Comparison
Report and monitoring vs. accessibility overlay widgets
An overlay is a JavaScript snippet that runs in the visitor's browser and tries to patch accessibility problems on the fly. It's a different kind of product from a report — here's what each one actually gives you.
| Feature | Overlay widget | Cluesia |
|---|---|---|
| Produces a full report | No — a live script, not a document | Yes — a WCAG 2.1 AA / EN 301 549 report with prioritised findings |
| Tests your actual page markup | Patches the rendered page in the visitor's browser; your source code is unchanged | Yes — scans and reports on your real markup |
| Generates an accessibility statement | No | Yes — drafted for your jurisdiction, ready to review and publish |
| Tracks regressions over time | No built-in evidence log | Yes — weekly re-scans with an evidence log of what changed |
| Feeds the EAA's Article 14 assessment | Not on its own | Provides the compliance evidence an assessment is built from |
This isn't a hypothetical risk
In April 2025 the FTC finalised a $1,000,000 order against accessiBe for claiming its overlay widget could make any website WCAG-compliant. The order found the widget failed on basic components — menus, headings, tables, and images.
What overlays do help with
Some genuinely add useful reading preferences. We're not saying they do nothing — only that they aren't evidence, and they aren't a substitute for the markup itself.
What users report
Screen-reader users have publicly asked vendors to stop shipping widgets that fight their own assistive technology. That feedback is easy to find and worth reading.
What we do instead
Name the criterion, show the element, hand the list to whoever maintains the site — then re-scan and log the change.
See what a real report actually includes.
See pricing