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How GotAlt researches, verifies and corrects its guides

We cite official sources inline: statutes, regulators and W3C. Every law and standards page shows a Last reviewed date that changes only when we re-verify or substantively update it. A fact we cannot verify from a primary source is not published. To report an error, email hello@gotalt.com and we reply within two working days.

Published . Last reviewed .

Accessibility law changes, and a wrong date or scope can send a reader in the wrong direction. This page sets out the rules our guides follow so you can judge how far to rely on them. GotAlt is a product of COCOMII LLC (Sheridan, Wyoming, USA), and these rules apply to every guide, law page, standards page and tool page on the site.

What we use as a source

Every claim about a law, date, scope, penalty or standard links inline to the best official source we could read: the statute or regulation where available, otherwise the regulator's or W3C's own guidance. Where the source is guidance rather than the legal text, the page says so. When we cannot read an official source, we do not publish the claim.

What each kind of claim is sourced from, with an example
Kind of claim What we cite Example
Scope, dates and duties in a law The statute, the regulation or the regulator's own page Directive (EU) 2019/882 on EUR-Lex, the ADA Title II web rule on ADA.gov
What a technical standard requires W3C and the standards body that publishes it WCAG 2.2 Recommendation, ETSI EN 301 549 v4.1.1
Real-world failure rates and research A named study, attributed, with its date The WebAIM Million
Enforcement and penalties The law or an official record; where we cannot read it, we leave the figure out FTC press release on the accessiBe order
What our product does and its limits The limits our service actually enforces, checked before publishing Our methodology page

We do not treat a vendor's blog post or marketing page as a source for a fact about the law or about a standard. When respected sources disagree, we say so and attribute each view instead of picking a number. For example, sources disagree on the date by which EN 301 549 v4.1.1 will be cited in the EU Official Journal, so our pages say "expected late 2026" and give no fixed date.

What "Last reviewed" means

Guides, law pages, standards pages, comparisons and tools show two dates under the introduction: when the page was published and when it was last reviewed. We change "Last reviewed" only when we re-check the page against its sources or change it substantively, and never to make a page look fresh. A substantive update is a change to a date, scope, level, figure, quote or link target, as opposed to a typo or layout edit. If you see an old date, nothing on the page has been re-verified since then. See the web accessibility laws hub and the WCAG 2.2 success criteria for examples of pages that carry these dates.

What we do not publish

  • A figure, date or quote we could not confirm against an official source. We leave it out, or we say plainly that the point is not settled.
  • A claim that a scan, an audit or any other tool makes a site meet a law. Automated testing finds part of WCAG. Karl Groves puts what automated tools can definitively test at roughly 25 to 29 percent of WCAG 2.0 best practices, and other sources give different shares, so we attribute the number and do not treat one as settled.
  • Statistics, customers, reviews or testimonials we cannot back up.
  • Legal advice. Law pages are general information. For a decision about your organization, ask a lawyer.

What our tools cannot test

Many WCAG criteria need a person: whether alt text is true of the picture, whether a reading order makes sense, whether a flow works with a keyboard or a screen reader. Every GotAlt report lists what was checked, and our methodology page lists what no automated scanner can detect. Why scanners miss issues explains the gap in more detail.

Our principles

  1. No overlay

    GotAlt does not sell a widget that claims to fix a site on the fly. See overlays and the FTC.

  2. No badge or seal

    We do not issue badges, seals or certificates, because none of them can show a site meets a law.

  3. No claim that software makes a site meet a law

    The FTC's final order against accessiBe, issued 21 April 2025 with a $1,000,000 payment, is the precedent we cite. The complaint charged that claiming a product would make a website meet WCAG, and keep it meeting WCAG automatically, was false or unsubstantiated, per the FTC press release.

  4. Say where we have an interest

    GotAlt sells scans and audits. A page that mentions our products says so, and law and standards pages are written to be correct whether or not you buy from us.

How to report an error, and how we correct

If you think something on the site is wrong, out of date or unclear, email hello@gotalt.com with the page address and, if you can, a link to the source. We reply within two working days.

When we confirm a problem, we fix the page against its official source and update the "Last reviewed" date. When a correction changes something a reader could have relied on, such as a deadline, a scope or a figure, a dated note on the page says what changed. If you want to know how accessible our own site is, read our accessibility statement.

What we don't claim

Following this policy does not make a page free of error. Laws move faster than any review cycle, so check the linked source before you rely on a date or a scope. Nothing here is legal advice.

Questions about our editorial policy

How do I report a mistake on a GotAlt page?

Email hello@gotalt.com with the page address and what you think is wrong, ideally with a link to the source. We reply within two working days, and we correct pages against the official source.

What does "Last reviewed" mean on a guide?

It is the date we last checked the page against its sources or changed it substantively. We never move it to make a page look current, so a page with an older date has not been re-verified since then.

Do you publish a fact you cannot verify against an official source?

No. If we cannot read the statute, regulation, regulator page or W3C document behind a claim, we leave the claim out or say plainly that the point is not settled.

Do your guides count as legal advice?

No. They are general information. Whether a law applies to your organization, and what it requires of you, is a question for a lawyer.

Does a GotAlt scan show that a site meets WCAG or the law?

No. A scan reports what automated checks can detect, which is part of WCAG. No tool, ours included, can confirm conformance or that a site meets a law, and we do not sell a badge that says otherwise. See what we check and what we cannot.

Why do you cite regulators and W3C instead of vendor blogs?

Because a law or a standard is defined by its own text. A vendor summary can be out of date or can overstate, so we link the official document where we can read it and treat anything else as commentary, attributed to its author.

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