1,000,000
Homepages analyzed
A homepage-level sample, not one million complete websites.
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An independent synthesis of public accessibility research, centered on WebAIM's evaluation of one million homepages and supported by HTTP Archive context.
Headline finding
94.8% of the one million homepages evaluated had automatically detectable WCAG failures, with 51 detected errors per homepage on average.
Source: WebAIM Million 2025. Automated results do not establish full WCAG conformance.
Executive summary
Automatically detectable failures appeared on nearly nineteen out of every twenty homepages in the 2025 WebAIM sample. The percentage has improved since 2019, but the pace is gradual and the modern homepage continues to grow more complex.
This report keeps measurements from different studies separate and distinguishes automated signals from complete accessibility evaluation.
Six categories account for 96% of the automatically detected errors in WebAIM's sample.
The average homepage contained 1,257 elements in 2025, 61% more than in 2019.
These findings identify repeatable code-level failures, not full WCAG conformance or the lived usability of a website.
At a glance
1,000,000
A homepage-level sample, not one million complete websites.
94.8%
Automatically detectable failures only; not a full conformance result.
51
The mean number of detected errors in the 2025 sample.
4.1%
About one detected error for every 24 page elements.
Low contrast remains the most widespread detected issue. Together, these six categories account for 96% of all errors WebAIM detected.
Source: WebAIM Million 2025
The share of homepages with detectable failures improved by 3 percentage points from 2019 to 2025, but 94.8% still had at least one detected failure.
Source: WebAIM Million 2025
Interpretation
Automated measurements are useful for tracking recurring code-level barriers. They are not a substitute for manual review or testing with disabled people.
WebAIM found an average of 1,257 elements per homepage, up 7.1% in one year and 61% since 2019.
79.4% of homepages used ARIA. Pages with ARIA averaged 57 detected errors versus 27 without it, an association that also reflects greater page complexity.
HTTP Archive reported a median Lighthouse accessibility score of 84 in 2024. Lighthouse tests only part of WCAG, so even a perfect automated score cannot establish accessibility.
Automated evaluation of the homepages for the top one million websites in February 2025.
Accessibility analysis based on HTTP Archive data and Lighthouse audits from the June 2024 dataset.
Sample Size
1,000,000 homepages in the primary WebAIM dataset
Date Range
February 2025 primary sample; June 2024 HTTP Archive context
Last updated: 2026-07-12
Use the research
Reuse the findings with a clear citation and retain links to the primary sources when publishing extracts.
The PDF includes key findings, trend tables, methodology, and source links. The CSV contains the underlying values used here.
Accessibility.build. (2026). State of Web Accessibility 2026. https://accessibility.build/research/state-of-accessibility
Questions about the report
Definitions and limitations that are important when quoting these findings.
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