Documentation — AccessIQ

AccessIQ Documentation

Everything you need to get started, understand your results, and make the most of AccessIQ — whether you're a beginner or a developer.

Installation & Setup

Free

Getting AccessIQ up and running takes about 2 minutes. You don't need any technical knowledge — just follow these steps and you'll be scanning your site straight away.

What you need first

Before installing, make sure your site meets these requirements:

RequirementMinimum versionHow to check
WordPressVersion 6.0 or higherDashboard → Home → WordPress version at the bottom
PHPVersion 7.4 or higherTools → Site Health → Info → Server
MySQLVersion 5.7 or higherTools → Site Health → Info → Database
JavaScriptMust be enabled in browsersRequired for heatmap tracking to work
💡

Not sure? Go to Tools → Site Health in your WordPress dashboard. If it shows "Good" status, you're ready to install.

How to install

Method 1 — From WordPress (easiest):

1

Go to your WordPress admin

Log in to your site and go to Plugins → Add New from the left menu.

2

Search for "AccessIQ"

Type AccessIQ in the search box at the top right. The plugin will appear in the results.

3

Click "Install Now"

Find the AccessIQ plugin card (it shows our logo and description) and click the blue "Install Now" button.

4

Click "Activate"

After installation finishes, click "Activate" to turn the plugin on. You'll be taken to the AccessIQ dashboard.

Method 2 — Upload ZIP file:

1

Download the ZIP from WordPress.org

Go to wordpress.org/plugins/accessiq and click "Download".

2

Upload to WordPress

In your dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. Choose the downloaded ZIP file.

3

Install and activate

Click "Install Now" then "Activate Plugin". Done!

What happens after activation

The moment you activate AccessIQ:

  • A new "AccessIQ" menu appears in your WordPress left sidebar
  • Heatmap tracking starts automatically — it silently records where visitors click on your pages
  • No configuration is required to start using the WCAG scanner or analytics

Go to AccessIQ → WCAG Scanner and enter your homepage URL to run your very first accessibility scan. Results appear in about 10–30 seconds.

🔬

WCAG Scanner

Free — Unlimited Scans

The WCAG Scanner checks your pages for accessibility violations — the specific problems that affect people with disabilities and can cause legal issues. You get a clear score out of 100 and a list of exactly what needs to be fixed.

ℹ️

What is WCAG? WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international standard for web accessibility. It's what ADA compliance, EAA (EU), and similar laws are based on. Getting a high WCAG score means your site works for people with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive disabilities.

Running a scan — step by step

1

Open the Scanner

In WordPress, click AccessIQ → WCAG Scanner in the left menu.

2

Enter a page URL

Type or paste the full URL of the page you want to scan. Example: https://yoursite.com/about/

3

Choose WCAG level

Select Level AA for most sites (this is what laws require). Use Level A for a basic check, or AAA for the strictest standard.

4

Click "Scan Page"

The scanner will load your page and check it. Results appear in 10–30 seconds.

💡

You can scan any page on your site — homepage, product pages, contact forms, checkout — as many times as you want, completely free.

Understanding your accessibility score

After scanning, you'll see a big number — your accessibility score. Here's what each range means:

90–100
Excellent
Very few or no issues. Your page works well for most users with disabilities.
70–89
Good
Minor issues only. Fix the listed violations and you'll reach Excellent soon.
50–69
Fair
Several issues. Some visitors with disabilities may struggle with parts of this page.
0–49
Poor
Significant issues. This page likely excludes users with disabilities and carries legal risk.

Understanding and fixing violations

Each violation shows three things:

  • What the problem is — e.g. "Image is missing alt text"
  • How severe it is — Critical, Serious, or Moderate
  • The exact HTML element — the specific button, image, or form field causing the issue
🖼️

Missing Alt Text

An image has no description. Screen readers can't tell blind users what the image shows. Fix: add an alt="description" attribute to the image tag.

🎨

Low Contrast

Text colour is too similar to the background. People with low vision can't read it. Fix: darken the text or lighten the background.

📝

Missing Form Labels

An input field has no label. Screen reader users don't know what to type. Fix: add a <label> element connected to the input.

🔘

Empty Buttons

A button has no text and no ARIA label. Users can't tell what it does. Fix: add descriptive text or an aria-label attribute.

📋

Heading Structure

Headings skip levels (e.g. H1 → H4). Screen readers use headings to navigate. Fix: use headings in order: H1, H2, H3.

⌨️

Keyboard Access

Some elements can't be reached with the keyboard. Fix: ensure all interactive elements are focusable and usable without a mouse.

⚠️

Don't fix everything at once. Start with Critical violations — these have the biggest impact on accessibility and legal compliance. Then work through Serious, then Moderate.

Scan history & progress tracking

Every scan is automatically saved. Go to AccessIQ → Scan Reports to see:

  • All your previous scans with dates and scores
  • A Score History Chart — a line graph showing how your score has changed over time for each URL
  • The ability to re-scan any page with one click

This history is valuable if you ever need to show a client or legal team that you've been actively working on accessibility compliance.

Accessibility Widget

Free

The Accessibility Widget is a small floating button on your website that visitors can click to adjust how the site looks and behaves. It helps people with disabilities — visual impairments, dyslexia, motor difficulties — use your site more comfortably.

ℹ️

Important: The widget makes the site easier to use for visitors — but it does not fix the underlying WCAG violations that the scanner finds. You still need to fix those in your theme/code. Think of the widget as an extra layer of comfort on top of proper accessibility.

What the widget does

🔡

Font Size Control

Visitors can make text bigger or smaller (80%–150%) to suit their vision needs.

🌗

High Contrast Mode

Switches to a high-contrast colour scheme for people with low vision or light sensitivity.

📖

Dyslexia-Friendly Font

Applies the Lexend font — scientifically designed to improve reading speed for dyslexic users.

⌨️

Keyboard Navigation Highlight

Makes keyboard focus indicators more visible, helping keyboard-only users navigate the site.

📢

Screen Reader Optimise

Applies structural improvements that make the page easier for screen reader software to read.

💾

Save Settings

Visitors' preferences are saved and remembered next time they visit your site.

Setting up the widget

Go to AccessIQ → Settings → Accessibility → Widget:

SettingWhat it does
Enable WidgetTurn the floating button on or off for your entire site
Widget PositionChoose where the button appears: Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right
Brand ColourPick a colour that matches your site design (9 options)
Show on MobileToggle whether the widget appears on phones and tablets
Feature TogglesTurn individual features (contrast, font size, etc.) on or off
🔥

Click Heatmaps

Free — Self-Hosted

A heatmap shows you where people click on your pages. Hot (red/orange) areas get lots of clicks. Cool (blue/green) areas get very few. This tells you what visitors find interesting — and what they ignore.

🔒

Your data stays on your server. Unlike Hotjar or Crazy Egg, AccessIQ stores all click data in your own WordPress database. Nothing is sent to external services. This makes AccessIQ GDPR-friendly by design.

How tracking works (automatic)

You don't need to do anything to start collecting click data. The moment AccessIQ is activated:

  • A tiny tracking script (under 3KB) is added to your site's footer
  • It records every click — which element was clicked, where on the page, and what device was used
  • Data is saved quietly to your database without affecting page speed
  • Come back after a day and you'll already have real data to look at
ℹ️

AccessIQ does not record who clicked — no names, no email addresses, no IP addresses. It only records the click coordinates, the page URL, the device type, and the time.

Reading your heatmap

Go to AccessIQ → Heatmap Engine:

1

Select a page

Use the dropdown to pick which page you want to see click data for.

2

Choose a time range

Filter by Last 7 days, Last 30 days, or Last 90 days.

3

Filter by device

View clicks from All Devices, or filter to Desktop, Mobile, or Tablet only.

4

Read the heatmap

🔴 Red/orange = lots of clicks. 🔵 Blue/green = few clicks. Grey = no clicks. Use this to see what visitors care about and what they ignore.

Below the heatmap, you'll also see the Top Clicked Elements table — a ranked list of which specific buttons, links, and images got the most clicks, with Gold 🥇, Silver 🥈, and Bronze 🥉 rankings for the top 3.

What to look for:

  • If your main CTA button has very few clicks — people aren't seeing it. Try moving it higher on the page or making it more prominent.
  • If people click on something that isn't a link — they expect it to be clickable. Consider making it one.
  • If the bottom of a page has no clicks — most visitors leave before reaching that content.
📈

Behavior Analytics

Free — Privacy-First

Behavior Analytics shows you how visitors behave across your site — how long they stay, which pages they read, what devices they use, and how many leave quickly. All without using Google Analytics or storing any personal data.

Sessions & key metrics

Go to AccessIQ → Behavior Analytics to see:

MetricWhat it meansWhat a good number looks like
Total SessionsHow many visits your site received in the selected periodDepends on your site size
Avg Time on PageHow long visitors typically spend on a page before leavingOver 1–2 minutes is generally good
Bounce RateThe % of visitors who leave after viewing only one pageUnder 50% is good; over 80% suggests a problem
Daily Sessions ChartA line graph showing how many visitors came each dayShould trend upward over time
⚠️

High bounce rate on a page? That page may have content that doesn't match what visitors expected, or it loads too slowly. Check the heatmap for that page — are visitors clicking anywhere before leaving?

Device breakdown

The animated donut chart shows what percentage of your visitors use Desktop, Mobile, or Tablet.

Why this matters: if 70% of your visitors use mobile but your site isn't mobile-friendly, you're losing most of your audience. Use this data to prioritise which version of your site to optimise first.

Top Pages Performance

A table showing your best and worst performing pages, ranked by sessions. For each page you can see sessions, average time on page, bounce rate, and the most common device used. Use this to identify which pages need improvement.

⚙️

Settings

Free

Go to AccessIQ → Settings to configure your plugin. Settings are organised into sections — here's what each one does.

Accessibility → Widget

Everything related to the front-end accessibility toolbar (see the Widget section above).

Accessibility → Scanner

SettingWhat it does
Default WCAG LevelSets whether new scans default to Level A, AA, or AAA. Most sites should use AA.
Notification EmailWhere AccessIQ sends alerts when scheduled scans complete or scores change.

InsightForge → Analytics

SettingWhat it does
Enable TrackingTurn click and session tracking on or off for your entire site.
Data RetentionHow many days of click and session data to keep. Default is 90 days.
Session TimeoutHow many minutes of inactivity before a visitor's session is considered ended.

Remote Hub Connection

This section shows your REST URL and API Key — the credentials a remote AccessIQ Pro hub needs to connect to this site. See the Multi-Site Hub section for more details.

⚠️

Keep your API Key private. Anyone with it can read your scan data remotely. Use "Regenerate" if you suspect it has been compromised.

📄

PDF Compliance Reports

Pro Feature

Generate professional PDF reports of your accessibility scans. Perfect for sharing with clients, keeping on record for legal purposes, or including in compliance documentation. Reports can be white-labelled with your agency logo and brand colours.

Pro feature: PDF Reports require an AccessIQ Pro licence. Upgrade here →

Generating a PDF report

1

Go to Reports

In your WordPress dashboard, click AccessIQ → Reports.

2

Select a scan

Choose which scan you want to generate a report for from the dropdown.

3

Click "Generate PDF"

The system will create a PDF with a cover page, score summary, violation breakdown, and details of every issue found.

4

Download and share

The PDF is saved and you can download it any time. You can also delete old reports to save space.

White-label branding

Go to AccessIQ → Report Settings to customise how your PDFs look:

SettingWhat it does
Company LogoUpload your agency or company logo — appears on the PDF cover page
Company NameYour company name, shown in the report header
Accent ColourThe main colour used in charts and headings — match your brand
Footer TextCustom text in the PDF footer, e.g. "Prepared by Your Agency Name"

Scheduled report delivery

When you set up Scheduled Scans, AccessIQ Pro can automatically email a PDF report after each scan completes. This means your clients receive a monthly or weekly accessibility report without you having to do anything manually.

Configure email recipients in AccessIQ → Report Settings → Email Delivery.

🤖

AI Alt Text Generator

Pro Feature

Alt text describes what's in an image — essential for people who are blind or have low vision, and required by WCAG. Writing good alt text for every image manually takes time. AccessIQ Pro uses AI to do it automatically.

Pro feature. Requires an AccessIQ Pro licence and an AI API key (Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, Groq, or custom).

Setting up AI Alt Text

1

Add your AI API key

Go to AccessIQ → AI Settings. Choose your AI provider (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, or Custom). Enter your API key.

2

Go to AI Alt Text

Click AccessIQ → AI Alt Text in the menu.

3

Select images to process

You'll see a list of images in your media library that are missing alt text. Select the ones you want to fix.

4

Generate and review

Click "Generate Alt Text". The AI analyses each image and writes a description. Review the suggestions — you can edit any of them before applying.

5

Apply

Click "Apply" to save the alt text to your images in the WordPress media library.

💡

Which AI provider to use? Any provider works. Claude (Anthropic) and GPT-4 (OpenAI) tend to write the most accurate image descriptions. Gemini and Groq are faster and cheaper options. You can switch providers at any time in AI Settings.

AI Settings options

SettingWhat it does
ProviderWhich AI company to use: Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, or Custom endpoint
API KeyYour secret key from the AI provider. Stored securely, never displayed after saving.
ModelWhich AI model to use (e.g. gpt-4o-mini, claude-haiku). Faster/cheaper models are usually fine for alt text.
Alt Text StyleChoose between descriptive (full sentence) or concise (short phrase) alt text style.
📊

Advanced Analytics Dashboard

Pro Feature

The Advanced Analytics dashboard gives you a deeper view of your site's accessibility health over time. See trends, compare pages, and understand how your compliance efforts are paying off.

Pro feature. Requires an AccessIQ Pro licence.

What's in the dashboard

📈

Score Trend Chart

A line chart showing how your accessibility score has changed over time across all scans. See clearly whether you're improving.

🗂️

Issues by Category

A bar chart showing which types of violations (images, contrast, headings, ARIA, forms) appear most often across all your scans.

🌐

Page-by-Page Comparison

A table comparing all your scanned pages side-by-side — score, issues, and when it was last scanned. Sort by score to find your worst pages first.

🕐

Combined Scan History

A merged history of both manual scans and scheduled automatic scans — all in one timeline. Includes score, issues, and scan source.

Go to AccessIQ → Analytics (Pro) to access this dashboard.

🔧

Heading Hierarchy Fixer

Pro Feature

Headings (H1, H2, H3…) create the structure of your page — like a table of contents. When headings are in the wrong order or skip levels, it breaks navigation for screen reader users. The Heading Fixer automatically finds these problems and fixes them with one click.

Pro feature. Requires an AccessIQ Pro licence.

ℹ️

What is a heading hierarchy problem? Correct: H1 → H2 → H3. Problem examples: Starting with H3 instead of H1, jumping from H2 directly to H5, or having multiple H1 headings on the same page.

Using the Heading Fixer

1

Open the Heading Fixer

Click AccessIQ → Heading Fixer. The tool automatically scans all your published posts and pages.

2

Review the issues

Any pages with heading problems will appear as cards. Each card shows what issues were found (e.g. "Skipped from H2 to H5") with a clear description.

3

Review the Before / After preview

Each card shows a side-by-side comparison — your current broken heading structure on the left, the corrected version on the right. Review it carefully.

4

Click "Apply Fix"

When you're happy with the suggested fix, click "Apply Fix". The post content is updated automatically. The card disappears once fixed.

⚠️

The fix changes your actual post content. We recommend reviewing the Before/After preview carefully before applying. You can always undo by going to the post in the WordPress editor and using the Revision History.

If no issues are found, the page shows a green "All headings are properly structured!" message.

🏷️

ARIA Label Auto-Writer

Pro Feature

ARIA labels give screen reader users a description of interactive elements — buttons, links, images, form inputs, icons — that don't have visible text. Without them, screen readers say things like "Button" or "Link" with no context. The ARIA Writer uses AI to generate meaningful labels automatically.

Pro feature. Requires an AccessIQ Pro licence and an AI API key configured in AI Settings.

How to use the ARIA Writer

1

Open the ARIA Writer

Click AccessIQ → ARIA Writer. The tool scans all your posts and pages for elements missing accessible names.

2

Review what was found

You'll see cards for each page with issues. Each card lists the specific elements — buttons, links, images, inputs, icons — that are missing labels.

3

Click "Generate AI Labels"

The AI looks at each element and its surrounding content, then writes a short, descriptive label for each one.

4

Review and edit

Each suggested label appears in an editable text box. You can change any suggestion before applying it.

5

Click "Apply" on each label

Each label is applied individually to the post content. The element immediately gets its aria-label attribute.

What elements does it find?

  • Buttons with no text (e.g. icon-only buttons)
  • Links with no text (e.g. image-only links)
  • Images missing alt text
  • Form inputs with no label
  • SVG icons with no description
🌐

Multi-Site Hub Dashboard

Pro Feature — Agencies

If you manage accessibility for multiple client sites, the Multi-Site Hub lets you monitor all of them from one central dashboard — without logging into each site separately. See every site's compliance score, last scan date, and issue count at a glance.

Pro feature. The Hub Dashboard is on your AccessIQ Pro site. Each client site only needs the free AccessIQ plugin installed.

How it works

Hub Site (yours)

Runs AccessIQ Pro — this is your central control panel

Sees all client sites in one view
Can trigger remote scans
Pulls latest data from each site
Filters and sorts by score, status
Client Sites

Each client only needs the free AccessIQ plugin

Install free AccessIQ plugin
Copy REST URL and API Key from Settings
Send credentials to hub once
Data syncs automatically

Adding a client site to the hub

1

On the client site — get credentials

Ask your client (or log in yourself) to go to AccessIQ → Settings → Remote Hub Connection. Copy the Site REST URL and API Key.

2

On your hub site — add the site

Go to AccessIQ → Hub Dashboard and click "+ Add Site".

3

Enter the credentials

Fill in a Label (e.g. "Client A — Main Site"), the REST URL, and the API Key. Click "Test Connection" to verify it works.

4

Save and the hub pulls data

Click "Save Site". The hub immediately connects and pulls the latest scan data. The site now appears in your dashboard.

Hub dashboard features

  • 🔄 Refresh All — pull the latest data from all connected sites at once
  • 🔍 Trigger Scan — remotely start a new scan on a client site
  • Filter by status — show only Critical, Fair, Good, or Unreachable sites
  • Sort by score — see your worst-performing sites first
  • Auto-refresh — the hub automatically pulls fresh data every 12 hours
🔥

Heatmap + Accessibility Correlation

Pro Feature — v2.0.0

Not all accessibility violations are equally urgent. A broken button deep in your footer matters far less than a broken button in your checkout flow. The Correlation tool cross-references your click heatmap data with your WCAG violations to calculate a Risk Score per page — so you know where to focus your fixes first.

Pro feature. Requires an AccessIQ Pro licence and at least one completed scan + heatmap click data.

How the Risk Score is calculated

The formula is simple: Risk Score = Click Volume × Violation Severity. A page gets a high risk score when it has both heavy click traffic and serious accessibility violations. Pages with low traffic but many violations score low — you can fix them later. Pages where critical violations sit on your most-clicked elements score highest and need attention immediately.

Risk LevelScore RangeWhat it means
🔴 High70–100Critical violations on heavily-clicked elements. Fix these first — real users are being blocked.
🟡 Medium40–69Moderate violations or lower-traffic pages. Plan fixes in the next sprint.
🟢 Low0–39Violations exist but don't significantly affect real user journeys yet.

Using the Correlation Dashboard

1

Open the Correlation page

Go to AccessIQ → Heatmap Correlation. The page loads automatically once you have scan data and click data.

2

Read the risk ranking

Pages are sorted highest risk first. Each row shows the page URL, click volume, violation count, and the calculated risk score with a colour indicator.

3

Click a page to drill down

See exactly which violations on that page are on high-click elements — with the element selector, violation type, WCAG criterion, and click count side by side.

4

Fix and re-scan

Use the scanner or AI tools to fix the highest-risk violations. Re-scan the page to see the risk score drop.

💡

The correlation score recalculates automatically every time a new scan runs or new click data is collected. No manual refresh needed.

In-Editor WCAG Scanner

Pro Feature — v2.0.0

The In-Editor Scanner adds a WCAG accessibility check directly into the Gutenberg block editor sidebar. You can scan the page you're currently editing before you publish it — catching violations at the source rather than discovering them after the page goes live.

Pro feature. Requires AccessIQ Pro and the Gutenberg block editor (not compatible with Classic Editor).

How to use the In-Editor Scanner

1

Open any post or page in Gutenberg

Go to Posts → Edit (or Pages → Edit) for any published or draft content. The Gutenberg editor opens.

2

Open the AccessIQ sidebar panel

In the top right of the editor, click the ☰ panel icon. You'll see an "AccessIQ Scan" panel. Click it to expand.

3

Click "Scan This Page"

AccessIQ scans the current page URL. Results appear in the sidebar within 10–20 seconds — no need to save or publish first.

4

Review violations in the sidebar

The panel shows your score and a compact list of violations found. Each item shows the element, violation type, and severity. Fix the issues in your blocks, then scan again to confirm they're resolved.

ℹ️

The in-editor scanner scans the published/live version of the page (not the unsaved draft). Save your changes first, then scan to see how the live version scores.

⚠️

This feature uses a Gutenberg sidebar panel built with vanilla JS — no build tools required. It appears only in the block editor. The Classic Editor plugin disables this feature.

🎨

White-Label Accessibility Widget

Pro Feature — v2.0.0

The free AccessIQ accessibility widget shows the AccessIQ brand. Pro lets you replace that with your own agency logo, custom colours, and a fully branded experience — with AccessIQ branding removed. Ideal for agencies delivering white-label services to clients.

Pro feature. Requires an AccessIQ Pro licence. The free Accessibility Widget must also be enabled in Settings.

What you can customise

SettingWhat it does
Custom LogoUpload your agency or client logo. Appears in the widget panel header in place of the AccessIQ logo.
Primary ColourThe main brand colour used for the widget button, accents, and toggle states.
Background ColourThe colour of the open widget panel background.
Remove "Powered by AccessIQ"Hides the AccessIQ attribution text from the widget footer.
Widget TitleCustom text shown at the top of the open widget panel, e.g. "Accessibility Options".

Live Preview

The White-Label settings page includes a live preview panel. As you change logo, colour, or text settings, the widget preview on the right updates in real time — so you can see exactly what your clients will see before saving.

How to set up White-Label Widget

1

Open White-Label settings

Go to AccessIQ → White-Label Widget in your WordPress dashboard.

2

Upload your logo

Click "Upload Logo" and select your logo file from the Media Library. Recommended: PNG with transparent background, at least 200px wide.

3

Set your colours

Use the colour pickers to set your Primary Colour and Background Colour. The preview updates live.

4

Save settings

Click "Save White-Label Settings". The changes take effect immediately on your front end. Clear your cache if you use a caching plugin.

💡

White-label CSS is injected via wp_head at priority 99, so it overrides any theme styles that might otherwise affect the widget appearance.

📊

CSV Export

Pro Feature — v2.0.0

Export your accessibility data to CSV files for use in spreadsheets, project management tools, or client reports. All exports are UTF-8 with BOM, meaning they open correctly in Microsoft Excel without character encoding issues.

Pro feature. Requires an AccessIQ Pro licence.

What you can export

Export TypeWhat's includedUse case
ViolationsEvery violation from a specific scan: element, type, severity, WCAG criterion, fix suggestionSharing with developers who need a task list
SummaryOne row per scan: URL, date, score, critical count, warning count, WCAG levelTracking progress over time in a spreadsheet
Full ReportCombined: summary row + all violations for a single scanComprehensive single-scan documentation
CorrelationRisk scores per page: URL, click volume, violation count, risk score, risk levelPrioritisation reports for clients
All ScansEvery scan ever run on this site — full history in one fileCompliance audit trail, legal documentation

How to export

1

Go to CSV Export

Click AccessIQ → CSV Export in the dashboard menu.

2

Choose your export type

Select one of the five export types from the dropdown. For violation or full report exports, also select which scan to export.

3

Click "Download CSV"

The CSV file downloads immediately to your computer, ready to open in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers.

💡

All CSV files include a UTF-8 BOM (byte order mark) at the start. This tells Excel to open the file correctly without garbling special characters like accented letters or em-dashes in violation descriptions.

🗄️

Multisite Network Dashboard

Pro Feature — v2.0.0

If your WordPress installation uses Multisite (WP Multisite), the Network Dashboard gives you a bird's-eye view of accessibility scores across all subsites — directly from Network Admin. This is different from the Multi-Site Hub (which connects external sites via REST API). The Network Dashboard works with subsites within a single WP Multisite installation.

Pro feature. Requires AccessIQ Pro and a WordPress Multisite installation. Not applicable to single-site WordPress installs.

ℹ️

Hub vs Network Dashboard: The Multi-Site Hub connects external WordPress sites via REST API — you can be on any hosting. The Network Dashboard uses WordPress's native switch_to_blog() function and only works within a single WP Multisite install where you have Network Admin access.

What the Network Dashboard shows

📋

All Subsites at a Glance

A table listing every subsite in your WP Multisite network with its latest accessibility score, critical violation count, and last scan date.

🔍

Trigger Remote Scans

Start a fresh accessibility scan on any subsite directly from Network Admin — without logging into each subsite individually.

📈

Network Score Summary

An overall average score for your entire network, plus counts of how many sites are Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor.

⬇️

Sort & Filter

Sort subsites by score (worst first) to prioritise which sites need attention. Filter by compliance grade.

Accessing the Network Dashboard

The Network Dashboard is accessible only from WP Network Admin → AccessIQ → Network Dashboard. It's not visible in individual subsite admin panels. You must be a Network Administrator to use it.

⚠️

The Network Dashboard uses switch_to_blog() to read data from each subsite. This requires that AccessIQ Pro is network-activated (or at minimum activated on each subsite). If AccessIQ is not active on a subsite, that subsite will show "No data" in the dashboard.

FAQ & Troubleshooting

Answers to the most common questions. If you can't find what you need here, post in the WordPress.org support forum.

General Questions

The scanner ran but I see a very low score. Is that bad?
A low score means there are accessibility issues to fix — but don't panic. Most sites start with scores in the 60–80 range. The scanner tells you exactly what to fix. Start with Critical violations first, re-scan, and your score will climb.
My heatmap shows no data. Why?
Heatmaps only collect data from real visitors. If your site is new or has low traffic, it may take a few days to accumulate enough clicks to see patterns. Also check that tracking is enabled in AccessIQ → Settings → Analytics.
Will AccessIQ slow down my website?
No. The tracking script is under 3KB and loads asynchronously after the page fully loads. It has zero impact on Core Web Vitals or your Google PageSpeed score. We've designed it specifically to be invisible to performance tools.
Can I scan pages that require a login?
The scanner fetches the publicly visible version of your pages. If a page requires a login to view, the scanner will only see the login screen, not the actual content. This applies to members-only pages, account dashboards, etc.
I fixed a violation but the scanner still shows it. Why?
The scanner saves results from when you last scanned. You need to click "Re-scan" to run a fresh scan and see the updated results. The old results won't update automatically.

Troubleshooting

The scanner seems to hang / never finishes
This can happen if the page being scanned is very large, or if your server has a short PHP timeout. Try scanning a simpler page first. If the problem persists, contact your hosting provider and ask them to increase the PHP max_execution_time setting.
The accessibility widget isn't appearing on my site
Check: (1) The widget is enabled in AccessIQ → Settings → Accessibility → Widget. (2) Your theme properly includes wp_footer() — some themes don't. (3) A caching plugin may be serving an old cached version — clear your site cache and try again.
I installed Pro but the Pro features aren't showing
Make sure: (1) AccessIQ Pro is activated (Plugins → check it's active). (2) The free AccessIQ plugin is also installed and active — Pro requires it. (3) Your licence is activated via the Freemius popup that appears after activating Pro.
The hub says a client site is "Unreachable"
This means the hub can't connect to the client site's REST API. Check: (1) The free AccessIQ plugin is still active on the client site. (2) The client site's REST API is enabled (some security plugins disable it). (3) The API Key hasn't been regenerated — if it has, get the new key from the client site Settings page and update it in the hub.
AI alt text generation fails with an error
Check your API key is correct in AccessIQ → AI Settings. Test the connection using the "Test Connection" button. If you're using OpenAI, check you have available credits in your OpenAI account. If using Groq or Gemini, verify the API key hasn't expired.

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