accessiBe Review
Accessibility is something that many business owners may not think of when it comes to designing their website, but it’s crucial for not only reaching as many customers as possible, but also for being responsible corporate citizens. As part of the shift in online accessibility, companies are racing to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These important guidelines are the roadmap for making your website accessible for everyone.
However, complying with WCAG is often more involved than you might initially think. With a long list of specific rules and regulations, websites that are marked as WCAG-compliant are now being seen as premier sites and companies that go the extra mile for their customers.
AccessiBe is one company that was founded with the intention of helping website owners make their sites accessible and WCAG-complaint. Founded in 2015, accessiBe was created to address the fact that much of the internet simply isn’t accessible to those with disabilities. Online accessibility is quickly becoming the new standard, and if your business is struggling with accessibility regulations and compliance, accessiBe may be the answer. In order to help potential users of this service evaluate if it’s right for them, we’ve created this detailed analysis of the accessiBe web accessibility solution.
Pricing and Value
AccessiBe is at the forefront of automated accessibility compliance, and they truly offer an exceptional product. Using artificial intelligence and automated compliance checks, you’ll get a seamless experience when you sign up. AccessiBe believes in transparent, affordable pricing, and they’ve broken down their pricing into three easy-to-understand tiers.
The pricing is based on the number of pages that your website has, so it’s easy to know where your company may fall in the pricing structure. The first plan option is called the Basic plan. For websites under 1,000 pages, you’ll pay just $490 per year. Compared to other manual reviews and audits that can cost you thousands of dollars per month, this price point is a steal.
If your website is over 1,000 pages but fewer than 100,000 pages, you’ll pay just $1,490 per year for the same great accessibility automation on the Advanced plan. Considering the size and scale of a website with 100,000 pages, this level of automation and accessibility success can’t be found for less anywhere else today. We’ll discuss some of the fantastic features later in the review, where you’ll see just how much you’ll get for the price.
Websites with close to a million pages need to opt for the Premium package with costs $3,500 per year for all the same features as the other plans.
For businesses that need automated accessibility monitoring for unlimited pages, the final tier is called the Enterprise plan, which is $990 per month and gives you all of the features that accessiBe has to offer, as well as PDF, multimedia files, and subtitles included in the price. For large enterprises with hundreds of thousands of web pages, this is the ideal solution to ensure that your entire business website is accessible.
Features
When you sign up with accessiBe, you’ll get access to effective, automated features that transform your website and make it accessible for virtually everyone. Here’s just a few of the countless features you’ll receive with your accessiBe subscription regardless of the price tier.
- Multiple levels of compliance, including ADA, WCAG 2.1 AA, EN 301549, and Section 508
- Daily scans to ensure your website remains compliant
- Automatic audits and performance reporting
- Automatic updates
- A proven track record of 96% success in automated updates
- Website customization with an integrated accessiBe interface
- A verified certificate of accessibility compliance
AccessiBe offers a lot, and considering that most of the process is automated, ensuring that your website is accessible has never been easier. As we mentioned, with the top-tiered plan you’ll also receive PDF, multimedia files, and subtitles at no additional cost. For the other two plan options, you are able to purchase those features separately.
It takes just a few minutes to integrate accessiBe into your site design, and the simple customization tools allow you to adjust your pages with ease.
Automation truly takes the forefront of accessiBe’s services, and if there are any accessibility issues detected with your site, accessiBe works to automatically adjust and update your site on your behalf.
Setup Process
AccessiBe was designed to be compatible with a wide range of content management systems including WordPress, Joomla, Wix, and Shopify to name a few. Regardless of what system you’re using to host and build your site, accessiBe can easily be integrated into your design and editing framework.
The developers at accessiBe created it as a simple-to-install plugin, meaning you can find it in virtually any CMS plugin store. Simply download the plugin, activate, and let accessiBe automate your accessibility compliance. If you don’t have a CMS that allows you to install plugins or tools, you also have the option to embed an installation code directly into your site’s HTML.
If you aren’t confident with the website design and setup on the back-end, accessiBe has a great support page that will walk you through how to install it on various content management systems.
Customization and Design
The level of customization you’ll have over the accessiBe interface depends on the plan that you’re on. With the Basic plan, you’ll get to customize the interface position and the icon shape. If you need an increased level of customization, you may want to consider either the Advanced or the Enterprise plan.
The Advanced plan allows you to fully customize positions, colors, icons, sizes, shapes, and so much more. This full control customization access is a great way to have a hands-on approach to your accessibility updates. You’ll have the same level of accessibility on the Enterprise plan, with unlimited pages and additional features included.
You can set your customization preferences during the accessiBe setup, or you can update your customization at any time in the easy to use interface. Take customization a step further with advanced customization options on the Advanced and Enterprise plan options. You can update and customize the interface size, the button displays, feedback forms, the link to your accessibility statement, and so much more.
Customer Support
AccessiBe has over 1,500 clients and has grown rapidly since it was founded. That being said, the customer support could be stronger. There is no direct phone number to talk to customer support over the phone, which may be a drawback for some. However, there is a customer support email as well as a live chat function on the site, which are still good options if you need to speak to a live representative.
In addition to a dedicated chat and email support team, accessiBe’s self-help portal has a long list of robust guides to help you answer your questions and concerns. Featuring how-to articles, troubleshooting guides, and FAQs, the support page should be your first stop with any issues that you may experience with accessiBe’s platform and service.
Summary
Virtually everything we do today happens online, and when your website is not accessible, it limits access for those with disabilities. Accessibility compliance doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. When you sign up for accessiBe, you’ll get automated, reliable accessibility updates, audits, and reports to ensure that your site is accessible for all.
There isn’t a company out there that offers automated accessibility services at these price points, making accessiBe a top choice for any business looking to get serious about accessibility compliance.
