# What the service checks – and what it doesn’t

Which requirements the automated scan measures, where it is uncertain, what only you can judge and why the service never changes your website.

**In short**

- Every page is loaded in a real browser and checked automatically – also at 320 pixels wide and with the keyboard only.
- What the scan cannot decide reliably, it puts in front of you – as an uncertain occurrence or as a manual check.
- Nothing that was not checked ever counts as passed. The statement is based on a self-assessment.

Web accessibility is measured against the WCAG success criteria. Some of them can be measured, a larger part can only be judged. The service keeps the two apart – and tells you in the result how far the scan reaches for each criterion.

## What is checked automatically

A real browser loads every selected page as a visitor would see it. What is checked is the rendered page, not the source code. For every page, the scan runs:

- **Rule checks** for missing alternative texts, insufficient contrast, unlabelled form fields, faulty markup and much more.
- **Rendering at 320 pixels wide:** do people have to scroll sideways to read content? (WCAG 1.4.10)
- **Keyboard operation:** the scan presses real Tab keys and checks whether the focus is visible, never gets stuck and is not hidden.
- **Evidence:** occurrences come with screenshots, the selector and the measured value – for example the actual contrast ratio.

Some requirements only show when several pages are compared, for example whether the navigation appears in the same order everywhere. The service checks that too.

The scan closes cookie consent layers cautiously, so it checks your pages rather than the same banner thirty times. Findings from the consent layer itself count and are grouped separately in the report.

## How far the scan reaches per criterion

Not every criterion can be measured equally well. The service distinguishes three levels:

| Level | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| fully checked | The criterion can be judged conclusively with this run’s checks. |
| largely checked | The scan covers most cases, but not every one. |
| partially checked | The scan covers individual aspects. |

Anything not fully checked remains not evaluated in the statement – never passed.

## Where the scan is uncertain

Some spots cannot be decided reliably even by a browser – for example text over a background image. These occurrences are listed separately in the report and count neither as a defect nor as passed until you assess them: [Assessing uncertain results](https://barrierepruefung.de/en/help/uncertain-results).

## What only you can judge

Whether an alternative text describes the image accurately, whether the focus order makes sense, whether videos have captions or whether form error messages are understandable is not something a machine decides. For these, the service asks you manual checks whose answers go into the statement: [Answering the manual checks](https://barrierepruefung.de/en/help/manual-checks).

## What the service does not do

- **It does not change your website.** It reads your pages like a visitor and writes nothing back. There is no script to install and no overlay – overlays do not remove barriers and do not count as proof.
- **It does not replace legal advice or a full test by people.** You get scan data and a draft text, not a legal assessment of your individual case.
- **It does not invent conformance.** The statement says explicitly that it is based on a self-assessment and names the scope and limits of the scan.

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Last checked against the product: 2026-09-13 · https://barrierepruefung.de/en/help/what-we-check