Getting Started with WCAG Pulse

Welcome to WCAG Pulse! This guide will help you set up your account and run your first accessibility scan.

Quick Start

1. Create Your Account

Sign up for a free account at wcagpulse.com/signup. No credit card required for the free tier.

2. Add Your First Site

After signing in, navigate to your dashboard and click Add Site. Enter:

  • Site Name: A friendly name for your website
  • URL: The homepage URL of your site (e.g., https://example.com)

3. Run Your First Scan

Once your site is added, click the Scan Now button. WCAG Pulse will:

  1. Crawl your specified pages
  2. Analyze each page against WCAG 2.1/2.2 guidelines
  3. Generate a detailed accessibility report

Understanding Your Results

Accessibility Score

Your site receives a score from 0-100 based on:

  • Number of issues found
  • Severity of issues (Critical, Serious, Moderate, Minor)
  • WCAG conformance level (A, AA, AAA)

Issue Categories

WCAG Pulse checks for issues across four WCAG principles:

Principle Description
Perceivable Content must be presentable in ways users can perceive
Operable UI components must be operable by all users
Understandable Information and UI operation must be understandable
Robust Content must be robust enough for assistive technologies

Common Issues

  • Missing alt text: Images without alternative text
  • Low color contrast: Text that's hard to read
  • Missing form labels: Form inputs without associated labels
  • Keyboard accessibility: Elements not reachable by keyboard

Setting Up Automated Scans

Schedule Regular Scans

  1. Go to Site Settings
  2. Enable Automated Scanning
  3. Choose your frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly)
  4. Set your preferred time

Scan Notifications

Configure email notifications to receive alerts when:

  • New issues are detected
  • Accessibility score changes significantly
  • Scheduled scans complete

Integrating with Your Workflow

Webhooks

Set up webhooks to receive real-time notifications about scan results. See our Webhook Integration Guide for details.

Widget Integration

Add the WCAG Pulse widget to your site to display your accessibility score. See our Widget Integration Guide for implementation details.

Best Practices

Regular Monitoring

  • Run scans after major deployments
  • Monitor trends over time
  • Set baseline scores and track improvements

Prioritizing Fixes

Focus on issues in this order:

  1. Critical: Barriers that prevent access entirely
  2. Serious: Major barriers that significantly impede access
  3. Moderate: Issues that cause some difficulty
  4. Minor: Minor inconveniences

Team Collaboration

  • Invite team members to your organization
  • Assign issues to specific developers
  • Track progress on remediation efforts

Next Steps

Compliance Guides

Learn about the accessibility laws and standards that apply to your organization:

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