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AccessIQ — WCAG Accessibility Scanner, Heatmap & Behavior Analytics
v2.1.1 · by The Readscope
Free automated WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 accessibility checker + self-hosted click heatmaps + behavior analytics. One plugin. One dashboard. Zero subscriptions.
About this plugin
AccessIQ is a free WordPress accessibility plugin that combines three tools most sites pay separately for — an automated WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 accessibility checker, a self-hosted click heatmap engine, and behavior analytics — all inside a single dark-themed dashboard, with no data leaving your server.
Please note: automated checks find many common problems (missing alt text, empty links, skipped headings, missing page language, form labels, contrast and more) but cannot prove that a site conforms to WCAG. Treat the score as a guide and complement it with manual testing (keyboard, screen reader, content review).
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 conformance is increasingly referenced 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 & 2.2 Accessibility Scanner
Run unlimited scans on any page or post URL on your site. Get a 0–100 accessibility score, severity-ranked issues with element snippets, and full scan history. Choose Level A, AA, or AAA as the target; the checks are automated and cover a subset of WCAG.
🔥 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.
🧩 Accessibility Profiles
Five one-click preset configurations — Vision Impaired, ADHD Friendly, Seizure Safe, Dyslexia, and Keyboard Only — that apply multiple accessibility settings instantly. The fastest way for visitors to get the experience they need.
🔡 Frontend Accessibility Widget
A fully redesigned floating toolbar with 15 accessibility tools, grouped accordion layout, Lucide SVG icons, Dark/Light/System theme switching, adjustable panel width and height, and mobile bottom-sheet support.
📊 Score History Chart
Track how your accessibility score changes over time for any scanned URL. See progress at a glance.
📋 Accessibility Statement Generator
One-click publish of an accessibility statement page (it states that you aim to conform; it does not certify conformance). Auto-fills last scan date and top violations, with a live preview and an embeddable [accessiq_badge] shortcode.
🔧 Auto-Fix Engine
Automatically apply frontend fixes for common violations — Skip Link, Focus Outline, HTML Lang Attribute, and Image Alt Text — with no code required.
Who Uses AccessIQ
Developers & Agencies — Audit client sites before launch. Deliver professional accessibility reports that build trust and justify ongoing maintenance retainers.
Business Owners — ADA and EAA lawsuits are rising fast. AccessIQ helps you find and track accessibility issues and documents your remediation efforts. It does not provide legal advice or guarantee compliance.
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 — Clear heading structure, descriptive alt text and well-labelled links help both visitors and search engines understand your content. AccessIQ checks for these common problems.
🔬 WCAG Scanner — Full Feature List
- Accessibility Score (0–100): Animated score ring with grade label (Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor)
- WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 Level A, AA, AAA: Choose your target 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 your score over time
- 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
- WCAG 2.2 Checks: Focus Not Obscured (2.4.11), Dragging Movements (2.5.7), Target Size Minimum (2.5.8)
🔥 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: Two small scripts (about 9KB combined), load asynchronously, minimal impact on performance
📈 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
Text & Reading
- Font Size Control: Adjust text from 80% to 150% with A−/A+ controls
- Letter Spacing: Range slider 0–5px for improved character readability
- Line Height: 3-level slider — Default / Comfortable / Spacious
- Dyslexia-Friendly Font: Switches the page to a dyslexia-friendly font stack (Lexend / OpenDyslexic if available, otherwise Comic Sans / Verdana) — no external font requests
- Reading Line: Teal horizontal line that follows the cursor to help track text
- Reading Mask: Dual overlay spotlight window for focused reading
Color & Vision
- High Contrast Mode: One-click high-contrast color scheme
- Monochrome: Full grayscale filter for color-sensitive users
- Saturation: 3-state selector — Low / Normal / High
- Highlight Links: Teal outline and underline on all anchor elements
- Highlight Titles: Teal left-border accent on all h1–h6 headings
Motion & Navigation
- Stop Animations: Disables all CSS animations, transitions, and smooth scroll
- Big Cursor: Enlarged cursor with 4 color variants (White / Black / Teal / Red)
- Keyboard Navigation: Highlight keyboard focus indicators sitewide
- Screen Reader Optimize: Optimize page structure for screen readers
Accessibility Profiles
- Vision Impaired: Font Size 130% + High Contrast + Black Big Cursor
- ADHD Friendly: Stop Animations + Reading Line + Reading Mask + Line Height
- Seizure Safe: Stop Animations + Low Saturation
- Dyslexia: Dyslexia Font + Letter Spacing 2px + Line Height + Font Size 110%
- Keyboard Only: Keyboard Navigation + Highlight Links
Widget Customisation
- Brand Color: 9 preset swatches + custom color picker + hex input
- Widget Position: Top Left / Top Right / Bottom Left / Bottom Right
- Panel Width: Compact (260px) / Normal (300px) / Wide (340px)
- Panel Height: Auto / Fixed 400px / Fixed 500px / Full Screen
- Theme: Dark / Light / System (follows OS preference)
- Mobile Bottom Sheet: Slides up from bottom on screens under 480px
- Show on Mobile: Show or hide widget on mobile devices
- Floating Toolbar Toggle: Enable or disable the widget entirely
📋 Accessibility Statement
- Statement Generator: Auto-fills organisation name, last scan date, and top violations from your AccessIQ data
- Live Preview: See the formatted statement before publishing
- One-click Publish: Creates or updates a WordPress page automatically
[accessiq_badge]Shortcode: Embed an accessibility badge (dark or light variant) anywhere on your site. It reads “Committed to WCAG 2.2 AA” by default (follows your scanner target; override withversion="2.1"); addclaim="compliant"only after you have verified conformance yourself[accessiq_statement]Shortcode: Show the saved statement on any page; uselink="1"for a link only- Widget Footer Link: Shows “Accessibility Statement” link in the widget when a statement page exists
🔧 Auto-Fix Engine
- Skip Link: Adds a “Skip to content” link as the first focusable element
- Focus Outline: Injects a visible teal focus ring on all focusable elements
- HTML Lang Attribute: Auto-adds the lang attribute to the
<html>tag - Image Alt Text: Fills missing alt attributes from your Media Library alt text and sets alt=”” on tracking pixels, spacers and presentational images (meaningful images without alt are left for you to describe)
AccessIQ Pro
The free plugin is fully featured for most sites. AccessIQ Pro adds agency-grade tools:
- PDF Accessibility Reports — Generate branded accessibility 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. Supports OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq, and more.
- Scheduled Scan Email Delivery — Automatically email PDF reports after each scheduled scan. Regression alerts when score drops.
- Multi-Site Hub Dashboard — Agency dashboard to monitor up to 10 connected client sites (Agency plan) in one view: score, issues, and last scan date per site.
- White-label Widget — Customize the accessibility widget with your agency’s branding.
- Priority Support — Direct email support with fast response times.
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 scanner loads your own pages and saves the results to your own database. Nothing is sent to third parties.
No external fonts, scripts or services are loaded. Tracking uses a random per-browser-session id kept in the visitor’s sessionStorage (no cookies); no IP address is stored. A short-lived (one minute) hashed counter is used to throttle abusive request bursts.
External Services
This plugin does not connect to any external service. Scan, click, and session data are stored in your WordPress database, and no third-party fonts, scripts or APIs are loaded. (Optional integrations such as the Remote Hub only contact sites that you configure yourself.)
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, and no external fonts or scripts are loaded. 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