AccessIQ — WCAG Accessibility Scanner, Heatmap & Behavior Analytics

AccessIQ is a free WordPress accessibility plugin that combines three tools most sites pay separately for — a full WCAG 2.1 accessibility scanner, a self-hosted click heatmap engine, and behavior analytics — all inside a single dark-themed dashboard, with no data ever leaving your server.

No API keys. No subscriptions. No third-party services for core features.

🔬 Live Demo | 📖 Documentation | 💬 Support Forum

Why WordPress Sites Need an Accessibility Scanner

ADA and EAA lawsuits are rising. Any publicly accessible website can be targeted — and « we didn’t know » is not a legal defense. WCAG 2.1 compliance is increasingly required by law across the US, EU, and UK.

Inaccessible sites lose real users. 1 in 4 adults has a disability that affects how they use the web. An inaccessible checkout button or unlabeled form field directly costs you conversions.

Most tools only tell you there’s a problem. AccessIQ shows you exactly which element failed, why it failed, and what to fix.

What You Get — 100% Free

♿ WCAG 2.1 Accessibility Scanner Run unlimited scans on any page or post URL. Get a 0–100 compliance score, severity-ranked violations with element selectors, full scan history, and one-click rescans. Supports Level A, AA, and AAA.

🔥 Self-Hosted Click Heatmap Engine See exactly where your visitors click, overlaid on your live site inside a macOS-style browser frame. All click data stays in your own database — no Hotjar, no external service required.

📈 Behavior Analytics Track sessions, bounce rates, average time on page, and device splits. Animated Chart.js dashboards that rival tools costing $50/month — built right into WordPress.

🔡 Frontend Accessibility Widget A floating toolbar visitors can use to adjust font size, enable high contrast, apply a dyslexia-friendly font, and improve keyboard navigation — without a page reload.

📊 Score History Chart Track how your accessibility score changes over time for any scanned URL. See compliance progress at a glance.

📅 Scheduled Scanning Set weekly or monthly automatic scans across all published pages with email alerts when results are ready.

Who Uses AccessIQ

Developers & Agencies — Audit client sites before launch. Deliver professional WCAG compliance reports that build trust and justify ongoing maintenance retainers.

Business Owners — ADA and EAA lawsuits are rising fast. AccessIQ keeps you compliant and documents your remediation efforts — which matters in court.

E-commerce Stores — Heatmaps reveal exactly which product page elements get clicked and which get ignored. Fix what matters for conversions.

Bloggers & Content Creators — Understand where readers engage without handing your data to Google Analytics.

UX Designers — Validate design decisions with real click data. Measure the impact of layout changes with before/after score tracking.

SEO Professionals — Google uses accessibility signals as ranking factors. Accessible, well-structured content with proper headings and alt text ranks better. AccessIQ catches both.

🔬 WCAG Scanner — Full Feature List

• Compliance Score (0–100): Animated score ring with grade label (Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor)
• WCAG 2.1 Level A, AA, AAA: Choose your target compliance level per scan
• Violations by Category: Visual bar chart — Images, Contrast, Headings, ARIA, Forms
• Severity Labels: Critical / Serious / Moderate issue classification
• Element Selector: The exact HTML element that caused the violation
• Fix Suggestions: Actionable guidance for each violation type
• Scan History: Full history with date, score, issue count, and WCAG level per URL
• Score History Chart: Line chart showing compliance progress over time
• One-click Rescan: Re-run any scan instantly from the reports page
• Print Reports: Print scan reports directly from the browser
• Unlimited Scans: No limits, no paywalls, no scan credits
• Single Report View: Detailed breakdown with back navigation and print option
• Perfect Score Celebration: Special screen when a page scores 100/100

🔥 Heatmap Engine — Full Feature List

• Live Click Heatmap: Intensity overlay on your live site — see hot and cold spots instantly
• In-Dashboard Preview: View heatmaps inside WP Admin — no external app needed
• macOS-style Browser Chrome: Professional browser frame with URL bar and LIVE PREVIEW badge
• Top Clicked Elements: Ranked table with element selector, click count, and % of total
• Gold / Silver / Bronze Rankings: Visual rank indicators for top 3 elements
• Date Range Filter: 7 days / 30 days / 90 days
• Device Filter: All Devices / Desktop / Mobile / Tablet
• Page Dropdown: Select any tracked page from the dropdown
• Peak Activity Hour: Discover when your visitors are most active
• Self-Hosted: 100% — all click data lives in your WordPress database
• Lightweight Tracker: Under 3KB, loads asynchronously, zero impact on Core Web Vitals

📈 Behavior Analytics — Full Feature List

• Session Tracking: Total sessions, average time on page, bounce rate
• Daily Sessions Chart: Chart.js line chart with gradient fill and hover tooltips
• Device Breakdown: Animated donut chart — Desktop / Mobile / Tablet split
• Top Pages Performance: Sessions, avg time, bounce rate, and top device per page
• Date Range Filter: 7 / 30 / 90 day periods
• Bounce Rate Alerts: Color-coded — red (high), amber (medium), green (low)
• Privacy-First: No cookies, no third-party scripts, no Google Analytics dependency

♿ Accessibility Widget — Full Feature List

• Floating Toolbar: Frontend widget for visitors with accessibility needs
• Font Size Control: Adjust text from 80% to 150%
• High Contrast Mode: One-click high-contrast color scheme
• Dyslexia-Friendly Font: Apply Lexend for easier reading
• Keyboard Navigation: Highlight keyboard focus indicators
• Screen Reader Optimize: Optimize page structure for screen readers
• Widget Position: Top Left / Top Right / Bottom Left / Bottom Right
• Brand Color: Match widget color to your brand (9 color options)
• Mobile Control: Show or hide widget on mobile devices

AccessIQ Pro

The free plugin is fully featured for most sites. AccessIQ Pro adds agency-grade tools:

• PDF Compliance Reports — Generate branded WCAG compliance reports in PDF format. White-label with your logo, company name, and accent color.
• AI Alt Text Generator — Automatically generate descriptive alt text for images using AI. Bulk-apply to your media library.
• Advanced Analytics Dashboard — Score trends, issues by category, page-by-page comparison, and combined scan history.
• Scheduled Scan Email Delivery — Automatically email PDF reports after each scheduled scan. Regression alerts when score drops.
• Heading Hierarchy Fixer — Detect broken heading structures (H2 before H1, skipped levels). Preview before/after diff and apply with one click.
• ARIA Label Auto-Writer — AI detects buttons, links, images, and inputs missing accessible names and writes contextual ARIA labels. Works with any AI provider.
• Multi-Site Hub Dashboard — Agency dashboard to monitor 25+ client sites in one view. Compliance score, violations, and last scan date per site. Filter, sort, and trigger remote scans.

Upgrade to AccessIQ Pro →

Privacy & Data

AccessIQ stores all data in your own WordPress database. No scan results, click events, or session data are sent to external servers.

The WCAG scanner runs client-side in your browser — it loads your page locally and sends results via AJAX to your own database. Nothing leaves your server.

The plugin loads fonts from Google Fonts (DM Sans, DM Mono for admin; Lexend for the frontend widget). See the External Services section for details.

🚀 AccessIQ Pro

Need more power? AccessIQ Pro takes accessibility to the next level:

• AI Alt Text Generator — Automatically generate descriptive alt text for images using AI (supports 5 providers: OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and more)
• PDF Compliance Reports — Export professional, branded PDF reports to share with clients or stakeholders
• White-label Widget — Customize the accessibility widget with your agency’s branding and colors
• Priority Support — Direct email support with fast response times

👉 Upgrade to AccessIQ Pro →

External Services

This plugin does not send scan, click, or session data to external servers. All data is stored in your WordPress database.

Google Fonts

AccessIQ loads typefaces from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com):

1. Admin screens — DM Sans and DM Mono load on AccessIQ admin pages.
2. Frontend widget — Lexend loads on public pages when the accessibility toolbar is enabled.

When fonts are requested, the visitor’s browser sends a standard HTTP request to Google servers, which may include the visitor’s IP address, browser user-agent, and referring page URL.

• Provider: Google LLC
• Terms: https://policies.google.com/terms
• Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Privacy Policy

AccessIQ stores the following data in your WordPress database only:

Click Events (Heatmap): X/Y coordinates, CSS element selector, page URL, timestamp, device type.

Sessions (Behavior Analytics): Page URL, session duration, device type, timestamp, bounce status.

Scan Results: Page URL, WCAG violations, compliance score, scan timestamp, WCAG level.

What we do NOT collect: IP addresses, usernames, email addresses, cookies, or any personally identifiable information (PII).

No data is sent to third-party servers. The WordPress admin loads fonts from Google Fonts (see External Services). You can delete all AccessIQ data by deactivating and deleting the plugin.

For heatmap and analytics tracking, we recommend adding a disclosure to your site’s privacy policy informing visitors that anonymous click and session data is collected for site improvement.

Development Source

Unminified source code available at: https://gitlab.com/thereadscope/accessiq