What is ADA Testing? Why it Matters & How to Perform it in 2025

You’ve tested your product for bugs.

You’ve stress-tested it for performance.

But here’s a question most teams forget to ask:

Can everyone actually use it? ADA testing is what helps you find those gaps before your users do.

It’s not a nice-to-have or a legal line item you check off once. It’s part of how real people experience your product, such as those using screen readers, keyboard navigation, or other assistive tools.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what ADA testing looks like in practice, how it fits into accessibility testing in software testing, and what you actually need to do to stay compliant. We’ll also look at tools, timelines, and how to run an ADA assessment that doesn’t just tick a box, but works.

What is ADA Testing?

ADA testing refers to checking your website or digital product for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It is a U.S. civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.

Originally focused on physical spaces like ramps and elevators, the ADA now applies to digital environments too. That includes websites, mobile apps, online forms, and other software products.

Why does this matter?

Because over 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. live with a disability. That’s more than 60 million people who may experience the internet very differently from you do. ADA testing is how you make sure they’re not being left out.

If you’re thinking, “Okay, but what does that actually cover?”  here’s the quick breakdown:

• Web accessibility: Means your site or product can be used by people with a wide range of disabilities without confusion, friction, or workarounds.
• Inclusive design: Involves designing with accessibility in mind from the start, rather than treating it like a patch you add later.
• Legal compliance: Refers to meeting standards like WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) so your business isn’t at risk of lawsuits, formal complaints, or government action.

Put simply, ADA testing is how you make sure your product works for everyone and not just the people who use it like you do.

Why is ADA Testing Important?

Yes, ADA testing helps people. It’s about doing the right thing for users who are often overlooked.

But that’s not the whole story. Accessibility also helps your business. It lowers legal risk, opens up your product to more users, and signals that you care about creating a better, more inclusive experience. Here’s how:

• You reduce legal risk: If your site or app isn’t accessible, you could face lawsuits, demand letters, or federal investigations. The number of digital accessibility lawsuits in the U.S. has been rising every year, with over 2,000 digital accessibility lawsuits being filed in the first half of 2025 itself. So clearly, ADA compliance isn’t optional; it’s enforceable.
• You make your product usable for more people: Over 60 million people in the U.S. live with a disability. That’s a huge segment of potential users, customers, or clients. ADA testing ensures that people using screen readers, keyboard navigation, or voice commands aren’t blocked at the first click.
• You build trust (and conversions): Accessibility overlaps with good UX – clear content, readable fonts, intuitive navigation. These changes often improve usability for everyone, not just people with disabilities.

All of this starts with one thing: ADA compliance testing. It’s the process of checking whether your site or product meets accessibility standards like WCAG 2.1, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Understanding ADA Titles: Who’s Covered and What it Means for You

Before diving into ADA compliance testing, it’s important to understand how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is structured.

The ADA has different sections, called Titles, that apply to different types of organizations. Which Title you fall under determines what kind of digital accessibility you’re legally responsible for.

Here’s a breakdown:

ADA Title	Who it applies to	What you’re required to make accessible
Title I	Private employers with 15+ employees	Internal systems like job application portals, employee dashboards, and onboarding platforms
Title II	State and local governments	Public-facing digital services like civic websites, education portals, online forms, and transport systems
Title III	Customer-facing businesses and nonprofits	Websites, apps, e-commerce platforms, online bookings, payment portals, and any digital touchpoint open to the public

If you’re running any kind of business or service with a digital presence, chances are you’re covered under one of these, and that means ADA testing should be on your radar.

What Are the Requirements for ADA Compliance?

It’s one thing to know that ADA testing is important, but what exactly are you testing against?

To be considered compliant, your website or digital product needs to meet specific legal and technical standards, not just general ideas about accessibility. These standards define how your content should be built, displayed, and navigated so people with disabilities can use it fully.

Here’s what you need to know:

WCAG 2.2: The Most Current Accessibility Standard

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the gold standard for web accessibility. The latest version, WCAG 2.2, was officially published in October 2023. It builds on WCAG 2.1 by adding new requirements focused on mobile accessibility, cognitive disabilities, and easier navigation for keyboard-only users.

WCAG guidelines are organized into three levels: A, AA, and AAA, with Level AA being the widely accepted standard for legal compliance and real-world usability.

Even though WCAG 2.2 isn’t legally mandated yet, it’s quickly becoming the go-to benchmark for accessible design. For any organization doing ADA compliance testing, web accessibility audits, or planning inclusive design upgrades, it is a smart and future-ready target to aim for.

Section 508: For Federal Websites and Digital Tools

If you operate under a federal agency, your digital content must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. These guidelines map closely to WCAG 2.0, and most agencies now aim to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 as internal best practice.

Section 508 applies to:

• Federal websites
• Online forms
• Procurement platforms
• Training tools and internal portals

Important to note: Section 508 is the federal version of ADA digital compliance. Noncompliance here can block funding or trigger legal consequences.

Doj Guidance: Title Ii Final Rule (2024)

In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published a final rule under the ADA. It confirmed that Title II now officially applies to all web content and mobile apps operated by state and local governments.

Here’s what the rule includes:

• Requires conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA
• Applies to public school systems, court portals, civic service apps, and more
• Compliance deadlines begin rolling out between 2026 and 2027, depending on agency size

While this rule currently applies only to public entities under Title II, it sets a clear precedent and strongly signals that similar requirements for private businesses (Title III) are likely on the horizon.

Do You Need ADA Compliance Testing?

Even after reading the compliance requirements, it’s still not always obvious whether ADA testing applies to you.

The law covers a wide range of organizations, and unless you’ve studied the ADA closely, figuring out where you fall can feel confusing. So let’s simplify that.

If you:

• Run a business with 15 or more employees
• Have internal platforms like employee portals or job application forms

→ You fall under Title I and need to test your internal systems for accessibility.

• Are a public school, city government, or public service organization

→ You fall under Title II and must ensure all public-facing digital services are ADA compliant.

• Sell products or services to the public online
• Accept bookings, payments, or registrations through your site or app
• Serve customers, patients, students, or the general public through your digital platform

→ You fall under Title III, and your customer-facing digital touchpoints must meet ADA accessibility standards.

Bottom line? If you said yes to any of the above, ADA compliance testing is not just a good idea; it’s something your business is legally responsible for. It’s how you protect your users and your brand.

How to Test Your Website for ADA Compliance

Now that you understand who the ADA applies to and what the compliance standards actually are, the next step is figuring out how to test your website or app for ADA compliance.

The right strategy depends on your team, your tech stack, and how critical accessibility is to your user journey. That said, a well-rounded ADA compliance testing process usually includes both manual and automated testing methods, done at the right time and frequency.

Let’s break it down:

Manual ADA Compliance Testing

Manual testing is still the most accurate way to evaluate web accessibility, as it helps uncover user experience issues that automated tools often miss.

This approach usually involves:

• Expert-led accessibility audits to evaluate your product against WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 standards
• Testing with keyboard-only navigation to ensure all elements are accessible without a mouse
• Running your site through screen readers like JAWS or NVDA to catch missing alt text, semantic structure issues, and content flow problems

Manual ADA testing is time-intensive, but it’s how you catch things like confusing navigation, hidden form errors, or poor color contrast that automation often skips.

Automated ADA Compliance Testing

If you’re working with larger websites, apps, or frequent updates, automated accessibility testing tools can save time and catch obvious issues fast.

Tools like WAVE, Lighthouse, axe DevTools, and platforms like Testsigma can:

• Scan pages for WCAG violations
• Flag missing alt text, incorrect heading structure, poor color contrast, and more
• Integrate into CI/CD pipelines for real-time checks during development

That said, automation has its limits. It can’t judge visual intent, like whether your alt text actually makes sense, and often generates false positives or incomplete results. You’ll still need manual review to catch what machines miss.

Confused about which testing method to go for? Check out our blog on manual testing vs automation testing

When and How Often Should You Perform ADA Testing?

So now you know how to test your website for ADA compliance, whether manually, automatically, or with a hybrid approach.

But even with that clarity, most teams still ask two key questions:

When should we test? And how often is enough?

Here’s what that looks like:

When Should You Perform ADA Testing?

Even if your site was compliant once, accessibility issues can creep in over time, such as product updates, design changes, new content, or third-party tools. 

That’s why ADA testing isn’t a one-time task; it’s an ongoing part of software QA, content deployment, and user experience checks.

Here are the most important times to run accessibility testing:

• Before launching a new product, page, or feature
• After major updates, especially redesigns or layout changes
• After switching platforms (e.g., CMS migrations or tech stack changes)
• When receiving user complaints or feedback about accessibility barriers
• When adding new content types like video embeds, calculators, or dynamic widgets

How Often Should You Perform ADA Testing?

The ideal ADA testing frequency depends on how complex, content-heavy, and fast-changing your digital experience is.

As a general guideline:

• Quarterly or biannual audits work for most static websites or small platforms
• Monthly checks are recommended for enterprise apps, SaaS products, or government-facing systems
• Continuous monitoring is ideal for high-risk industries like healthcare, education, and finance

If your site is constantly evolving, treat accessibility like performance: test early, test often, and test with real users when possible.

4 ADA Compliance Testing Tools

Once you understand what to test and when, the next step is choosing the right tools. From lightweight browser extensions to full-fledged platforms, the best ADA testing tools help teams spot accessibility issues faster and more reliably.

Here are a few top accessibility checkers to explore:Testsigma: A cloud-based, codeless test automation platform powered by Agentic AI. It includes accessibility testing so that you can catch WCAG and ADA issues as part of your functional test runs

1. WAVE: A browser-based tool that highlights WCAG errors visually on-page
2. axe DevTools: A developer-friendly extension for in-depth audits and issue tracing
3. Google Lighthouse: Built into Chrome DevTools, great for quick WCAG checks

Whether you’re just starting with accessibility or scaling compliance across enterprise apps, these are some of the best web accessibility testing tools to consider.

Common ADA Compliance Issues Found in Websites

You’ve set up your testing tools, but what exactly are they looking for?

ADA compliance testing often reveals the same culprits again and again, with many of them easy to fix once you know where to look.

Here are the most common issues flagged by web accessibility checkers:

• Poor color contrast, particularly on buttons, labels, and backgrounds
• Missing alt text on images or decorative elements
• Incorrect heading structures that confuse screen readers
• Unlabeled form fields, dropdowns, and checkboxes make them inaccessible for keyboard or screen reader users

These problems not only impact people with disabilities but also hurt your site’s overall usability and SEO. Catching them early saves dev time and reduces risk for accessibility lawsuits as well.

Conclusion

If your website looks great but doesn’t work for everyone, it’s not really working.

ADA testing is how you make sure your product is usable by people with disabilities, not just the people on your dev team.

What makes it even better? You don’t need to slow down to get it right.

With a platform like Testsigma, you can build accessibility testing into your existing QA process. Run checks for WCAG compliance, automate reports, and flag issues early, across browsers, devices, and environments.

ADA compliance testing doesn’t have to be a separate process. With the right setup, it just becomes part of how you build.

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