Accessibility overlay vs monitoring: what actually fixes your site
Short answer: an overlay is a script that adds a toolbar and tries to patch your page in the visitor’s browser; it does not change your site’s code. Monitoring scans your site, tells you what is wrong and where, and someone fixes the code. Only fixing the code makes the site itself more accessible.
What an overlay does
An overlay (sometimes sold as an "accessibility widget") is a line of JavaScript added to your site. It usually shows a toolbar with options such as bigger text or higher contrast, and some try to repair problems automatically, for example by guessing missing image descriptions.
The repairs happen in each visitor’s browser after the page loads. Your actual pages, templates and content stay the same, so the underlying problems are still there.
What monitoring does
Monitoring runs an automated accessibility scan against your pages on a schedule and reports each problem: which page, which element, which WCAG success criterion, and how to fix it. You or your web designer make the fix in the site itself, and the next scan confirms it.
Monitoring does not change anything on your site by itself. Its value is a clear, current list of what to fix, and an early warning when a new page or plugin update breaks something.
What neither one does
Neither an overlay nor a scanner can check everything. Some WCAG criteria need a person: whether alt text actually describes the image, whether captions are accurate, whether a booking form works with a screen reader from start to finish.
Neither one is a legal guarantee. Be careful with any product that promises your site will be "compliant" or "protected": in April 2025 the Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring accessiBe, an overlay vendor, to pay $1 million over claims that its widget could make any website WCAG-compliant. The order bars such claims unless the company has evidence to support them.
How to choose
- If you want the site itself to be easier to use, fix the code. Monitoring tells you what to fix and keeps watching.
- Many people who rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation already use their own tools; what helps them most is a site built correctly underneath.
- Whatever you choose, have a person test the key paths (contact form, booking, checkout) with a keyboard and a screen reader.
- Add an accessibility statement with a way for visitors to report a problem, and respond to reports.
Where SiteGuard fits
SiteGuard is monitoring, not an overlay: a weekly scan of up to 25 pages against WCAG 2.1 AA and a plain-English fix list. It installs nothing on your site and is not a compliance certificate or legal protection.
Automated scans catch roughly a third to a half of WCAG criteria; the rest needs a person. SiteGuard is monitoring and a fix list, not a compliance certificate, legal advice or lawsuit protection.
See where your site stands.
Weekly scans for $29 per site per month, or a one-time audit for $99.
More guides
Last reviewed 2026-10-14.