Accessibility Tool Features That Matter Most

Every accessibility tool page lists a long set of features, and every list looks strong until you ask which features change what happens to your site. Some features decide whether barriers leave the code. Some decide whether you can prove the work later. The rest make a demo look good and change little after you sign. Rank features in this order, and buy from the top down.

1. Fix method: the feature that decides everything else

The most important feature is how fixes reach your site. A tool that changes source code removes a barrier from the code, and a second scan can show the change. A tool that adjusts the page at run time leaves the code as it was, and the change ends when its script fails to load, is blocked, or is switched off. No report, score, or panel makes up for a fix method that does not fit your goal.

For sites with a GitHub repository, Axeazy sends fixes as a real pull request with a visible code diff that the owner or developer reviews and merges. For WordPress sites, Axeazy's free plugin applies three render-time fixes: a skip navigation link, a page language attribute, and an alt text fallback, with no account needed. For Shopify stores and other sites with no repo, Axeazy scans the site and gives a guided checklist with computed fix values to apply by hand. Colour contrast is detected and a correct colour is calculated, but a visible colour change is never applied without owner approval. Ask any vendor for one sample fix with old code and new code. If it cannot show one, its fix method is the answer, whatever the feature list says.

2. A dated record of every scan and fix

The second most important feature is a record with dates. Every scan and fix should carry a date and time, and reports should export as a PDF. That record is what a lawyer can read beside a demand letter, what a client can read beside an invoice, and what a future owner can read beside a site update. A tool that shows only a current score gives you no history, and a score with no date cannot sit beside anything.

Axeazy records every scan and fix with a date and time, and reports can be exported as a PDF. When you compare tools, ask to see a sample report from two dates on the same site, showing what changed between them. A vendor that shows only one undated report has a weaker record feature, however long its feature list runs.

3. Monitoring that catches new problems

Fixes decay. A theme update, a new plugin, or a new product page can bring back an old barrier in a week. Monitoring that reruns checks on a schedule and alerts a named person is the third most important feature, because it turns a one-off fix into a habit. Ask which pages are covered, how often checks run, how old reports are kept, and who gets alerts. Axeazy runs weekly monitoring on paid plans. A monitoring feature with no frequency, no page list, and no alert owner is a label, not a feature.

4. Reports a non-technical reader can act on

A report should name the problem, the page, the fix, and the severity, in plain words a site owner can pass to a developer. The scan behind it runs 98 automated checks against WCAG 2.2 AA, grouped into 14 categories, from alt text and form labels to heading structure and landmark structure. That detail matters, but only if the report turns it into steps. Ask for a sample report and read one finding end to end: can you tell what is wrong, where it is, and what to change? If the answer is no, the reporting feature fails its only test.

Reports should also cover the limits plainly. Axeazy does not scan PDFs, so document work needs a separate plan. A report that never names a limit is not a fuller report. It is a report that has not been asked about its edges yet.

5. Platform fit: the right path for your setup

A tool should fit the way your site is built. A repo site needs pull requests a developer can review. A WordPress site needs a plugin path with the three instant fixes named above, plus weekly scans and further fixes on paid plans. A Shopify store needs a scan plus a guided checklist, not a promise of automatic template changes. A site with no repo needs computed fix values and a checklist to apply by hand. Platform fit ranks fifth because a perfect fix method on the wrong platform still leaves the owner doing work the tool was supposed to do.

6. Testing beyond the scan

Manual testing ranks below the features above, not because it matters less, but because it is bought separately more often than it is built into a tool. A scan finds part of the problems. A person using only a keyboard, and a person using a screen reader, find the rest. The United States Department of Justice guidance says automated checkers can help, but a clean report does not mean everything is accessible, and a manual check paired with automated checks gives a better picture. When a tool offers manual testing, ask who tests, which pages they test, and whether retesting after fixes is included.

7. The nice extras, in order

White label reports and a badge matter for agencies, because clients read them. Bulk scanning matters when one person manages many sites. Colour blindness simulation, a screen reader walkthrough report, and readability analysis matter on Pro tier diagnostics for teams that want depth. These extras are worth paying for once the top five features are settled. Paying for them first, while the fix method is still unnamed, is buying decoration before structure.

Price sits across all of these, not at the end. Axeazy lists Starter at about $29 a month, Pro at about $79 a month, and Agency at about $199 a month or $1,799 a year, with paid prices shown at checkout. Check those figures on Axeazy's pricing page on the day you buy. A low price on a tool whose fix method does not fit your site is not a saving. It is a second purchase waiting to happen.

Related reading

For the full buyer checklist, read accessibility tool buyer checklist, and for what to look for in monitoring alone, read what to look for in accessibility monitoring. For the questions behind each rank, read questions to ask an accessibility vendor.

FAQ

Should I pick the tool with the longest feature list?

No. Count how many features on the list change code, leave a dated record, or catch new problems. A short list that does those three beats a long list that does none of them.

What if two tools tie on the top features?

Compare price for the same scope, then support: response times, whether support covers fix questions or only billing, and whether a developer can speak to a person who knows the code.

Does a high score mean the tool has the right features?

No. A score counts checks, not the experience of a person using a keyboard or a screen reader. Judge features by sample fixes and sample reports, not by a number on a demo page.

Last checked: October 31, 2026 Sources: W3C WCAG 2.2; ADA.gov web guidance; Axeazy capabilities and pricing pages.

Start with Axeazy's free scan and judge its report by the tests in this article before you compare any feature list.