How to DIY: Accessibility Auditor
My website usable by everyone, including people with disabilities — and compliant with WCAG standards so I don't get sued or lose 15% of potential users
Tools used in this guide
5How to DIY: Accessibility Auditor
A step-by-step guide to doing this yourself — honestly.
What you're really trying to do
My website usable by everyone, including people with disabilities — and compliant with WCAG standards so I don't get sued or lose 15% of potential users
DIY Cost
$0/mo
1-2 days to learn
Hire Cost
$2,000-10,000 (per audit)
Done for you
You could save $2,000-10,000 (per audit) by doing it yourself
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow along at your own pace. Most people finish in 1-2 days.
Run Lighthouse accessibility audit
~10 minOpen Chrome DevTools, Lighthouse tab, check Accessibility, Generate report. It scores your page 0-100 and lists specific issues with fix instructions. Run it on every page. It catches missing alt text, color contrast issues, and ARIA problems.
Install axe DevTools browser extension
~10 minaxe DevTools by Deque is the industry standard accessibility testing tool. Install the Chrome extension, open it in DevTools, and scan any page. It's more thorough than Lighthouse and groups issues by severity. The free version catches most issues.
Test keyboard navigation
~10 minUnplug your mouse and navigate your site using only Tab, Enter, Escape, and arrow keys. Can you reach every interactive element? Can you see where the focus is? Can you use your forms and menus? This single test reveals more usability issues than any automated tool.
Test with a screen reader
~15 minTurn on VoiceOver (Mac) or NVDA (Windows, free) and navigate your site. Listen to how your content is read aloud. Are images described? Are form labels clear? Do headings make sense out of context? This takes 30 minutes and completely changes your perspective on accessibility.
Automate accessibility testing in CI
~15 minUse @axe-core/playwright to add accessibility checks to your Playwright test suite. It runs automatically on every PR and fails if new accessibility issues are introduced. This prevents regressions without manual testing.
When to hire instead
Hire when: you need WCAG 2.1 AA or AAA compliance certification (required for government contracts in many countries), you're in a regulated industry (government, education, healthcare, banking), you've received an ADA complaint or lawsuit threat, or you're building a design system and want accessibility baked into every component from day one.
No time? Skip to hiringReal talk
Basic accessibility auditing is genuinely easy to DIY and something every developer should do. Lighthouse + axe DevTools + 30 minutes of keyboard testing covers 80% of issues. The remaining 20% requires human judgment — understanding how screen reader users actually navigate, complex ARIA patterns for custom widgets, and cognitive accessibility (is your error message actually helpful?). For most websites, the DIY approach gets you to a solid baseline. Bonus: accessible websites also tend to have better SEO and work better on slow connections.
Tools You'll Need
Hand-picked for this project. We only recommend tools we'd actually use.
Essential Tools
You need these to get started.
VS Code
Free
Write accessible code with axe-core linting. Extensions flag accessibility issues in your React components as you write them.
Why we recommend it
VS Code with axe-linter catches accessibility issues in your code before they reach the browser — prevention beats cure.
Nice-to-Have Tools
Not required, but they make the job easier.
Claude Pro
$20/mo
Generate accessible component code, fix ARIA issues, and review your UI for WCAG compliance. Claude knows the accessibility standards.
Why we recommend it
Claude writes accessible React components by default — proper ARIA attributes, keyboard navigation, and screen reader support.
Some links are affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our Verdict
Difficulty
easy
Learning time
1-2 days
DIY cost
$0/mo
Hire cost
$2,000-10,000 (per audit)
Choose DIY if...
- The process is straightforward
- You can spare 1-2 days
- 2 of 2 tools are free
- You want to learn a new skill
Choose Hire if...
- Your time is worth more than the cost
- You have a tight deadline
- Experience matters for this task
Learn from video tutorials
Sometimes watching is easier than reading. Search for tutorials:
Join the conversation
See what other people are saying about doing this yourself:
Frequently Asked Questions
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When should I hire a accessibility auditor instead of doing it myself?▼
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Find a Accessibility Auditor pro on Fiverr
Skip the learning curve. Top-rated Accessibility Auditor freelancers start at $2,000-10,000 (per audit).