Questions about Fixlight

Answers to what people ask about the free plugin and Fixlight Pro. Something missing? Write to fixlight@fernwaylabs.com or ask in the support forum.

Will this make my site ADA or WCAG compliant?

No plugin can promise that. Fixlight fixes common problems in your HTML and helps you find the rest, but accessibility also depends on your content, your design and how people actually use the site. Fixlight never claims compliance.

Does it slow my site down?

The fixes run while WordPress sends a page and take about 2 milliseconds on a typical page. Visitors download no extra scripts. If you use a page cache, the fixed page is what gets cached.

Does it work with my theme and page builder?

Fixlight works with the HTML your site produces, so it works with block themes, classic themes, Elementor, Divi, WooCommerce and most other plugins. It never changes pages while you are editing them in a page builder, including the Divi Builder.

For Divi 4 and 5, Extra, Bloom and Monarch it also has fixes made for their markup (they run only when that theme or plugin is active, and you can turn them off under Fixlight → Fixes). Some of their problems need the theme's own code to change, such as colour contrast and sliders built by JavaScript; Fixlight lists those for you instead.

Does it send my data anywhere?

Not unless you turn on AI alt text or anonymous statistics. Checks and fixes run in your browser and on your own server. If you turn on AI alt text, the images you ask about are sent to the service you choose; if you turn on anonymous statistics, counts of what Fixlight found and fixed are sent once a week. See "External services" below. Barrier reports from your statement page stay in your own database and are emailed from your own site.

How does AI alt text work?

On the Images screen, click Suggest (or suggest for a whole page of images). The AI writes a short description in your site's language, and you check it before saving. Choose Fixlight's free service (50 images per site per month, no account) or the AI you connected to WordPress (Settings → Connectors, WordPress 7 and later, unlimited and billed by your provider to you). AI is optional: you can always write alt text yourself, and nothing else in Fixlight depends on it.

What happens if I deactivate it?

The fixes stop at once, and your site goes back to exactly how it was. Alt text you added through the Images screen stays, because it is stored in WordPress itself.

Can I see my site without the fixes?

Yes. While logged in as an administrator, use Preview home page without fixes on the Overview screen, or add ?fixlight_off=1 to any page address.

Is Fixlight an accessibility widget or overlay?

No. Fixlight adds nothing for visitors to click. It changes the HTML your site sends, so the fixes work for screen readers, keyboards and search engines, even with JavaScript off. See how the two approaches differ.

What does Fixlight Pro add to the free plugin?

Hosted checks in a real browser every week and after updates, keyboard tests of checkouts and forms, monthly reports, a dated record of what was found and fixed, and hand-fixes from our team. See Fixlight Pro.

Can I check a site before installing anything?

Yes. The free scan checks up to 25 sites and emails you a report, and our theme checks show what an automated check finds on popular themes.

Do my clients need the free plugin for Fixlight Pro?

Yes. Each site runs the free Fixlight plugin, which makes the fixes, plus Fixlight Pro, which connects the site to the hosted checks, reports and hand-fixes. Activate the Pro license once on a site and it connects on its own.

Which sites does Fixlight Pro work with?

WordPress 6.5 or newer with PHP 7.4 or newer. We test with the block themes, Astra, Elementor and the WooCommerce block checkout. If a fix ever conflicts with a theme, you can turn that fix off on its own, and turning it off undoes it immediately.

What is a hand-fix?

Some problems need a person: a menu that only opens on hover, a custom button the keyboard can't reach. Ask for a hand-fix from your dashboard; we write a small rule for that page, check it in a real browser, and it appears on the site. You can undo any of them. If code has to change in a theme, we send you exact instructions instead. Agency plans get 2 a month and Store plans 1. Unused hand-fixes don't roll over.

What does each Fixlight Pro plan include?

Agency: 25 client sites, 50 pages checked in a real browser each week per site, keyboard checks of checkouts, forms and logins, AI alt text for 5,000 images a month, monthly reports in your brand, 2 hand-fixes a month, and replies within 1 business day. Store: 1 shop, 200 pages a week, keyboard checks of checkout, forms and login, 2,000 images, 1 hand-fix a month, replies within 1 business day. Site: 1 site, 50 pages a week, 500 images, replies by email. Every plan has the sales kit with 30 prospect scans a month, Update Watch, the Remediation Record and Letter Response Kit, and the live statement (US and EU) with its report form. See the prices.

Can my Fixlight Pro price go up?

Your price doesn't rise for 24 months. After that it can rise at most once a year, by US inflation only, with 60 days' notice. The same rule applies to everyone, founders included, each at their own price. New customers pay the list price of the day.

Who handles payment?

Freemius, our reseller and merchant of record, handles checkout, payment, tax and invoices. You cancel online any time from your Freemius account.

Can I earn by recommending Fixlight Pro?

Yes. Agencies and freelancers earn 50% of a new customer's first 3 monthly payments, then 20% for as long as they pay. See the affiliate program.

Who makes Fixlight?

Fernway Labs, a small software studio. You talk to the people who build it, and we answer within one business day: fixlight@fernwaylabs.com.