An ADA website compliance checklist helps a target’s team organize accessibility checks, record barriers and assign remediation owners. Review public journeys with scoped automated and manual checks, then request authorized access where needed. A visual check is not a full ADA assessment or proof of compliance. Not legal advice; legal questions go to counsel.
In short
- Copy the checklist to review public templates, navigation, forms and customer journeys.
- Combine visual observations with keyboard, assistive technology and automated testing in the agreed scope.
- This is not legal advice. A visual check is not a full ADA assessment or proof of compliance.
The ADA website compliance checklist.
Use this checklist to record accessibility evidence and organize follow-up. Preserve the tested page, method, observed issue and access boundary so another reviewer can understand what was checked and what remains open.
List the public page templates and customer journeys to review. Record each tested page, the observation date and the limits of the sample.
Follow public navigation, links and forms with a keyboard. Record inaccessible controls, unclear focus and steps that prevent the journey from continuing.
Inspect headings, image alternatives, form labels and error messages. Record the affected element and the evidence rather than relying on an automated score alone.
Review public journeys with assistive technology, including whether controls and status changes are understandable. Keep the test method and observed behavior with each finding.
Check text contrast, resizing, captions and information conveyed by color. Keep visual observations separate from the results of keyboard and assistive technology testing.
Agree authorization and test accounts before reviewing authenticated journeys, internal applications or unpublished changes. Ask for the template and component inventory to identify shared causes.
Have counsel determine applicable obligations and agree the technical assessment scope. Request existing accessibility assessments, complaints and remediation records through the authorized owner.
Assign each supported issue to a remediation owner and retest the affected template and journey after the fix. Keep untested pages and unresolved questions visible.
Source: Meo Advisors checklist. As of October 2026.
This checklist supports compliance due diligence. It is not legal advice. A visual check is not a full ADA assessment; counsel determines legal applicability and a scoped technical review establishes the evidence.
How can I make my website ADA compliant?
Start by identifying the website’s audience and key journeys, then agree the applicable obligations and assessment scope with counsel and an accessibility specialist. Test the agreed scope, fix supported barriers and retest the affected journeys.
- Inventory the templates, content and journeys in scope, including authenticated areas that need permission.
- Combine manual review, keyboard and assistive technology testing with automated checks.
- Attach evidence and an owner to each supported barrier, then fix shared causes as well as individual pages.
- Retest the fix and keep a record of untested content, open questions and ongoing review ownership.
The official guidance on web accessibility and the ADA describes common accessibility barriers and the value of combining manual and automated checks. A checklist completion or automated score does not establish legal compliance.
The ADA and WCAG website accessibility audit explains how public observations connect to a fuller assessment.
How do I know if my website needs to be ADA compliant?
Have counsel assess the organization, its services and the obligations that apply to the website. A visual review cannot decide legal applicability, and an accessible public landing page cannot establish that the rest of a customer journey is accessible.
Record the legal question separately from the technical evidence. Include third-party tools and authenticated steps in the scope discussion where they form part of the customer journey, and obtain authorization before testing restricted areas.
For a healthcare target, the HIPAA risk assessment checklist covers a separate evidence review with its own access and protected-data requirements.
What does a contrast check tell the reviewer?
Contrast is an accessibility checkpoint for readable text. Record the colors and affected component, then assess the result within the agreed technical standard and scope; contrast alone cannot establish that a page or journey is accessible.
Keep this result beside the keyboard, form, content and assistive technology findings. A passing contrast observation does not close the other checklist items.
Which accessibility checks need authorized access?
Public pages can be reviewed at normal browsing rates. Authenticated journeys, source code, internal components, existing assessments and remediation records require permission and the appropriate test environment or records.
Do not enter restricted areas or use customer accounts without authorization. Keep missing access as an open question. The risk register template preserves the evidence, owner and counsel flag for each supported issue.
How can I copy or save this accessibility checklist?
The full checklist is visible in HTML. Copy the tasks into your review document, or use the browser’s print command to save this page as a PDF. Preserve the area and access labels.
Add the tested page, method, evidence, status and owner beside each task. Use the private equity due diligence checklist to connect accessibility findings to the wider acquisition review.
Meo Advisors Editorial writes and maintains this page. Its numbers are Meo Advisors’ own statements or cited external benchmarks, and every mock is labelled Illustrative. See the editorial policy and corrections process.