2025 Digital Accessibility Index
Key Insights
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The internet has an accessibility crisis — and it runs deep
The internet is broken for millions of people with disabilities. And the problem is far bigger than most realize.
Overall, our scan revealed that:
The average web page has 297 issues detectable by automation.
47% of pages fail at least half of the testable criteria (WCAG 2.2 Level AA).
Only 2% of pages pass 70% or more of the testable criteria.
None of the 418,177 pages scanned passed over 90% of the testable criteria.
Those are staggering numbers. While automation can identify a significant number of problems, it only scratches the surface, leaving many critical issues undetected since automation alone can’t test for every WCAG criterion. That means the scale of inaccessibility is even greater than these numbers suggest.
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Pie chart showing 47% of pages scanned failed at least 16 WCAG criteria
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For companies, the volume and variety of issues should be a concern. No user will encounter every issue on a page, but each one increases the odds of them running into a barrier that stops them in their tracks — and could lead to legal action.
“Many of the accessibility issues that slip through the cracks in automated testing are the kind of high severity issues that can stop users in their tracks — and lead to missed sales and increased legal risk.”
— John Postlethwait | Chief Operating Officer, AudioEye
Companies without a clear accessibility plan are falling behind — fast
The sheer volume of accessibility issues on most web pages highlights a common challenge for companies: managing accessibility in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Most websites change constantly, and without automation and an accessibility program, maintaining compliance becomes nearly impossible.
Companies that lack a clear plan for accessibility compliance often fall into a cycle where the volume of new issues outpaces their capacity to fix existing ones, leaving most pages riddled with accessibility barriers — and companies struggling to catch up.
Of the nearly 420,000 pages we scanned for this report, just 3% had fewer than 50 accessibility issues detected by automation.
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Bar Chart showing number of issues per page, emphasizing 44% of pages had 100-250 issues.
Persistent accessibility issues pose a significant risk
In 2023, our inaugural Digital Accessibility Index revealed that most companies were struggling with image, link, and form accessibility.
Two years later, the same accessibility issues are slipping through the cracks. And they continue to significantly impact the user experience for people with disabilities.
Our latest scan found that:
38% of images had faulty or missing image alt text, which can make it difficult for people with visual disabilities to understand the content of pages that rely heavily on images.
80% of pages had links that did not adequately describe their purpose to screen reader users, who would not know what the link would do until they clicked it.
35% of pages had forms that failed to provide clear labels or instructions for people who rely on assistive technology to browse the web.
“Every accessibility issue is worth fixing, but some carry a higher degree of risk. If you have high severity issues on your site that stop people from buying your products or contacting your business, that’s what gets you sued in court. And you’re going to end up losing or settling.”
— David Moradi | CEO, AudioEye
When these persistent barriers go unaddressed, they frustrate users and expose companies to significant legal and reputational risks. Ensuring that images, links, and forms meet accessibility standards is essential to maintaining compliance and delivering accessible experiences to every user.
At AudioEye, we tell customers that these are the kinds of accessibility issues that get you sued. If a user runs into a barrier that stops them in their tracks — like a product page filled with inaccessible images or a contact form that they can’t fill out — they’re much more likely to abandon a site and, potentially, take legal action.
Hidden accessibility gaps put companies at increased risk
Automation is a powerful tool for improving digital accessibility, but it only addresses part of the problem. Of the 56 WCAG 2.2 Level A/AA criteria, many cannot be reliably tested by automation alone — leaving critical accessibility barriers undetected. These hidden barriers often have the most significant impact on people with disabilities.
At AudioEye, our platform can test 32 WCAG 2.2 Level A/AA criteria. That’s about double what most automated accessibility tools can reliably test. But we also recognize that automation has limits. To bridge the gap, our certified experts work with members of the disability community to audit key pages for our customers.
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Bar Chart showing amount of WCAG Coverage detected, with AudioEye is the highest with 29, almost 2 times more than other solutions
This approach aligns with a quote from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the organization responsible for WCAG:
“Testing [all WCAG 2.2 success criteria] would involve a combination of automated testing and human evaluation. The content should be tested by those who understand how people with different types of disabilities use the Web.”
— World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
Simply put, automation is only the starting point. The true number of accessibility issues is often much higher than what automation alone can detect.
And just like an iceberg, it’s often the issues that lie beneath the surface — or, in this case, the WCAG criteria that cannot be tested by automation — that represent the most risk to companies.
“Automation can't catch everything, which is why AudioEye couples automation with expert fixes.”
— John Postlethwait | Chief Operating Officer, AudioEye