Accessibility remediation that actually fixes your website
Website accessibility remediation is the hands-on work of repairing the real barriers in your site’s code and content so it conforms to WCAG 2.1 AA and works for people who use assistive technology. Curbcut doesn’t paste a widget over the problem — we go into the HTML, CSS, and templates and fix the things a screen reader and a keyboard user actually hit: missing semantics, broken ARIA, low contrast, lost focus, unlabeled forms, and inaccessible media.
That distinction matters. An accessibility overlay runs a script at page load that tries to mask issues without touching the source, which is why overlays don’t ensure ADA compliance and have themselves been named in lawsuits. Remediation changes the underlying code, so the fix is permanent, testable, and defensible.
What we fix
Remediation is organized around the POUR principles behind WCAG — Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust. In practice, that breaks down into a few concrete buckets:
| Area | What’s broken | What remediation does |
|---|---|---|
| Semantics & structure | Generic <div> soup, skipped heading levels, missing landmarks | Restore native HTML elements, heading structure and landmarks screen readers can navigate |
| ARIA | Wrong roles, broken states, ARIA that overrides good HTML | Apply correct ARIA labels and roles only where native HTML can’t do the job |
| Color contrast | Text and UI below the required ratio | Adjust palette to meet color contrast requirements without breaking your brand |
| Keyboard & focus | Mouse-only widgets, invisible focus, keyboard traps | Make everything operable by keyboard navigation with visible, logical focus management |
| Forms | Unlabeled inputs, inaccessible errors, vague instructions | Build accessible forms with programmatic labels and clear error messaging |
| Images & media | Missing or useless alternatives, uncaptioned video | Write meaningful alt text, add captions and transcripts, fix decorative-image handling |
| Documents | Untagged PDFs that screen readers can’t read | Remediate accessible PDFs or replace them with accessible HTML |
These are the same issues that drive the thousands of ADA web accessibility claims filed each year — and the same ones a screen reader like NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver exposes the moment a real user lands on your page.
How our remediation process works
We work in a tight, transparent loop so you always know what’s changing and why.
- Scan and audit. We start with an accessibility audit — automated tooling plus manual testing — to produce a prioritized list of every WCAG 2.1 AA failure. You can’t fix what you haven’t found.
- Scope and prioritize. We group findings by severity and user impact, then scope a fixed-price remediation sprint. Blocking issues for screen-reader and keyboard users come first.
- Fix in the code. Our team remediates the issues in your actual codebase — templates, components, content — following the existing patterns of your platform so nothing breaks.
- Verify with assistive technology. Every fix is retested with keyboard navigation and screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver), not just an automated checker. Automated tools catch only part of WCAG; the rest needs a human. (See automated vs manual testing.)
- Document and protect. We deliver a VPAT / Accessibility Conformance Report, an accessibility statement, and optional monitoring so new content doesn’t quietly reintroduce barriers.
Why manual remediation beats overlays — every time
Overlay vendors promise instant compliance from one line of JavaScript. The reality is that the script can’t see your design intent, can’t reliably fix dynamic content, and frequently interferes with the assistive technology users already rely on. The U.S. Department of Justice has reaffirmed that the ADA applies to websites, and litigation continues to target sites that leaned on a widget instead of fixing the page.
Manual remediation, by contrast, repairs the source so that:
- A blind user’s screen reader announces your content in a logical order.
- A keyboard-only user can reach and operate every control with a visible focus ring.
- A low-vision user gets text that meets contrast requirements at their zoom level.
- Your conformance claim is backed by a real VPAT — not a marketing badge.
If you want the side-by-side, our overlay vs manual remediation breakdown lays it out, along with the accessiBe / UserWay / AudioEye alternatives most businesses should consider instead.
Standards we remediate against
Most U.S. small businesses are remediating to satisfy ADA Title III, which courts have applied to commercial websites even though the law predates the modern web. The technical yardstick everyone — plaintiffs, the DOJ, and the W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative — points to is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
- WCAG conformance levels. A is the floor, AA is the practical and legal target, and AAA is aspirational. We remediate to Level AA.
- Section 508. If you sell to or work with the federal government, the Section 508 standard incorporates WCAG 2.0 AA; we remediate to it and can produce the matching VPAT. Not sure which framework applies? See ADA vs Section 508 vs WCAG.
Helpful primers from WebAIM and the W3C are worth a read, but a checklist won’t fix your site — implementation in the code does.
What it costs and how to start
There’s no flat price for remediation, because a five-page brochure site and a 5,000-SKU store are not the same job. The honest answer comes from the audit: page count, how the site was built, and how many WCAG failures exist all move the number. We turn those findings into a fixed quote — see what ADA compliance costs for the drivers, and our broader ADA compliance services for the full audit-to-monitoring engagement.
If you’ve already received a notice, don’t wait — read what to do after an ADA demand letter first. (That page, and this one, are general information, not legal advice; talk to a qualified attorney about your specific exposure.)
Otherwise, the fastest way to find out where you stand is a free accessibility scan. We’ll show you exactly which WCAG 2.1 AA barriers exist on your site — then fix them by hand.