If you’ve searched “WordPress ADA compliance plugin,” you’re likely looking for a fast, affordable way to make your website accessible. And we get it—WordPress users love plugins because they’re convenient, usually low-cost, and easy to install. But here’s the hard truth: There is no plugin that can make your WordPress website ADA compliant.
Despite what flashy marketing may tell you, ADA compliance isn’t something that can be achieved with the click of a button. In fact, relying on a so-called “compliance plugin” or accessibility overlay might make your site less accessible and increase your legal risk.
Let’s dispel the myths, expose the dangers of overlay tools, and examine what actually works if you want your website to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
What is the ADA and Why Does It Apply to Websites?
About the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a landmark civil rights law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all areas of public life—including employment, transportation, and access to public spaces. In recent years, courts have increasingly interpreted websites as public spaces, especially for businesses that offer goods, services, or information online.
This means your WordPress website, even if it’s small or only serves a local audience, may be legally required to be accessible to people with disabilities. Failure to do so can result in ADA lawsuits, lost customers, and a damaged brand reputation.
ADA Title II vs ADA Title III
Title II of the ADA applies to state and local governments, including public schools, libraries, and transportation agencies. These entities must ensure their websites and digital services are accessible so that people with disabilities can participate in programs, services, and activities equally.
Title III, on the other hand, applies to private businesses categorized as “places of public accommodation”—such as restaurants, retailers, hotels, and healthcare providers. Nonprofit organizations, assuming they are not state or federally funded, may also fall under ADA Title III.
How ADA compliance for websites is measured
While both titles require accessible websites, Title II entities face stricter oversight and are explicitly covered under federal rules requiring digital accessibility. In 2024, the Justice Department issued a ruling requiring Title II entities (state and local government websites) to fully meet WCAG 2.1 AA within two or three years. For Title II, WCAG 2.1 AA is how ADA compliance is measured.
Title III requirements are enforced primarily through lawsuits, and no specific web standards are codified into law for measuring the accessibility of websites or defining how ADA compliance. However, courts and the Department of Justice typically point to WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA as the benchmark for Title III websites as well.
Thus, ADA website compliance generally aligns with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)—a set of technical standards for making digital content accessible. The current gold standard is WCAG 2.2 Level AA.
The Myth of the “One-Click” Compliance Plugin
We’ve seen the promises:
- “Become instantly ADA compliant!”
- “Protect your website from lawsuits!”
- “No coding or effort required!”
- “Fix your website with a single line of JavaScript!”
It sounds great—until you understand what ADA compliance really means. The ADA requires that people with disabilities be able to perceive, operate, and navigate your website. That includes people using screen readers, people with cognitive disabilities, individuals with limited vision or motor control, and more.
A plugin can’t possibly test for or fix every possible barrier those users might face. Most “compliance” plugins focus on automated scanning or injecting widgets into your site (like font-size toggles or color contrast tools). These might help a little, but they’re not enough.
And if a plugin is promising full compliance with zero effort? That’s a red flag.
Overlays Are Not the Answer
Many WordPress ADA compliance plugins are actually overlays—tools that attempt to “fix” accessibility with JavaScript on top of your existing site. These products often claim they’ll protect you from lawsuits and bring instant compliance.
But overlays don’t fix the underlying problems in your code. Worse, they can interfere with screen readers, keyboard navigation, and user preferences. As a result, overlays often frustrate the very people they’re supposed to help.
We encourage you to review the Overlay Fact Sheet, a resource supported by over 800 accessibility professionals and organizations, which outlines the many ways overlays fail users with disabilities.
FTC Fined AccessiBe $1 Million for Lying About Accessibility
In January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined AccessiBe $1 million for deceptive marketing practices related to its AI-powered web accessibility tool, accessWidget. The FTC found that AccessiBe falsely claimed its overlay could make any website fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), misleading consumers into believing that a simple plug-in could ensure ADA compliance.
This enforcement action underscores a critical point:
Automated overlays cannot substitute for comprehensive accessibility practices and will not make your website ADA compliant.
Relying solely on such tools may not only fail to meet legal standards but also expose businesses to potential litigation and reputational harm.
Hear more about this fine on our Accessibility Craft podcast.
Manual Testing is Necessary
If there’s one major takeaway from our podcast episode, “Is Wix the Best CMS for Building Accessible Websites?”, it’s this: Automated accessibility scores do not guarantee real-world accessibility.
The conversation was sparked by an HTTP Archive report that ranked Wix as the most accessible CMS based on average scores from Google Lighthouse. However, when we manually reviewed a Wix showcase site with a 100% Lighthouse score, the results told a different story. Here’s what we found:
- Color contrast failures that weren’t flagged by Lighthouse or WAVE.
- No
<h1>heading on the page—critical for screen reader users. - Overlapping content and layout issues when zoomed to 200–300%, making it unreadable for low-vision users.
- No support for reduced motion preferences, despite heavy animations.
- Empty buttons and misused ARIA that only appeared via JavaScript, which may be missing for some users.
- Inaccessible components, like accordions that trap keyboard focus or misuse heading structures.
One of the most eye-opening moments was realizing how easily the site had gamed the Lighthouse score while still presenting serious accessibility barriers. Automated tools like Lighthouse—and even great ones like our own Accessibility Checker—can only catch a portion of accessibility issues.
Bottom line: a 100% automated score doesn’t mean your website is accessible.
To build truly accessible websites, you need to manually test, hire an accessibility auditor, and ideally, test with real users with disabilities.
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Equalize Digital: A Better Approach
Start with the Accessibility Checker Plugin
At Equalize Digital, we make a WordPress plugin called Accessibility Checker. It’s a powerful tool that scans your content and flags accessibility issues on each post or page, giving you real-time feedback as you build. It also has several automated fixes that you can enable to resolve common problems on WordPress websites.
But here’s the difference: We don’t promise compliance with a plugin alone.
Instead, our plugin helps start your journey toward accessibility:
- It speeds up manual testing and identifies problems so you can fix them.
- It offers quick fixes coded explicitly for WordPress and that don’t just rely on a JavaScript overlay.
- It’s a fantastic learning tool that can teach you to make accessible choices when creating content or designing pages in the editor.
Our WordPress Accessibility Checker plugin is the best plugin to support your accessibility efforts on an ongoing basis.
Going Beyond the Plugin for Full Compliance
When you’re ready to achieve full ADA compliance, Equalize Digital offers educational resources, free webinars, and services to guide you into WCAG conformance. From in-depth audits and accessibility testing to developer training and remediation support, our team is here to help ensure your website is usable by everyone—regardless of ability.
We work with marketing agencies, freelance developers, and website owners and can help you craft an accessibility strategy that works for your organization. Whether you’re building a new website, remediating an existing one, or looking to improve internal processes, we’ll meet you where you are and provide the tools, training, and support needed to make lasting accessibility improvements and truly achieve ADA compliance
What You Can Do to Make Your WordPress Website ADA Compliant
Want to actually make your WordPress website accessible and compliant with the ADA? Here’s a roadmap:
1. Uninstall the Overlay Plugin
If you’re currently using an overlay that claims to “fix” accessibility, uninstall it. It’s giving you a false sense of security and might be making things worse.
2. Start Testing with Accessibility Checker
Use a plugin like Accessibility Checker to identify issues as you create content and run a full scan of your entire website. Accessibility Checker will flag common problems, help you prioritize fixes, and offer some quick fixes.
3. Manually Test with Keyboard and Screen Readers
Put your mouse in a drawer and ensure your entire website can be used with a keyboard alone. Learn how to test with a screen reader and test for screen reader accessibility.
4. Strive for WCAG 2.2 AA Conformance
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the foundation of accessibility laws worldwide. WCAG 2.2 level AA is considered the standard for compliance. Learn it, use it, and aim to meet it across your entire site.
5. Test with Real Users with Disabilities
Nothing beats actual user feedback. We recommend using our user testing service to get insights from people who rely on assistive technologies every day.
6. Hire an Expert If You’re Unsure
Accessibility can be complex, especially for larger sites or custom themes. If you need help, check out our accessibility auditing services and remediation plans. Our certified accessibility auditors and expert WordPress developers are here to help you.
