Do accessibility overlays make a website ADA compliant?

  • accessibility
  • ada
  • wcag
  • overlays

Updated

No. An accessibility overlay (the widget that adds an accessibility icon and toolbar to a site, often sold with a promise of instant compliance) can't fix the problems built into your pages, such as missing image descriptions, forms without labels, or menus that don't work with a keyboard. In 2025 the Federal Trade Commission fined one overlay company $1 million over claims that its product made websites compliant. The reliable route is to fix the site itself. This isn't legal advice.

What an overlay does

An overlay is a script added to your site. It typically:

  • Adds a toolbar where visitors can enlarge text, change contrast, or pause animations.
  • Tries to fix problems automatically as the page loads, for example by guessing alt text or adding labels.

Visitors who rely on assistive technology usually already have these features in their own browser, screen reader, or device settings. The automatic fixes are guesses made by software, and they can be wrong or conflict with the tools those visitors use.

What the FTC found

In January 2025 the FTC charged accessiBe with deceptively claiming its AI tool could make any website compliant with WCAG, and with dressing up paid reviews as independent ones. The final order, approved on April 22, 2025, requires the company to pay $1 million and bars it from claiming its automated products can make a website WCAG-compliant, or keep it compliant, without evidence. Source: FTC press release.

Why it matters for you

  • The law is about access, not a widget. The ADA expects your online services to be usable by people with disabilities. See ADA website compliance checklist.
  • Public bodies have a set standard. State and local governments must meet WCAG 2.1 AA under the DOJ's Title II rule, and an overlay doesn't change what's in the underlying pages. See The DOJ's Title II web accessibility rule.
  • It adds weight. An overlay is another third-party script on every page, which can slow the site. See Why is my website slow?

What to do instead

  1. Test the site. Run an automated checker, then try your key pages with only a keyboard and with a screen reader.
  2. Fix the most-used pages first: home, contact, booking or donation, and top landing pages.
  3. Fix templates, not just pages. A fix to the header, menu, or a page template fixes every page that uses it.
  4. Make new content accessible as you publish: alt text, headings in order, descriptive links, captions on video. See How to write alt text for images.
  5. Add an accessibility statement that says how to report a problem, and answer reports quickly.

If your site runs on Dirigible

Accessibility audit, in Dirigible → Tools & Maintenance, checks your pages against WCAG as visitors see them, including at phone width, and links to each page to fix. It's a first pass, not proof of compliance. See Content gardening tools.

If you've already bought an overlay because of a complaint or demand letter, talk to a lawyer and get a manual audit of the site itself, since that's what any remediation will be measured against. This isn't legal advice.