Accessibility Score Benchmarks by Industry

The Lighthouse accessibility score evaluates a page against a subset of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) criteria, scoring from 0 to 100. While Lighthouse only tests automated checks (approximately 30% of all WCAG criteria), it provides a useful baseline measurement. A score of 90 or above is considered good, while scores below 70 indicate significant accessibility gaps.

Accessibility and SEO Overlap

Accessibility and SEO share substantial common ground. Many accessibility best practices — such as descriptive alt text on images, proper heading hierarchy, semantic HTML, descriptive link text, and clear page structure — directly benefit SEO. Google has stated that accessible websites tend to rank better because they provide better user experiences and clearer content signals.

In 2026, accessibility lawsuits continue to rise, with over 4,000 web accessibility cases filed annually in the US alone. Beyond legal risk, accessible websites reach a wider audience — approximately 16% of the global population has some form of disability.

How Industries Score

E-commerce sites score a median of 76. Common failures include missing alt text on product images, insufficient color contrast on sale price overlays, inaccessible dropdown menus, and form inputs without proper labels. Top performers reach 95 through systematic accessibility testing.

SaaS sites lead at 82 median. Tech-forward teams and component libraries with built-in accessibility features help, though custom interactive elements like dashboards and charts often lack proper ARIA attributes.

Media sites score lowest at 72 median. Autoplaying video without captions, insufficient contrast in article typography, missing alt text on editorial images, and complex navigation patterns create persistent issues.

Healthcare sites score 78 median. While healthcare organizations have strong motivation to be accessible, complex medical forms and patient portal interfaces often have implementation gaps.

Finance sites score 80 median. Data tables without proper headers, PDF documents without accessibility markup, and calculator widgets with keyboard navigation issues are common failures.

Improving Accessibility

Start by addressing high-impact automated findings: add alt text to all meaningful images, ensure sufficient color contrast (4.5:1 for normal text), use semantic HTML elements, label all form inputs, ensure keyboard navigability for all interactive elements, and implement proper heading hierarchy. Then progress to manual testing with screen readers and keyboard-only navigation.

Auditite runs accessibility audits across your entire site, tracking scores over time and identifying the specific WCAG violations on each page with prioritized recommendations for remediation.