95.9% of the top one million home pages failed automated WCAG checks in February 2026, and the average page carried 56.1 detected errors, up 10.1% in a single year. Web accessibility is not improving slowly, it is actively regressing, and the mechanism is measurable: pages grew 22.5% more complex in twelve months while remediation practice stayed flat. The same six failure types have topped the list every year the study has run. Meanwhile enforcement hardened on both sides of the Atlantic, with roughly 6,176 US lawsuits projected for 2026 and the European Accessibility Act now live across 27 member states. The figures below come from the WebAIM Million, UsableNet litigation tracking, and EU regulatory guidance.
TL;DR
- 95.9% of the top one million home pages had detected WCAG 2 failures (WebAIM Million 2026)
- That is up from 94.8% in 2025 (WebAIM Million)
- 56,114,377 distinct errors were detected across one million pages (WebAIM Million 2026)
- The average page had 56.1 errors, up 10.1% year over year (WebAIM Million 2026)
- Low contrast text affects 83.9% of pages (WebAIM Million 2026)
- Missing image alternative text affects 53.1% of pages (WebAIM Million 2026)
- Missing form input labels affect 51% of pages (WebAIM Million 2026)
- The average home page carries 1,437 elements, up 22.5% in a year (WebAIM Million 2026)
- Over 133 million ARIA attributes were detected, up 27% in a year (WebAIM Million 2026)
- Pages with ARIA averaged 59.1 errors versus 42 without (WebAIM Million 2026)
- More than 5,000 US digital accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025 (UsableNet)
- Roughly 6,176 lawsuits are projected for 2026 (UsableNet)
- European Accessibility Act enforcement began June 28, 2025 (EU)
1. The Headline: Almost Everything Fails
The number has been above 95% before, but the direction is what changed. 95.9% of home pages had detected WCAG 2 failures in February 2026, up from 94.8% in 2025, and average errors per page rose from 51 to 56.1. Between 2019 and 2025 the trend was slow improvement from roughly 60 errors per page; 2026 gave back most of that ground in one year.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Home pages with detected WCAG 2 failures | 95.9% | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Same figure in 2025 | 94.8% | WebAIM Million |
| Total distinct errors detected | 56,114,377 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Average errors per page | 56.1 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Average errors per page in 2025 | 51 | WebAIM Million |
| Year-over-year change in errors | up 10.1% | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Average errors per page in 2019 to 2020 | approx. 60 | WebAIM Million |
| Pages analysed | 1,000,000 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Analysis date | February 2026 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
Automated testing detects only a subset of possible barriers, so 95.9% is a floor rather than a ceiling: pages that pass automated checks can still be unusable with a screen reader. Related usage data sits in our screen reader statistics. Source: The WebAIM Million 2026.
2. The Six Failures That Never Change
The most striking thing about this dataset across eight years is how little the failure profile moves. Low contrast text affects 83.9% of pages, missing image alternative text 53.1%, and missing form input labels 51%, and these same six categories have led the list every year the study has run. These are not exotic edge cases; they are the first things any accessibility checklist covers.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Low contrast text | 83.9% of pages | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Missing alternative text for images | 53.1% of pages | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Missing form input labels | 51% of pages | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Empty links | 46.3% of pages | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Empty buttons | 30.6% of pages | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Missing document language | 13.5% of pages | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Number of categories dominating the error profile | 6 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Stability of this list across study years | unchanged | WebAIM Million |
Low contrast text at 83.9% is the one worth dwelling on, because it is trivially detectable at design time and requires no engineering work to prevent. Media-side context sits in our captions and subtitles statistics. Source: The WebAIM Million 2026.
3. Complexity Is the Engine
The regression has a clean mechanical explanation. The average home page carried 1,437 elements in February 2026, a 22.5% increase in a single year, and more elements means more chances to fail. A team that held its error rate per element perfectly constant would still ship more total errors on a page that grew by a fifth.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average page elements, February 2026 | 1,437 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Year-over-year change | up 22.5% | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Year-over-year change in errors per page | up 10.1% | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Error growth relative to complexity growth | slower | Derived from WebAIM figures |
| Implied errors per 100 elements, 2026 | approx. 3.9 | Derived from WebAIM figures |
| Total errors across the sample | 56,114,377 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Pages analysed | 1,000,000 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Pages with failures | 95.9% | WebAIM Million 2026 |
Errors grew 10.1% while complexity grew 22.5%, so error density per element actually improved slightly. That is the most generous reading available, and it still produces a worse experience for users, because users encounter total errors and not rates. Source: The WebAIM Million 2026.
4. ARIA Is Not Helping On Average
ARIA exists to make complex interfaces accessible, and the data does not show it working as deployed. Pages using ARIA averaged 59.1 detected errors against 42 on pages without it, while ARIA usage grew 27% in one year to over 133 attributes per page. The correlation does not establish causation, since more complex pages use more of everything, but it does contradict the common assumption that adding ARIA is inherently a remediation step.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total ARIA attributes detected | 133,589,803 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Average ARIA attributes per page | over 133 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Year-over-year growth in ARIA usage | 27% | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Average errors on pages with ARIA | 59.1 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Average errors on pages without ARIA | 42 | WebAIM Million 2026 |
| Difference | 17.1 errors | Derived from WebAIM figures |
| Relative difference | approx. 41% more errors | Derived from WebAIM figures |
| Whether causation is established | no | WebAIM Million |
The honest interpretation is that ARIA is a marker of ambition rather than competence: teams building complex interactive components reach for it, and complex interactive components are where accessibility most often breaks. Source: The WebAIM Million 2026.
5. Litigation in the United States
US enforcement runs almost entirely through private litigation rather than regulatory action, and the volume keeps climbing. More than 5,000 digital accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2025, with roughly 6,176 projected for 2026, an increase of about 20 to 25%. The repeat-defendant share is the detail worth noting: 1,427 of the 2025 filings targeted companies that had already faced a web accessibility claim.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Digital accessibility lawsuits filed, 2025 | more than 5,000 | UsableNet |
| Projected filings, full-year 2026 | approx. 6,176 | UsableNet |
| Projected increase over 2025 | approx. 20 to 25% | UsableNet |
| 2025 filings against repeat defendants | 1,427 | UsableNet |
| Federal cases involving repeat defendants | 46% | UsableNet |
| Basis of the 2026 projection | filings through June 14, 2026 | UsableNet |
| Courts covered | federal and key state courts | UsableNet |
| Primary US enforcement mechanism | private litigation | UsableNet |
Nearly half of federal cases involving defendants who have been sued before suggests that settlements are not producing durable remediation, which is a finding about incentives rather than about technology. Employment-side context sits in our disability employment statistics. Sources: UsableNet ADA web lawsuit trends for 2026 and the 2026 midyear report.
6. Europe Switched Enforcement On
The regulatory picture changed materially in mid-2025. European Accessibility Act enforcement began June 28, 2025 across all 27 EU member states, requiring WCAG level AA conformance from consumer-facing e-commerce, banking, e-books, ticketing, transport, and telecoms services. It reaches non-EU businesses selling into the EU, and penalties can reach EUR 100,000 or 4% of annual revenue.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Enforcement start date | June 28, 2025 | EU |
| Member states covered | 27 | EU |
| Conformance standard required | WCAG level AA | EU |
| Employee threshold for applicability | at least 10 | EU |
| Turnover threshold | at least EUR 2 million | EU |
| Maximum penalty cited | EUR 100,000 or 4% of annual revenue | EU |
| Applies to non-EU sellers into the EU | yes | EU |
| Purely B2B services | outside scope | EU |
| Sectors covered | e-commerce, banking, e-books, ticketing, transport, telecoms | EU |
The 4% of revenue ceiling puts accessibility penalties in the same order of magnitude as GDPR, which is the clearest signal yet that the EU intends this to be treated as compliance rather than best practice. Gaming-side context sits in our gaming accessibility statistics. Sources: Bird and Bird guide to the EAA and Davis Wright Tremaine on the EAA going live.
Summary: Web Accessibility by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Home pages with WCAG 2 failures | 95.9% | WebAIM Million |
| Same figure in 2025 | 94.8% | WebAIM Million |
| Total errors detected | 56,114,377 | WebAIM Million |
| Average errors per page | 56.1 | WebAIM Million |
| Change in errors per page | up 10.1% | WebAIM Million |
| Low contrast text | 83.9% of pages | WebAIM Million |
| Missing image alternative text | 53.1% of pages | WebAIM Million |
| Missing form input labels | 51% of pages | WebAIM Million |
| Empty links | 46.3% of pages | WebAIM Million |
| Empty buttons | 30.6% of pages | WebAIM Million |
| Missing document language | 13.5% of pages | WebAIM Million |
| Average page elements | 1,437 | WebAIM Million |
| Change in page elements | up 22.5% | WebAIM Million |
| ARIA attributes detected | 133,589,803 | WebAIM Million |
| ARIA usage growth | 27% | WebAIM Million |
| Errors on pages with ARIA | 59.1 | WebAIM Million |
| Errors on pages without ARIA | 42 | WebAIM Million |
| US lawsuits filed, 2025 | more than 5,000 | UsableNet |
| US lawsuits projected, 2026 | approx. 6,176 | UsableNet |
| 2025 filings against repeat defendants | 1,427 | UsableNet |
| EAA enforcement start | June 28, 2025 | EU |
| EAA maximum penalty | EUR 100,000 or 4% of revenue | EU |
Methodology and Sources
- Failure rates, error counts, error types, page complexity, and ARIA data come from the WebAIM Million 2026, an automated accessibility evaluation of the home pages of the top one million websites conducted in February 2026, with trend comparisons to analyses from 2019 through 2025 (WebAIM).
- US litigation volume, projections, and repeat-defendant analysis come from UsableNet’s lawsuit tracking, based on complaints filed in federal and key state courts, with 2026 projections derived from filings recorded through June 14, 2026 (2026 trends analysis, 2026 midyear report, midyear analysis, five trends for 2026, lawsuit tracker).
- European Accessibility Act scope, thresholds, timing, and penalties come from legal analyses of the directive (Bird and Bird, Davis Wright Tremaine, Greenberg Traurig).
- Data watch: the WebAIM Million uses automated testing, which detects only a subset of WCAG failures. Pages passing automated checks may still be unusable with assistive technology, so 95.9% understates the real problem rather than overstating it. It also tests only home pages, which are typically the best-maintained page on a site. The ARIA finding is correlational and WebAIM does not claim causation; page complexity plausibly drives both variables. UsableNet’s 2026 figure is a projection from partial-year filings, not a count, and its methodology captures complaints it can locate in federal and key state courts rather than every filing nationwide. EAA penalty ceilings vary by member state implementation, so the EUR 100,000 or 4% figure is an upper bound cited in legal guidance rather than a uniform statutory rate. Rows marked as derived are arithmetic on published figures.
- Last updated: August 1, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next major refresh is expected when WebAIM publishes its 2027 analysis.