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 success criteria.
- Readability analysis & auto insertion of simplified summary.
- Detailed documentation and phone support available.
- Quality guarantee: Coded and tested by accessibility experts.
Getting Started with Accessibility Checker
There are two options for using Accessibility Checker, Accessibility Checker Free or Accessibility Checker Pro.
Accessibility Checker Free
The basic version of Accessibility Checker is available for download for free on WordPress.org. The basic version of the plugin includes on-page/post accessibility reports and unlimited scanning of posts and pages.
Accessibility Checker Free is a great tool for more basic brochure websites or people new to website accessibility. It also works perfectly for websites that are already accessible but need to monitor for ongoing compliance as new content is added or edited. Content editors can see right on the post or page edit screen if they have problems in their content that need to be fixed – prior to hitting publish.
Detailed documentation is available that explains every error or warning and how to fix it. Items that were falsely flagged or that require a manual review can be “Ignored” so that they do not show up on reports or count against your passed accessibility tests score.
Accessibility Checker Pro
Accessibility Checker Pro extends Accessibility Checker Free. The Pro version allows for full site scanning beyond just posts and pages, and adds management tools that enable website owners, developers, and accessibility specialists to determine the accessibility of their whole site at a glance. These features include a centralized list of all open issues, an ignore log, and admin columns, among other features. See all Accessibility Checker Pro features.
Accessibility Checker Pro offers a simple pricing structure with a flat annual cost significantly lower than fees charged by many accessibility scanning tools on the web or in the WordPress ecosystem. With Accessibility Checker Pro, there are no limits on the number of pages scanned and no expensive API or per-page fees.
Need Accessibility Checker Pro for more than one site? We offer discounted site licenses when purchased in bulk, ideal for accessibility consultants and businesses or organizations with more than one website.
Learn more and read documentation
To make Accessibility Checker as easy to use as possible, we have created highly detailed documentation. Our documentation includes information on how to use Accessibility Checker to make your WordPress website more accessible and explanations of the errors and warnings included in the Accessibility Checker rules. There is a getting started guide that includes a 16-minute video highlighting plugin features and explaining how to use Accessibility Checker to test your website for accessibility.
Visit the documentation center to learn more about Accessibility Checker.
Accessibility Checker FAQs
How many sites can I activate my license key on?
License keys can be activated on one or multiple websites depending on the package that you have purchased. You can deactivate your license key and move it to another site at any time. Development or localhost URLs are excluded from license key restrictions.
What support is included?
We provide support for the free version of Accessibility Checker via the WordPress.org support forum. You will need to create a WordPress.org account and then can open a new support thread using the “Create a new topic” section at the bottom of the page.
Here you can post a message detailing the nature of your problem or question about Accessibility Checker. The more detailed your message is, the easier it is for us to answer your question or help you to resolve the issue quickly.
Accessibility Checker Pro includes a number of additional features to support auditing your full website and includes personalized support on plugin features and usage. This includes information about functionality and troubleshooting assistance. You may open a support ticket at any time. Plugin support is limited to providing assistance in using the plugin but does not include support resolving any specific accessibility issues that have been identified.
Can you help me figure out how to fix an error or warning on my website?
If you have questions about specific errors and warnings on your website or need help fixing problems, we offer priority support packages that include full (phone and email) access to our accessibility specialists and developers. If you need more in-depth auditing, user testing, and remediation, or would like to get your website verified as accessible, we can help with that too.
New Priority Support Packages
NOTE: As of July 31, 2023, these Priority Support packages are no longer available. Please see our new remediation plans.
In addition to launching Accessibility Checker this month, we’re also excited to introduce new “Priority Support” Packages as part of our effort to make web accessibility easier for organizations and website owners of all sizes.
Our priority support packages give you direct access to expert accessibility specialists and developers ready to help you resolve the accessibility errors and warnings on your website – but at a fixed monthly cost specially designed for small businesses and individual website owners.
With a priority support package, we’re available for phone/Zoom calls or via email to help you understand the specific issues present on your website and determine the best course of action for resolving them. If the fix you need requires custom coding, modifications to your theme, or reconfiguring a complex plugin, our developers are happy to help. If you need help manually testing for keyboard or screen reader accessibility, our accessibility specialists can test pages for you and send a report of findings.
Plans
Whether you’re looking for consultation, training, support, or development, think of our team as your team. There are no limits on the type of tasks we can complete – just let us know what you need and you’ll get help.
We offer four different plans based on the number of support hours you would like each month. All plans include:
- Phone or Zoom video call support
- Email support
- Consulting and accessibility strategic planning
- Screen reader testing
- Content fixes
- Theme and plugin fixes
- Custom development
- Accessibility training
2 hr/month plan
The 2-hour plan is our smallest and most basic support plan. It allows you to receive up to 2 hours of priority support from Equalize Digital each month. This is a perfect plan for smaller businesses and those who want accessibility help but do not need major fixes on their website. The 2-hour plan is best if you want assistance with testing or would like to schedule phone consultations. Depending upon complexity, many custom-coded accessibility fixes cannot be completed in 2 hours, so custom development support may be limited on this plan.
4 or 8 hr/month plans
The 4 or 8-hour support plans are ideal for small to mid-sized businesses. These plans work well for websites with a large number of web accessibility issues or more complex issues that require custom-coded fixes.
Priority Support Pricing
Priority Support Plans come with a fixed monthly cost and there are no long-term contracts. You may cancel, upgrade, or downgrade your plan at any time.
Our priority support packages offer a discounted rate over Equalize Digital’s standard a la carte hourly rate. The discount exists as an incentive to pre-pay for time which allows us to better plan our team’s availability and guarantee we’re here when you need us.
Priority Support FAQs
NOTE: As of July 1, 2023, these Priority Support packages are no longer available. Please see our new remediation plans.
What support is included?
Unlike other support companies, we don’t classify support tasks or limit code changes. If you need help improving the useability and accessibility of your website, we’re here to help no matter how complex (or not) the problem is. The only limit is the number of hours included in your priority support package.
Does priority support include custom development?
Yes, priority support can include custom development. Not all accessibility problems can be fixed in the WordPress editor – sometimes your theme needs to be fixed or you need a custom plugin built, and our expert accessibility-focused developers can code the solutions you need.
Am I limited in the number of requests I can make?
No! The only limit is the amount of time included in your package, not the number of tasks we’ll complete. If you’re on a 4-hour plan, you can have us do 2 2-hour tasks, 24 10-minute tasks, or any combination of large and small tasks.
Can I change my package?
Yes, you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel your package at any time via the Manage Subscriptions page in your account. If you upgrade your plan, your fee for the first month in the new plan will be prorated by the number of days remaining in your current plan.
Is priority support website specific or linked to a single URL?
Priority support is linked to a person and email address, not a website. If you work on or maintain multiple websites, for example as an agency or for the web department at a university, you can purchase a priority support package and receive support on multiple websites throughout the month or between months.
Get Started with Web Accessibility Today
If you have not started checking your WordPress site for accessibility, now is the time.
Not ready to buy? Try installing Accessibility Checker Free and start scanning your website today.
