Webflow WCAG 2.1 Checker

WCAG 2.1 for Webflow Sites

WCAG 2.1 became a W3C Recommendation in June 2018. It added criteria for mobile, low vision and cognitive accessibility to WCAG 2.0, and it is the standard named in the US Department of Justice rule for state and local government websites, in EN 301 549 V3.2.1 and in most accessibility settlements.

This checker runs the free scan with the WCAG 2.1 AA preset, so the results match the standard your contract, policy or regulator is most likely to name for a Webflow site.

On Webflow, WCAG 2.1 issues often come from layout settings: sections with fixed heights that cut off text when spacing increases, pale button borders, and hover effects that hide content from keyboard users.

Who Should Run the Webflow WCAG 2.1 Checker

• Webflow site owners whose contracts or policies name WCAG 2.1 AA.
• State and local government bodies, under the ADA Title II rule.
• Businesses responding to an ADA demand letter, which usually cites WCAG 2.1 AA.
• Public sector bodies in the EU, under the Web Accessibility Directive.

WCAG 2.1 Criteria That Often Fail on Webflow

• 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose

  Form fields that collect personal data, such as name, email and address, need the right autocomplete attribute.

• 1.4.10 Reflow

  Content must reflow at 320 CSS pixels wide, the same as 400% zoom, without scrolling in two directions.

• 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast

  Buttons, form borders, icons and focus indicators need a contrast ratio of at least 3:1.

• 1.4.12 Text Spacing

  Text must stay readable when users increase line, paragraph, letter and word spacing.

• 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus

  Tooltips and menus that appear on hover or focus must be dismissible, hoverable and stay visible.

• 4.1.3 Status Messages

  Messages such as “added to cart” or form errors must be announced to screen readers without moving focus.

Where Webflow Sites Usually Fail WCAG 2.1

These problems come up again and again on Webflow sites, and each one fails WCAG 2.1. The Webflow accessibility checker explains how to fix them in Webflow.

• Styled divs instead of real headings. Text boxes styled with heading-sized fonts, instead of an actual Heading element, look identical visually but are invisible to screen reader navigation.
• Empty alt text fields. Webflow prompts for alt text on every image, but it is optional, and images imported or duplicated quickly often keep it blank.
• Custom interactions and animations. Webflow’s interactions panel makes it easy to build scroll and click animations that move focus unpredictably or hide content from keyboard users.
• Embedded custom code. Custom code embeds and third-party widgets (booking tools, chat, video players) bring their own accessibility issues that Webflow’s Designer has no control over.
• Color contrast in the style guide. Brand color palettes chosen for visual design are not automatically checked against WCAG contrast ratios anywhere in the Designer.

Worried about ADA claims as well? The Webflow ADA compliance checker covers the Webflow risks behind most complaints.

What to Test by Hand on Webflow

Automated testing finds many, but not all, WCAG 2.1 failures. Check these yourself after the scan:

1. Zoom to 400% and check nothing is cut off or needs scrolling in two directions (1.4.10).
2. Apply increased text spacing with a bookmarklet and check text is still readable (1.4.12).
3. Open hover menus and tooltips and check you can dismiss them with Escape (1.4.13).
4. Rescan after each fix. Continuous monitoring rescans up to 500 URLs per domain daily and keeps a dated record in the Compliance Vault.

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Related Guides

• WCAG 2.1 AA CheckerThe WCAG 2.1 standard in full, for any website.
• What Is a Website Accessibility Checker? How Automated Testing WorksA plain-English guide to website accessibility checkers: what they test, how they map results to WCAG, what they miss, and how to choose one.
• Automated vs Manual Accessibility Testing: Where Each FitsWhat automated accessibility testing catches, what needs a human, and how to combine both into a repeatable process for finding and fixing WCAG issues.
• WCAG 2.2 Checklist: What Changed and How to Test Each CriterionA practical WCAG 2.2 AA checklist: the nine new success criteria, the one that was removed, and how to test your website against each requirement.
• WCAG Success Criteria LibraryLook up any criterion the scan flags, in plain language.

Webflow WCAG 2.1 Checker: Frequently Asked Questions