Lumtera – Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 Compliance

No tool can do that on its own, and you should be wary of any that claims to. Lumtera finds the problems automation can reliably detect, explains them and helps you fix them. Meeting WCAG also needs manual testing (Lumtera's guided checklists help), an accessible theme and ongoing care. A score of 100 means "no automated issues found", nothing more.

No. An overlay adds a toolbar or script that changes your pages in each visitor's browser. It doesn't fix the underlying content, and it can get in the way of the assistive technology people already use. Lumtera adds nothing for visitors: it finds problems in your content and theme, explains them, and helps you fix them at the source. The optional site fixes change the HTML your server sends, the same for everyone, and each one is explained.

Yes. Lumtera checks against WCAG 2.2 at levels A and AA, which builds on WCAG 2.1 and 2.0. Its checks include criteria that are new in WCAG 2.2: focus not obscured (2.4.11), dragging movements (2.5.7), target size (2.5.8), redundant entry (3.3.7) and accessible authentication (3.3.8). Each finding names the success criterion it relates to, and the check reference lists them all.

WCAG 2.2 has 55 success criteria at levels A and AA. With review mode's whole-page checks, Lumtera's automated checks cover 37 of 55 of these criteria, fully or in part. The checks of saved content alone cover 25 of 55 criteria. "Covers" means a check looks at that criterion; it does not mean your site meets it. The rest need a person: for example, whether alt text is accurate or captions match the audio. Lumtera's guided checklists walk you through these, and record who checked what and when.

Yes. The EAA has applied since 28 June 2025 to many products and services sold in the EU, online shops included, and it points to EN 301 549, whose web requirements are WCAG 2.1 AA. Lumtera checks against WCAG 2.2 A/AA, which builds on 2.1, and adds the two things the EAA asks you to publish:

• Accessibility statement: WCAG 2.1, WCAG 2.2 or EN 301 549 as the standard, with templates for the EAA, UK public sector (PSBAR), ADA Title II and AODA. Known problems are pre-filled from your results. You choose the conformance status; it never says "fully conformant" on its own.
• Accessibility feedback form: a block and the [lumtera_feedback] shortcode. It works without JavaScript, has spam protection, and stores messages on your site in a Feedback inbox with reference numbers, statuses, replies and a retention period you choose.

The US Department of Justice's Title II rule asks state and local governments to meet WCAG 2.1 AA on their websites. The dates were moved in 2026: 26 April 2027 for entities serving 50,000 people or more, and 26 April 2028 for smaller ones and special districts. Lumtera checks against WCAG 2.2 A/AA, which builds on 2.1. It also has an ADA Title II statement template and exception tags: record which exception you believe applies to a post or file, with a note. Tagged items stay in every total and report, marked "Exception claimed".

The web requirements of both point to WCAG: WCAG 2.0 AA for the US Section 508 standards, and WCAG 2.1 AA for EN 301 549. Lumtera checks against WCAG 2.2 A/AA, which builds on both versions, and the statement generator can name EN 301 549 as the standard. Lumtera Pro's VPAT 2.5 conformance report is the WCAG edition; it doesn't include separate Section 508 or EN 301 549 tables.

We tested it ourselves against the W3C's ACT rules test cases, whose right answers are known. On the 21 W3C ACT rules its checks cover, Lumtera found 98% of known failures at any severity (130 of 132: 95 as errors and 35 for review), with 4 false alarms in 222 clean examples. Rules outside Lumtera's checks were tested too and are listed as gaps. False alarms waste your time, so we also ran Lumtera on 529 pages that meet WCAG 2.2 AA or nearly so: WAI-ARIA and GOV.UK examples, WordPress default themes and WooCommerce. After our own triage, review mode raised no false errors there; the editor's check of raw content still raised 8, on markup a script changes after the page loads. Where a check isn't sure, it says "Needs review" rather than raising an error. See the method and full results.

No. A visitor's page view runs no Lumtera database query and loads no Lumtera script or stylesheet, unless you add one of its blocks or shortcodes, the optional statement link in the footer, or an optional site fix. Review mode's scripts load only for logged-in users who can edit the page, and only when they open it. Checks run in the admin: when a post is saved, and in batches when you click Check all content. The weekly jobs run through WP-Cron.

Yes. In the block editor, Lumtera has a sidebar that checks as you type, jumps to each block and offers one-click fixes. Elementor gets its own panel in the editor, which checks unsaved changes. Tested on real installs: Elementor, Beaver Builder, SiteOrigin Page Builder, Brizy, Visual Composer Website Builder, Live Composer, Zion Builder, and the block libraries Spectra, Kadence Blocks, GenerateBlocks, Stackable, Otter, Essential Blocks, Greenshift and Kubio. Divi 4 (Divi 5 layouts are blocks), Bricks, Oxygen 2–4 and WPBakery are supported through their documented APIs. Other builders that output their layout through WordPress's content filter are checked too. Oxygen 6 and Breakdance aren't supported yet; review mode still checks their pages as rendered. Advanced Custom Fields values are checked with the post. Lumtera doesn't change content a page builder manages; it tells you what to fix in the builder.

Yes. Product descriptions and short descriptions are checked like posts, and review mode checks product, cart and checkout pages as rendered, with your theme. Lumtera Pro adds scheduled checks of the shop, cart and checkout, classic checkout form tests with safeguards so no order is created, and checks signed in as a customer.

Yes. Lumtera works on each site of a network. When it is deleted, each site keeps its data (the default) or removes all of it, as set in Lumtera → Settings → General.

Not by default. Checks, reports, fixes and the feedback inbox run and are stored inside your WordPress. There is no account, no tracking, and no cookie for visitors. The weekly email is sent by your own site with wp_mail(), like a password reset, and the weekly home page check fetches the page from your own server. Data leaves your site only if you turn on AI suggestions (content goes to the AI provider you connected to WordPress, and only when someone clicks a button such as "Suggest") or the Akismet spam check for the feedback form. See "External services" below. For your privacy policy, Lumtera adds suggested text under Settings → Privacy. The feedback form doesn't store the sender's IP address: a scrambled form of it is kept for up to an hour to limit repeat messages. Names, email addresses and messages are deleted after the retention period you choose. Feedback messages and dismissal notes are included in WordPress's personal data export and erase tools.

Yes, and no account. Every check and tool in this plugin is free, with no page or site limits: the editor checks, review mode, fixes, the statement generator, the feedback form, the weekly email and WP-CLI. Nothing has moved from free to Pro, and the free plugin never asks you to sign up.

The free plugin checks your content as you write, checks all of it in one click, checks any page live in review mode, and fixes issues one at a time with a preview and undo. Lumtera Pro is a separate add-on that keeps checking when you're not there: scheduled checks of many pages at desktop and phone width, as a visitor or a signed-in test user (one role on every plan, any number on Agency and Unlimited), form tests, hover and focus contrast, carousel, consistency and PDF checks. It adds a tamper-evident evidence log, scan comparison, test sessions and a fixes queue to review, apply and undo fixes in bulk. For reporting it has alerts, issue trackers, branded client reports, a VPAT 2.5 conformance report on every plan, a client portfolio (Growth plan and up) and multisite tools (Agency plan and up). See the Free vs Pro comparison and the Pro documentation.

Personal (1 site), Growth (5 sites), Agency (25 sites) and Unlimited (no site limit). Every plan includes every Pro feature, with these exceptions: consistency checks, white-label reports, client emails, share links and the client portfolio start at Growth; signed-in checks as more than one role, an approval rule for fixes and the multisite network overview start at Agency. Higher plans also check more pages in each scheduled run and apply more fixes in each queue run. Personal, Growth and Agency are sold yearly or lifetime; Unlimited is yearly. Every purchase has a 14-day refund. See plans and pricing.

Pro keeps working on the sites where it is active, and your settings and results stay. Only updates and support stop until you renew. The free plugin is not affected either way.

Yes. Watch Lumtera check content in the editor and the live page, and fix issues with a preview and undo. Watch Lumtera Pro for scheduled checks, the evidence log and the VPAT report. Each is just over a minute long.

In your content: images and alt text, links and buttons, headings, forms, tables, audio and video (captions, transcripts, autoplay), moving content, sensory-only instructions, structure and text, color contrast, ARIA and language. On the live page, in review mode: page title and language, landmarks and skip link, heading outline, contrast (including gradients, text over images and non-text contrast), focus visibility, focus hidden under sticky headers, focus order, possible keyboard traps, menus, dialogs and tabs from the keyboard, target size, reflow, zoom, text spacing and reading order. The check reference explains every check.

Use review mode. View a post or page you can edit and choose Accessibility in the admin bar. Review mode outlines each issue on the live page, theme included, and has tabs for:

• Whole page: checks of the page as rendered.
• Keyboard: every Tab stop numbered on the page. Test menus and pop-ups opens and closes them from the keyboard, then puts the page back as it was.
• Screen reader: the headings, landmarks, links and form fields a screen reader lists, and the page read in order. It is a preview; real screen readers remain the reference.

Choose Fix on an issue in the Content report or the editor. Lumtera shows the change before anything is saved; you can edit it, approve it or cancel. Approved fixes are saved as a new revision, checked again, and can be undone from the same place. When an issue comes from a shared part, such as a template part, synced pattern or menu, you can fix it once there, and Lumtera checks the pages that use it again.

Yes. Menus, widget areas, template parts, synced patterns and navigation are checked when they are saved, and listed under Site parts in the Content report. Review mode checks the whole rendered page.

Yes. The free plugin works on as many sites as you like, with no account or license. Under Lumtera → Settings → Permissions you choose which roles see reports, dismiss issues and use review mode. For a reporting dashboard, the "Lumtera Reporter" role can only read the site's accessibility summary. Lumtera Pro adds branded client reports, white-label and a client portfolio across sites.

Yes, free. Turn it on with one click from the getting-started checklist, or under Lumtera → Settings → Email summary. It is sent by your own site and shows your score, new errors, what you fixed this week and the result of the weekly home page check, if that is on. Each email links to the page where you can turn it off.

Only if you turn it on. AI suggestions are off by default, and every check works without them. When on, content is sent only when someone clicks a button such as "Suggest" or "Draft with AI", and only to the AI provider you connected to WordPress. Every AI draft is shown to a person, who edits and approves it before it is saved.

It is kept by default, so feedback messages, results and settings come back if you install Lumtera again. To remove everything instead, choose "Delete everything" under Lumtera → Settings → General → When Lumtera is deleted. You can download every feedback message as a CSV file from the Feedback inbox first.

Yes. wp lumtera check --page=/ checks a page of your site and exits with an error code when it finds problems. It writes SARIF for GitHub code scanning, or JUnit for other CI tools. Record today's issues with --write-baseline=<file>, then run with --baseline=<file>, so the build fails only on new issues. See WP-CLI.

Lumtera is ready for translation. Reading level is measured in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Dutch, and vague links such as "click here" are found in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portuguese. With Polylang or WPML, each post's reading level uses the language set for it.

Yes. Under Lumtera → Settings → Checks, you can set any check to Error, Needs review, Tip or Off.

Open Why is this flagged? on the issue. Under "Report a false positive", Lumtera prepares a short report with the check and the markup, with email addresses, long numbers and query strings taken out. Edit it, then follow the link to the support forum and post it yourself; nothing is sent from your site. For anything else, ask in the same forum, or read the documentation.