Building Accessible Websites: A 2026 Checklist with Free Testing Tools

Automated accessibility checkers catch about 30-40% of real-world issues. That's a useful number to keep in mind — not because it makes testing pointless, but because it defines the role of tooling correctly. Tools catch the obvious, measurable failures. The rest requires judgment. This guide covers both: a practical WCAG 2.2 quick reference, a testing workflow you can actually run, and an honest look at which tools do what. Why WCAG 2.2 and Not "Just Use a Checker" WCAG 2.2 (finalized October 2023, now the de facto legal benchmark across the EU, UK, and US) added nine new success criteria to the existing 2.1 standard. The most impactful for developers: 2.4.11 Focus Appearance (AA) : Focus indicators must meet a minimum size and contrast ratio. No more outline: none without a custom replacement that actually passes. 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (AA) : Sticky headers and cookie banners must not fully hide the focused element. 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA) : Any drag-and-drop interaction mu