Answers
Is there an accessibility scanner API or GitHub Action for WordPress sites?
Yes, several, though none is made only for WordPress: they check pages by URL, so they work on any WordPress site. On GitHub, GitHub's own Accessibility Scanner (free, in public preview) and the Lighthouse CI Action are the best known, and Pa11y CI runs from the command line. As APIs, WebAIM's WAVE API gives 100 free credits and then costs $0.025 to $0.04 a page, and Google's PageSpeed Insights API returns a Lighthouse accessibility score. Fixlight's scan API and its GitHub Action, which we make, are free with a key.
We make Fixlight, a free WordPress accessibility plugin, so we're not neutral. Every number below has its source, and facts about other products come from their own pages.
GitHub Actions
- GitHub Accessibility Scanner (by GitHub, MIT, public preview): scans URLs with axe, files issues, and can hand them to Copilot to propose fixes (optional). Needs a fine-grained access token.
- Lighthouse CI Action (MIT): runs Lighthouse, including its accessibility audits, and can fail a build below a score you set.
- Pa11y CI (LGPL): a command-line runner you call from any workflow. The "Pa11y CI Action" on the Marketplace is third-party.
- Fixlight Accessibility Scan (ours, MIT): checks public pages through Fixlight's scan API on every push, writes each problem and how to fix it to the job summary, and can fail the job on serious problems. Needs the free key below.
- GitHub-hosted runners are free for public repositories; private ones get 2,000 free minutes a month on the Free plan.
APIs
- WAVE API (WebAIM): 100 free credits, then $0.04 a credit (from 250), $0.03 (from 1,000) or $0.025 (from 10,000); one page is usually one credit.
- PageSpeed Insights API (Google): ask for the accessibility category to get Lighthouse's score and audits; works without a key, though a key is recommended.
- Fixlight scan API (ours): one page in, plain-English findings out, with which ones the free Fixlight plugin fixes on its own. Free key at /api-key/, 20 scans an hour and 200 a day.
An automated scan finds many problems, not all of them. Use it to catch regressions, not to certify a site.
Sources
Checked on October 25, 2026.
More: Get a free Fixlight scan API key · Fixlight Accessibility Scan on GitHub Marketplace · Free scan of 25 sites · All answers