Check one page against WCAG 2.1 AA, free

What the free check covers

The free check loads one public page on Dreven’s side and runs its automated checks against WCAG 2.1 at Level AA. It checks the page as a visitor sees it, after its scripts have run, not only the HTML the server first sends. Nothing beyond the automated checks runs, and nobody reviews the result.

It reports on things a machine can measure on a single page, such as:

• Colour contrast between text and its background.
• Form fields, buttons and links that have no accessible name.
• Images with no text alternative at all.
• Whether the page states its language and has a title.
• Headings, lists and tables that are not marked up as what they look like.
• Markup that assistive technology cannot read correctly.

The result shows counts for each of the four states, the areas of concern grouped by WCAG principle, and one problem that repeats, shown in full with the element involved. It appears on the website when the check is done, and the same result goes to a private link in your email. The link works for 7 days, and anyone who has it can open it. You can run one free check a day, on pages you own or have permission to check.

What it cannot tell you

Automated checks decide only part of WCAG. Software is good at measurements and poor at meaning. Does the alt text describe the photo? Does a heading describe what follows? Does an error message explain how to put the mistake right? A machine can gather evidence for those questions. It cannot answer them for you.

The free check also leaves out, by design:

• Other pages. Rules such as consistent navigation and consistent help can only be judged by comparing pages.
• Pages behind a sign-in. The check reaches public pages only. A page that redirects to a sign-in screen is checked as the sign-in screen.
• Processes such as checkout or sign-up, where errors only appear after you send a form.
• Video and audio content, such as captions and audio description.
• Results that need judgement. They are marked as needing a person, and nobody reviews them in the free check.
• Standards other than WCAG 2.1 AA. Other standards come with an account.

So a clean result is not a claim of conformance. It means the automated checks found nothing on this one page. It does not mean the page, or the site, meets WCAG, and no checker can make it do so. The problems are fixed in your own code and content.

What the four results mean

Every check ends in one of four states. A list with no failures is not a pass; it may only mean the checks could not see the problem.

In the free results, “can’t tell” appears as needs review. Dreven keeps it visible rather than folding it into passed, because an unsettled check is a question, not an answer. Read more on why ‘can’t tell’ is an honest answer.

What a full Dreven audit adds

A full audit starts from the same address and goes further.

• Many pages. Dreven reads your sitemap, or follows links if there is none, and audits up to 25 pages together. It also compares the pages with each other, for things like consistent navigation.
• Your standard. WCAG 2.2 or 2.1 at Level A or AA, Section 508, or EN 301 549.
• Evidence for every result: the captured page, which you can replay, the element involved, highlighted, and what was measured.
• Help with results that need judgement. Each one comes to you with its evidence and a suggested reading of it. A suggestion is never a result, and it never makes the final call.
• Reviewer decisions. You look at each result that needs a person, record your decision and say why. Problems that share one fix are grouped, so one decision can cover every page they appear on.
• A drafted VPAT 2.5Rev report. Dreven drafts the conformance report from the evidence and your decisions, with remarks that say how each result was decided. You check it and sign it under your own name. Nothing is signed for you.

Accounts open on 9 November 2026. Free covers 5 pages a month, with every finding and its evidence, but no report. Solo ($39 a month, 25 pages) adds one live conformance report at a time and the evidence pack. Team ($199, 150 pages, 5 people) adds unlimited projects and reports. Auditor ($499, 500 pages, 10 people) adds a space for each client. The Audit pass ($149 once) is one audit of up to 75 pages with one issued report.

See what a full accessibility audit covers and how the VPAT and ACR are drafted.

Browser extensions and a site audit

A browser extension checks the page open in your browser. That is useful while you build, because it is quick and it works on pages you are signed in to. The results usually stay in that browser and cover the page you are looking at. The free check runs on Dreven’s side, on a public page, and keeps the result at a private link for 7 days.

Neither decides the criteria that need a person. Both are a first look. A site audit goes further: many pages, evidence that is kept, decisions that are recorded, and a report that says what was covered and when. That is where a conformance claim can rest on something someone looked at.

WCAG, the ADA and other laws

The ADA does not name a technical standard for websites. The US Department of Justice’s rule for state and local government websites uses WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and courts have pointed to WCAG in other cases. Section 508 points to WCAG 2.0 AA, and EN 301 549 in Europe points to WCAG 2.1. This page is not legal advice.

No automated tool can make a site compliant, and no checker can certify one. Fixing problems happens in your own code and content, and a conformance claim rests on a person who reviewed the evidence and signed. Read WCAG 2.2 AA in plain words for the rules themselves.

Questions people ask

Is the accessibility checker really free?

Yes. The free check costs nothing and needs no account. It runs automated checks on one public page against WCAG 2.1 AA, shows the result on the website and emails you a private link that works for 7 days. You can run one free check a day. Audits of more pages need an account.

Does a clean result mean my site is WCAG compliant?

No. The free check runs only automated checks, on one page. Many WCAG criteria need a person to judge, such as whether alt text describes its image, and those are marked as needing review. A clean result means the automated checks found nothing on that page. It is not a conformance claim for the page or the site.

Can it tell me if my website meets the ADA?

No tool can confirm that. The ADA does not name a technical standard for websites. The Department of Justice’s rule for state and local government sites uses WCAG 2.1 AA, and courts have pointed to WCAG. The free check tests one page against the parts of WCAG 2.1 AA a machine can measure. Whether a law applies to you is a question for an adviser.

What is the difference between an accessibility checker and an audit?

A checker runs automated checks and lists what they found. An audit covers every criterion in the standard, including the ones a machine cannot settle, and says which results are still undecided. Dreven’s full audit adds up to 25 pages, evidence for every result, recorded reviewer decisions and a drafted VPAT 2.5Rev report that you sign.

Can it check pages behind a sign-in?

No. The free check runs on Dreven’s side and cannot sign in, so it reaches public pages only. A page that redirects to a sign-in screen is checked as that screen. With an account, you can audit signed-in pages from your own computer, and your password never reaches Dreven.

Does Dreven change my site?

No. Nothing is installed on your site. Dreven opens and reads the page. It is not an overlay: it never adds code to your site or changes what visitors see. It shows what is wrong and where, and the fixes happen in your own code. After a fix, run the page again.