Before buying accessibility software, ask questions that reveal coverage, methodology, reporting depth, integration support, and how the product addresses the 75% of issues that automated checks cannot detect. The right questions separate marketing claims from operational reality and help match a product to the actual work an accessibility program requires.
| Category | What It Reveals |
|---|---|
| Coverage | Whether the product addresses the full WCAG criteria set or only what scans can detect |
| Methodology | How issues are identified, prioritized, and validated |
| Reporting | Whether outputs include specific locations, remediation steps, and conformance data |
| Integrations | How the product connects to issue trackers, CMS environments, and developer workflows |
| Pricing | Whether costs scale with pages, users, or scans and what is included at each tier |
What Does the Product Actually Cover?
Ask whether the product relies on automated scans, manual evaluation, or both. Automated scans detect approximately 25% of accessibility issues. A product that only scans cannot identify the remaining 75%, which includes screen reader behavior, keyboard interaction patterns, focus management, and content clarity.
If the answer involves only automated checks, the product is a scanner, not a full accessibility program tool. That distinction matters for what you can claim about WCAG conformance.
How Are Issues Prioritized?
Prioritization frameworks vary widely. Ask how the product ranks issues and whether it accounts for user impact and risk factors. A flat list of flagged items without prioritization forces internal teams to triage, which slows remediation.
Look for products that score issues by severity and by the likelihood of affecting real users.
What Do the Reports Look Like?
Request a sample report before buying. The report should specify the WCAG version and level evaluated (2.1 AA or 2.2 AA), list each issue with its location, describe the impact, and provide remediation guidance.
Vague reports that flag categories of issues without pinpointing where they occur create more work for developers, not less.
Does It Support Authenticated Pages?
Many accessibility issues live behind logins: dashboards, account settings, checkout flows. Ask whether the product evaluates authenticated pages and how. Browser extensions running within an active session are one approach. Without this capability, large portions of a product remain unevaluated.
How Does Monitoring Work?
Ask about scheduled scans. Daily, weekly, monthly, or custom intervals are typical. Confirm whether monitoring covers the same scope as the initial evaluation and how the product surfaces new issues introduced by code changes.
What Integrations Are Available?
Issue tracking integrations matter most. If the product cannot push issues to the systems developers already use, the workflow stalls. Ask about supported platforms, two-way sync, and whether integrations are included or priced separately.
Is VPAT or ACR Generation Included?
For SaaS products that need an Accessibility Conformance Report, ask whether the platform generates a VPAT or supports the data export needed to complete one. ACR issuance through a qualified provider typically ranges from 300 dollars to 1,000 dollars, so understanding what a platform contributes can affect total cost.
How Does Pricing Scale?
Pricing models vary: per page, per scan, per user, per project, or flat subscription. Ask what happens when the product grows, when more team members need access, or when scan frequency increases. Hidden scaling costs surface after purchase, not during the demo.
What Does Onboarding and Support Include?
Ask whether onboarding is self-serve or guided, how training is delivered, and what response times look like for support requests. Accessibility programs need responsive support because remediation questions often have legal and operational implications.
What Happens When Scans Cannot Identify an Issue?
This question separates scan-only tools from platforms designed for full accessibility programs. Ask how the product addresses the 75% of issues that require human evaluation. Some platforms support audit data import, manual issue logging, or integrate with evaluation services. Others have no path beyond what scans detect.
The answer reveals whether the product can support a complete WCAG conformance effort or only a partial one.