Accessibility on HostGator
HostGator hosts many small business and personal sites, often running WordPress. Accessibility comes from the theme, plugins and content on the site, not the hosting plan.
Small business sites tend to share the same trouble spots: a contact form, a gallery, a map and a few social icons. Checking those well covers a lot of ground.
Common Accessibility Issues on HostGator Sites
Contact forms
Missing labels and errors that are not announced make forms hard to complete with a screen reader.
Social and icon links
Icon-only links without accessible names are read out as just "link".
Embedded maps and videos
Embeds without titles, and videos without captions, leave out screen reader and deaf users.
Image galleries
Gallery images without alt text, and lightboxes that trap keyboard focus.
Low-contrast text
Light gray text and pale buttons from theme defaults.
How AccessBell Scans Your HostGator Site
- Enter any public page. Paste the address of a page on your HostGator site into the scanner above. There is nothing to install on your hosting account: no plugin, no code snippet and no login.
- We load it in a real browser. AccessBell opens the page in headless Chrome and runs its scripts, so it tests what your visitors actually see, including content added by your theme, builder or plugins.
- We run the WCAG rules. The open-source axe-core engine checks the page against the standard you choose, and every result is mapped to the WCAG success criteria it affects.
- You see what is wrong in seconds. The free scan lists every issue it finds, ranked by severity, with the WCAG criteria each one fails. Start a free trial to get the failing code and the fix for each one. Our methodology explains exactly what runs and what still needs a person.
What You Get From the Free Scan and the Free Trial
Free, with no account
- 63 automated rules for WCAG 2.2 Level AA, or presets for WCAG 2.1 AA, the ADA, Section 508 and EN 301 549
- Every issue found on the page, ranked by severity from critical to minor
- The WCAG success criteria each issue fails, which you can look up in our WCAG library
With a 3-day free trial
- The failing HTML, so you can find the element in your site editor or code
- How to fix each issue, with a corrected example
- Every page scanned, up to 500 per domain, with daily monitoring and an email when something breaks
- A list of checks that need a person to review, so nothing is missed
- A dated record of your scans and fixes
How to Fix What the Scan Finds
- Give every icon link and embedded frame a clear text name, and add captions to videos.
- Fix theme-level colors and fonts first, then check each plugin that adds a form, gallery or embed.
- Run a free scan above on your homepage and a few key pages, fix issues starting with critical and serious, then rescan to confirm.
- For ongoing protection, AccessBell Pro monitors up to 500 URLs per domain every day and alerts you when a theme, app or plugin update introduces a new issue.
Related Guides
HostGator Accessibility — Frequently Asked Questions
Is my HostGator website accessible?
Not automatically. The theme, plugins and content you use decide that. Run a free scan to see how many automated issues any page has.
Do I need to install anything on HostGator?
No. AccessBell scans the live page in a browser, so nothing needs to be installed on your hosting account or site.
What should I check by hand after a scan?
Use the keyboard to move through menus, forms and pop-ups, and check that images, links and buttons make sense when read aloud. Our testing guides explain how.
Sources
This page explains general accessibility patterns for HostGator sites and is not legal advice. AccessBell is not affiliated with HostGator. HostGator and its logo are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the platform. See our disclaimer.
