# Proof of Access > Proof of Access scans websites for the WCAG 2.1 AA failures most often cited in US ADA Title III website lawsuits, explains how to fix each one, and keeps a dated record of every audit. It is a technical service, not a law firm. Key facts: - Free automated scan of a home page against WCAG 2.1 AA at https://proofofaccess.com/ (no signup). - Paid audit reports cover more pages and include fix guidance and a dated record. Pricing: https://proofofaccess.com/#pricing - Tracks federal ADA website accessibility filings from public court records: https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/ - Contact: https://proofofaccess.com/contact.html ## Guides - [Got an ADA website demand letter? What to do in the first two weeks](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/ada-website-demand-letter/): Do not ignore it and do not reply to the plaintiff's lawyer yourself. Forward it to an attorney and your insurer, save a dated record of your website as it is today, check the specific barriers the letter names, and start fixing and documenting them. - [ADA website lawsuits explained: who sues, why, and what the law requires](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/ada-website-lawsuits-explained/): Title III of the ADA bars discrimination by businesses open to the public, and courts and the Justice Department have applied it to websites. There is no federal website rule for private businesses, so lawsuits and settlements measure sites against WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Most cases are filed by repeat plaintiffs, mostly in New York, Florida and California. - [Do accessibility overlay widgets prevent ADA lawsuits?](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/accessibility-overlays-lawsuits/): No. Overlay widgets add a toolbar on top of your site but do not fix the underlying code that screen readers depend on, and websites with overlays installed are still regularly sued. In January 2025 the FTC ordered one overlay vendor to pay $1 million over claims that its product made websites compliant. - [WCAG 2.1 AA checklist for business websites](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/wcag-2-1-aa-checklist/): Start with the failures ADA claims cite most: alt text on images, labels on every form field and icon button, text contrast of at least 4.5:1, full keyboard operation with a visible focus ring, captions on videos, page titles and a page language. Then test the purchase path with a keyboard and a screen reader. - [Why a dated accessibility audit record matters](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/dated-accessibility-audit-record/): A dated record shows what your website's accessibility looked like on specific dates and what you fixed afterward. It does not make you immune to claims, but it gives your attorney facts, helps show good-faith remediation, and keeps fixes from quietly regressing. - [A 5-Minute Keyboard Accessibility Test for Your Online Store](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/keyboard-accessibility-test/): Put your mouse aside and use Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Space, arrow keys, and Escape to move through your store from the homepage to checkout. If you can't reach, see, or operate something, or you get stuck, that is a keyboard accessibility failure worth fixing. - [Accessible checkout: the fixes that matter most for online stores](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/ecommerce-checkout-accessibility/): Start with the parts of checkout where people get stuck: visible form labels, specific error messages, keyboard access, labeled payment fields, adjustable timeouts, CAPTCHA alternatives and a clear order confirmation. Fix these first, then retest with a keyboard and a screen reader. - [Accessible Dropdown and Mega Menus for Online Stores](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/accessible-dropdown-mega-menus/): An accessible store menu uses a real button with aria-expanded to open each submenu, works with Tab, Enter and Space, closes with Escape, and shows visible focus. Hover can be an extra, never the only way in. Test it with the Tab key and a screen reader. - [Accessible Form Labels and Error Messages: Fixing Checkout Issues](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/accessible-form-labels-error-messages/): Give every field a visible, programmatically associated label, say which fields are required, describe errors in text rather than color alone, link each error to its field with aria-describedby, and announce submit-level errors through a live region. These changes address WCAG 1.3.1, 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 4.1.2. - [Accessible Image Sliders and Carousels: Pause Controls, Keyboard and Alt Text](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/accessible-carousels-sliders/): An accessible carousel lets users pause or stop auto-rotation (WCAG 2.2.2), operate every control by keyboard, hear slide changes only when they ask for them, and read alt text on each slide image. If that is more than your store needs, a single static hero image is simpler and safer. - [ADA Website Lawsuits Against Shopify Stores: What Gets Cited](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/ada-website-lawsuit-shopify-store/): Shopify demand letters usually cite theme-level issues (contrast, headings, keyboard focus), missing product image alt text, and inaccessible widgets added by third-party apps. Shopify's core checkout is largely outside your control, but your theme, content, and app choices are, and those are where most fixes happen. - [ADA Website Lawsuits in Florida: What Business Owners Should Know](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/florida-ada-website-lawsuits/): Florida's federal courts, including the Southern and Middle Districts, hear many ADA website accessibility suits against both online stores and businesses with physical locations. A calm response usually combines an attorney, a documented audit, and a dated remediation plan. State law questions vary, so ask a Florida attorney. - [ADA website lawsuits in Pennsylvania: a guide for online sellers](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/pennsylvania-ada-website-lawsuits/): Online sellers based anywhere in the US can face website accessibility suits in Pennsylvania federal courts if the store sells to Pennsylvania customers. The claims usually cite barriers such as missing alt text or keyboard traps. A practical response is to document, test, fix, and talk to an attorney. - [Are PDFs on Your Website an ADA Risk? Making Documents Accessible](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/accessible-pdf-documents/): Yes, PDFs can be a risk. Inaccessible PDFs are part of a website's content, and scanned images of text, missing tags and wrong reading order can make them unusable with a screen reader. Fix or replace the ones people rely on, and use HTML where practical. - [California Website Accessibility Claims and the Unruh Act](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/ada-website-compliance-california-unruh/): California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act lets people sue businesses for discrimination, and a violation of the ADA is also treated as a violation of Unruh. Unruh carries a minimum statutory damages amount per violation, which is why many website claims are brought under it, often in state court. - [Captions and audio description for small business videos](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/video-captions-small-business/): Prerecorded videos with speech generally need accurate captions to meet WCAG 2.1 AA (1.2.2). Audio description (1.2.5) applies when important visual information isn't conveyed by the soundtrack. Auto captions usually need human review before you rely on them. - [Cookie Banners, Popups and Chat Widgets: Accessibility Traps](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/cookie-banner-popup-accessibility/): Cookie banners, newsletter popups and chat widgets fail most often on focus management, keyboard dismissal, hidden content and contrast. Third-party tools still count as part of your site, so test them with a keyboard and a screen reader and raise problems with the vendor. - [Hiring Someone to Fix Website Accessibility: What to Ask](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/hiring-accessibility-developer/): Ask any vendor how they test, which WCAG version and level they target, and what proof of work they deliver. Require a before and after audit that includes manual testing, and be wary of guarantees or overlay-only fixes. Scope the work by page templates and user flows, not just page counts. - [Hotel Websites and the ADA: Site Accessibility vs. Room Booking Rules](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/hotel-website-accessibility-reservations/): Hotel websites can raise two distinct ADA issues: general website accessibility (evaluated against WCAG guidelines) and a specific reservations regulation, 28 CFR 36.302(e), which requires hotels to describe accessible room features online and let guests book those rooms the same way as any other room. Addressing one does not automatically address the other. - [How to Check and Fix Color Contrast Across Your Whole Site](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/color-contrast-checking/): WCAG 2.1 AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text and key interface components. Test with a browser tool or checker, then fix failures at the theme variable level so one change updates every page. - [How to Write Alt Text for Product Images That Helps Shoppers](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/alt-text-for-product-images/): Good product alt text describes what a shopper who can't see the image needs to know, such as the item, color, material and distinguishing detail, in a short phrase. Skip details already in the page text, and mark purely decorative images with empty alt text. Review bulk-generated text before publishing. - [Icon Buttons Without Labels: Fixing Cart, Search and Menu Icons](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/icon-buttons-accessible-names/): An icon-only button needs an accessible name so screen reader users know what it does. Add visually hidden text or an aria-label to the button or link, mark decorative SVGs aria-hidden='true', and confirm the result in your browser's Accessibility panel. - [Link text that makes sense: fixing 'click here', 'read more' and empty links](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/link-text-accessibility/): Every link should make sense on its own or with its surrounding sentence. Replace 'click here' and repeated 'Read more' links with descriptive text, give icon links an accessible name, and warn people when a link opens a new window. - [Restaurant website accessibility: menus, ordering and reservations](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/restaurant-website-accessibility/): Make menu text and prices readable by screen readers (not locked in PDF or image files), keep hours and address as real text instead of images, check that ordering and reservation widgets are keyboard-operable, and make popups closable without a mouse. - [Screen Reader Testing for Business Owners: VoiceOver and NVDA Basics](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/screen-reader-testing-basics/): You can test a purchase path with a screen reader by learning about ten commands. Turn on NVDA (Windows) or VoiceOver (Mac), move through the page by headings, links, and form fields, and listen for clear names, roles, and error messages. Anything announced as 'button' with no name, or 'edit' with no label, is worth fixing. - [Served with an ADA website lawsuit: first steps for a small business](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/served-ada-website-lawsuit-first-steps/): Find the response deadline on the summons, contact an attorney who handles ADA Title III cases, notify your insurer, preserve the current site, and do not ignore the complaint. Then get a dated audit and start fixing the cited barriers. This is not legal advice. - [WCAG 2.2 vs 2.1: What Changed and Which One to Target](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/wcag-2-2-vs-2-1/): WCAG 2.2 adds six new Level A and AA criteria and removes 4.1.1 Parsing. It is largely backward compatible with 2.1, so most sites should target 2.2 AA, unless a contract, settlement, or demand letter names 2.1 AA specifically, in which case meet that first. - [Why So Many ADA Website Lawsuits Are Filed in New York](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/new-york-ada-website-lawsuits/): New York sees many ADA website suits because federal courts there have often treated websites as covered by Title III, and state and city human rights laws add further claims. Plaintiffs’ lawyers file where they expect favorable rulings. Courts disagree on these questions, so outcomes vary. - [Wix and Squarespace Accessibility: What the Platform Handles vs. What You Fix](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/wix-squarespace-accessibility/): Wix and Squarespace provide the underlying page structure and some accessibility features, but you still control alt text, color contrast, headings, link text, captions and any custom code. Owners remain responsible for the content and design choices they make on the platform. - [WordPress Accessibility: Themes, Plugins and What to Check](https://proofofaccess.com/guides/wordpress-website-accessibility/): WordPress core provides a reasonable foundation, but accessibility depends mostly on your theme, page builder, plugins and content. Vet each one, fix alt text and headings in your own content, and test with a keyboard and an automated scan. No setting makes a site conformant on its own. ## WCAG fix guides - [WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/1-1-1-non-text-content/): Every meaningful image, icon and image button needs a text alternative that says what it shows or does; purely decorative images need an empty alt so screen readers skip them. - [WCAG 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/1-2-2-captions-prerecorded/): Prerecorded video with sound needs synchronized captions that include speech and important sounds, so deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors get the same information. - [WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/1-3-1-info-and-relationships/): Structure you can see (headings, lists, tables, form groups) must also exist in the code, so screen reader users can navigate by it instead of hearing one flat stream of text. - [WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/1-4-3-contrast-minimum/): Text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, or 3:1 for large text (about 24px, or about 18.7px bold). - [WCAG 1.4.4 Resize Text](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/1-4-4-resize-text/): People must be able to zoom text to 200% without content being cut off or overlapping, and mobile pages must not block pinch-zoom. - [WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/2-1-1-keyboard/): Everything you can do with a mouse (menus, buttons, carousels, filters, checkout) must also work with a keyboard alone. - [WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/2-4-1-bypass-blocks/): Give keyboard and screen reader users a way to skip repeated navigation, usually a "Skip to content" link plus proper page landmarks. - [WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/2-4-2-page-titled/): Every page needs a unique, descriptive title in the tag, which is the first thing a screen reader announces. - [WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/2-4-4-link-purpose-in-context/): Every link must have text (or an accessible name) that tells people where it goes. Icon links with no name, and vague "click here" links, fail. - [WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/2-4-7-focus-visible/): Keyboard users must always be able to see which element has focus. Removing the focus outline with CSS without a replacement fails. - [WCAG 3.1.1 Language of Page](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/3-1-1-language-of-page/): Declare the page language with a lang attribute on the <html> tag, so screen readers pronounce the text correctly. - [WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/3-3-2-labels-or-instructions/): Every form field needs a visible label, programmatically tied to the field, and any format requirements must be stated up front. Placeholder text alone does not count. - [WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value](https://proofofaccess.com/wcag/4-1-2-name-role-value/): Buttons, toggles, menus and custom widgets must expose a name, a role and their current state to assistive technology. Icon-only buttons with no label are the classic failure. ## Data - [ADA website lawsuit tracker](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/): Weekly count of federal ADA website accessibility lawsuits from public court records: 371 tracked filings since June 2, 2026, by state and court, plus the WCAG failures we find on sued websites. - [Gottlieb & Associates: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/gottlieb-associates/): Gottlieb & Associates appears as plaintiff's counsel in 101 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since July 28, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [Adams & Associates, P.A.: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/adams-associates/): Adams & Associates, P.A. appears as plaintiff's counsel in 34 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since July 30, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [Roderick V. Hannah, Esq., P.A.: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/roderick-v-hannah/): Roderick V. Hannah, Esq., P.A. appears as plaintiff's counsel in 34 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since July 27, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [Joseph & Norinsberg: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/joseph-norinsberg/): Joseph & Norinsberg appears as plaintiff's counsel in 33 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since July 28, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [Law Office of Jennifer E. Tucek: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/jennifer-e-tucek/): Law Office of Jennifer E. Tucek appears as plaintiff's counsel in 23 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since July 29, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [Usher Law Group: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/usher-law-group/): Usher Law Group appears as plaintiff's counsel in 14 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since July 31, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [Brasil Brasil, P.A.: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/brasil-brasil/): Brasil Brasil, P.A. appears as plaintiff's counsel in 14 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since August 2, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [Nye, Stirling, Hale, Miller & Sweet: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/nye-stirling-hale-miller-sweet/): Nye, Stirling, Hale, Miller & Sweet appears as plaintiff's counsel in 9 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since August 3, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. - [East End Trial Group: ADA website lawsuit filings](https://proofofaccess.com/ada-website-lawsuits/firms/east-end-trial-group/): East End Trial Group appears as plaintiff's counsel in 9 federal website-accessibility filings in our tracker since October 5, 2026. Counts by month and court, and what to do if your business was named. ## Optional - [Full text of all guides](https://proofofaccess.com/llms-full.txt) - [Terms](https://proofofaccess.com/terms.html) - [Refund policy](https://proofofaccess.com/refunds.html)