ADA Compliance for GoDaddy Websites
GoDaddy is the first stop for many sole traders, who often buy a domain, a builder plan and an email address in one place. The result is a lot of very small sites with no one assigned to accessibility, which fits the profile of the businesses that most often receive ADA demand letters.
This GoDaddy ADA compliance checker runs the same engine as the GoDaddy accessibility checker with the ADA preset selected, so the results are measured against WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Paste a page address above to see the issues on your own site.
GoDaddy ADA Compliance Risks to Check First
These are the barriers most often behind accessibility complaints on GoDaddy sites. Each one maps to a WCAG success criterion that the scan reports.
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Builder photos without descriptions
Images added in the website builder often keep no alt text or just the file name.
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Contrast on themes and buttons
Theme colors, light fonts and buttons with white text on a bright fill fail contrast.
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Contact forms
The contact section of a builder site may use placeholders instead of visible labels.
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Click here and learn more links
Repeated, vague link and button text that does not say where it leads.
How the ADA Applies to Your GoDaddy Site
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses open to the public to give people with disabilities equal access to their goods and services. The Department of Justice states that this covers a business's web content as well as its physical locations ({ADA.gov web guidance (opens in a new tab)}). The law does not name a technical standard for private websites, so courts, settlements and demand letters tend to point to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which is why this checker uses it.
- 3,117 website accessibility lawsuits filed in U.S. federal court in 2025, up 27% from 2024 Seyfarth Shaw, ADA Title III blog (opens in a new tab)
- 5,000+ digital accessibility lawsuits filed across federal and state courts in 2025 UsableNet 2025 year-end report (opens in a new tab)
- 1,427 of those 2025 lawsuits were against companies that had already been sued UsableNet 2025 year-end report (opens in a new tab)
- 64% of companies sued in the first half of 2025 had annual revenue under $25 million UsableNet 2025 midyear report (opens in a new tab)
None of this depends on which platform you use: a claim names the barrier on the page, not the software behind it. Read more in our ADA website compliance guide and the general ADA compliance checker.
GoDaddy ADA Compliance Steps
- Run the ADA check above on your homepage, and then on a page of each type you publish.
- Open each page in the builder and add alt text to images that carry meaning, marking decorative ones as such.
- Pick theme colors that pass contrast, and make button text readable against its fill.
- If your site is on GoDaddy WordPress hosting instead, follow the WordPress checker for theme and plugin fixes.
- Rescan to confirm each fix, and keep dated records. AccessBell Pro monitors up to 500 URLs per domain every day and emails you when something new fails.
What an Automated GoDaddy ADA Check Can and Cannot Do
Automated testing finds a large share of the machine-detectable WCAG failures, such as missing alt text, unlabeled fields, low contrast and broken ARIA. It cannot judge whether alt text is accurate, whether a keyboard path makes sense or whether a screen reader user can complete a purchase. Test your key journeys by hand as well, and read our methodology for exactly what runs.
No tool, including this one, can certify that a GoDaddy site is ADA compliant or protect you from a claim. Treat a scan as evidence of ongoing effort, and speak to a lawyer if you receive a demand letter.
Free scan and 3-day free trial
- Free, with no account: every issue found on the page, ranked by severity, with the WCAG criteria each one fails.
- With the trial: the failing HTML, how to fix each issue, scans of up to 500 pages per domain, daily monitoring and a dated record of your fixes.
Publishing an Accessibility Statement on GoDaddy
Add a page for your accessibility statement and link it in your site’s footer or navigation, with a contact email for feedback. Our free accessibility statement generator writes the text, and it should name the standard you follow, any known gaps and a way to contact you.
GoDaddy ADA Compliance: Frequently Asked Questions
Is a GoDaddy website ADA compliant?
It depends on how the site was built and filled in. The builder gives you some controls, but you have to use them, so run a scan to see the automated issues.
Do I need a lawyer or a scan first?
A scan is a fast first step and costs nothing. If you receive a demand letter, speak to a lawyer who handles ADA cases.
Does GoDaddy hosting protect me from lawsuits?
No. Hosting and domain services do not change your site’s accessibility. Your site’s content and code do.
What standard does the GoDaddy ADA compliance check use?
WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the technical standard the Department of Justice has adopted for state and local government websites and the one courts and settlements most often cite for businesses. The ADA itself does not name a technical standard for private business websites.
Sources
- ADA.gov: Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA (opens in a new tab)
- W3C: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (opens in a new tab)
- Seyfarth Shaw, ADA Title III blog (opens in a new tab)
- UsableNet 2025 year-end report (opens in a new tab)
- UsableNet 2025 midyear report (opens in a new tab)
This page explains general ADA and accessibility patterns for GoDaddy sites and is not legal advice. AccessBell is not affiliated with GoDaddy. GoDaddy and its logo are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the platform. See our disclaimer.
