This is a guide to how AudioEye works on your Finalsite site, what it covers automatically, and where your content team's eyes make the biggest difference.
💡Quick answers
- What is AudioEye? An automated accessibility service that loads as JavaScript on your site, detects and fixes many WCAG 2.2 Level AA issues in real time, and routes the rest to AudioEye's expert remediation team.
- What does it cover? Automation detects roughly two-thirds of WCAG issues and fixes about half. With AudioEye's expert services layered on top, coverage reaches 90%+ of the 55 WCAG 2.2 A/AA success criteria. The remaining aspect is the content-level work that needs an editor's eye on the page.
- What stays with your team? Writing meaningful alt text for content images, keeping heading order logical, and making sure PDFs and embedded tools are accessible before publish. AudioEye flags a lot of this; a person does the writing or restructuring.
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See issues directly on the page: Add
/?oss=1to the end of any page URL on your AudioEye-enabled site to launch the AudioEye Accessibility Page Scanner. It highlights affected elements on the page and shows the WCAG reference, impact, error description, and fix guidance. - How do I get started? Email accessibility@finalsite.com.
Have a specific question that isn't included here? Check out the article, AudioEye FAQs.
In this Article
Why accessibility matters
Behind every accessibility feature is a real person trying to get something done. The high school senior using a screen reader at 11 p.m. to find a scholarship deadline. The grandparent with low vision looking up a concert time. The parent who navigates entirely with a keyboard because a mouse is painful. The student who needs reduced motion to focus on the lunch menu.
Your school or district website is often the first place these community members turn, and for many of them it's the only way. AudioEye, combined with your team's care over the content itself, is what lets all of them actually use what you publish.
How AudioEye works
AudioEye runs as JavaScript layered on top of your site. Because it runs after the page renders, the AudioEye toolbar icon usually appears within a few seconds of page load.
In that moment, AudioEye:
- Scans the page for common WCAG issues
- Applies automated fixes the script can safely make
- Offers the visitor a personalization toolbar (contrast, text size, spacing, animation controls, and more)
- Provides a "Report Issue" channel for visitors to flag anything that still isn't working for them
Coverage at a glance
- Automated detection: up to ~2/3 of WCAG issues
- Automated fixes: up to ~50% of issues
- With expert services layered on: up to 90%+ of issues
- Your current Finalsite plan with AudioEye includes ongoing rollouts from AudioEye's human-review team, so you don't need to request each fix individually.
The right fix often depends on context only a human author knows. That's where your team's content work becomes the accessibility win no overlay can replicate.
Resolving common issues with AudioEye
What AudioEye handles: During implementation, AudioEye's AI automatically writes alt text for template-level images (logos, footer images, and standard icons).
What your editors handle: Interior content images — a photo in a news story, a flyer in a newsletter, a headshot on a staff page — need alt text that reflects what the image actually means on the page. Finalsite's AI Alt Text Generator can help move through bulk alt text faster.
Together: AudioEye covers the repeatable template pieces; your editors cover the meaning-specific pieces. See Finalsite + AudioEye: Fix alt text issues →
What AudioEye handles: AudioEye scans every page for elements where the foreground and background color combination falls below WCAG contrast thresholds. It surfaces each flag in your report with the element location, the current ratio, and the target ratio needed to pass.
What your editors handle: Updating the actual color values in Composer or your site's theme settings.
Together: Use the /?oss=1 scanner to locate the exact element, check the ratio against a contrast checker, then update the color. See Finalsite + AudioEye: Fix a color contrast flag →
What AudioEye handles: AudioEye detects form fields without a programmatically associated label and links whose visible text gives no indication of their destination.
What your editors handle: Adding a visible Label in New Forms and rewriting link text in the Content element editor so every link makes sense on its own.
Together: AudioEye identifies the gaps; your editors fill them. See Finalsite + AudioEye: Fix form labels and link text →
What AudioEye handles: AudioEye flags video elements missing captions or with captions turned off by default. It identifies the page and element so you know exactly which video to address.
What your editors handle: When it comes to adding captions, the approach depends on the video type. Uploaded videos get a .vtt file in element settings. YouTube and Vimeo are managed on those platforms. Raw iframes need embed parameter updates.
Together: AudioEye tells you which video is flagged; your editor adds captions through the right channel. See Finalsite + AudioEye: Fix captions and transcripts →
What AudioEye handles: AudioEye detects heading-order issues — skipped levels, multiple H1s, missing H1, or visual formatting used instead of proper heading tags. These appear on your report and are highlighted by the /?oss=1 scanner.
What your editors handle: Restructuring the headings in Page Settings (H1), the element title dropdown (H2 default), or the Formatting toolbar inside the Content element.
Together: AudioEye tells you when something is off; your editor fixes it in Composer. See Finalsite + AudioEye: Fix heading structure flags →
What AudioEye handles: AudioEye scans links on your pages and flags documents that do not meet accessibility standards — missing tags, no reading order, images without alt text, or missing document language.
What your editors handle: Deciding whether the document should exist as a PDF at all, and if so, remediating it in Adobe Acrobat Pro before re-uploading.
Together: Start by deciding whether the document should exist as a PDF; if it must, treat it as content work at the source. See Finalsite + AudioEye: Fix PDF flags →
What AudioEye handles: Content served from another domain — especially inside an iframe — runs outside what AudioEye can reach.
What your editors handle: Accessibility of an embedded tool is governed by the tool itself. Check its own accessibility documentation or consider native Finalsite alternatives.
Together: For visitors who rely on assistive technology, a well-built native page is almost always more reliable than an embedded widget.
What AudioEye handles: When a visitor uses the "Report Issue" button, the report goes to AudioEye's support team. AudioEye reviews the issue, applies a fix on the overlay where possible, and keeps you informed.
What your editors handle: If the report points to a content-level issue, the long-term fix still happens in your CMS.
Together: This channel is how the visitors who most need accessibility work can tell you when something is still getting in their way.
Getting started
To add AudioEye to your site, email accessibility@finalsite.com. The Finalsite accessibility team handles onboarding with AudioEye and will share your auto-refreshing reporting links once you're live.
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