If you’ve been in an accessibility conversation longer than five minutes, someone has probably asked, “Can’t we just run it through a checker?”
Short answer? No.
Longer answer? Let’s unpack the fantasy of the Fix Button and what accessibility actually demands, in time, money, and mindset.
Let’s Bust the Myth
There is no Fix Button.
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One fix doesn’t solve everything.
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Automated checkers catch maybe 40 percent of actual issues.
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Context matters – a line of code might look clean but still confuse the heck out of users.
This is not a glitch in the system. It’s a reminder that humans are not code and good design needs more than clean syntax.
So What Does Work?
It starts with the right tools – and more importantly, the right people using them.
Automated Tools
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Great for: catching missing alt text, skipped headings, broken ARIA roles
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Not great for: meaningful alt text, bad link labels, cognitive overload, anything involving nuance
Automated tools are your spellcheck, not your editor. Use them, but don’t trust them blindly.
Manual Testing
This is where the real insight happens. Navigating with a keyboard. Listening to a screen reader. Zooming to 200 percent and seeing what falls apart. It’s slow. It’s messy. But it’s where empathy lives.
Yes, It Costs Money
Let’s say it: accessibility is not free.
Some tools cost about $900 per license. Annual subscriptions are the norm. Bulk pricing helps, but still, budget lines need to exist.
And while you’re at it, budget time too. Learning the tools, training your team, reviewing feedback – it all takes effort. But so does launching a product. Accessibility is part of the product.
The real cost isn’t the tool. It’s the missed opportunity when users can’t engage with your content.
No Tool Does Everything
Each tool has its strengths and limits. That’s not a flaw, it’s reality.
Some check contrast. Some flag code. Some generate reports. None of them understand user emotion, lived experience, or why an animation triggered someone’s migraine.
That’s why tools don’t make your site accessible. People do.
So What Should You Do?
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Choose tools based on your team’s actual needs and give them time to learn.
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Don’t rely on one tool to do it all.
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Make accessibility part of your budgeting cycle, not your emergency fund.
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Talk openly about the gaps. There is no shame in “still learning.”
Accessibility isn’t expensive. Ignoring it is.
