Disclosure: I'm the indie maker of A11yKeeper, so this is a soft promo, but the point stands without it.
If you build sites for clients, you've probably been asked: "Can we just add that accessibility widget and be done?" Short answer: no. Overlays are not accessibility. They patch the surface, can clash with screen readers, and don't fix the underlying markup, keyboard flow, or content problems.
Scanners are not certificates
Automated checks are genuinely useful, but they catch only part of WCAG. Many criteria (meaningful alt text, logical focus order, clear error messages, cognitive load) need a human to judge. So a clean scan result does not certify anyone as ADA compliant, and no automated tool can honestly say a site is "compliant". Be wary of anyone who claims otherwise.
What agencies actually need for client reports
- A clear list of detected issues mapped to WCAG success criteria
- Severity and where on the page each issue lives
- Honest wording: "automated findings" plus a manual review checklist, not a compliance badge
- Progress over time, so clients see fixes landing
- Reports that carry your agency's branding, not someone else's
Where A11yKeeper fits
I built A11yKeeper as a small, honest scanning tool for agencies: white-label WCAG 2.2 scans you can hand to clients, with plain-language reports. It's a starting point for the audit conversation, not a replacement for manual testing. There's a founding agency offer at 50% off if you want to try it: https://a11ykeeper.com
Whatever tools you use, be upfront with clients about what automation can and can't tell them. Thanks for reading!
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