BFSG Monitoring: sustain accessibility, not just audit it once
A one-time WCAG audit only captures status at the moment of testing — new content, CMS updates and features continuously introduce new barriers. Our monitoring watches your website continuously, alerts you to deviations immediately and proves your BFSG conformance with regular reports — from €49 per month.
78
success criteria tested
24/7
Automated monitoring
48 h
Response for critical findings
50+
projects monitored
Ongoing conformance assurance
- Automated scans against WCAG 2.2 AA
- Manual spot checks by trained auditors
- Quarterly report as compliance evidence
- Immediate alert for critical findings
Entry-level Basic monitoring. More extensive plans with weekly scans, 48-hour alerting and an annual full audit from €149 and €349 per month.
BFSG in force since 28 June 2025 — fines up to €100,000
Accessibility is not a one-time project milestone but an ongoing quality property of your digital product. The Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) requires not just a single moment of conformance but lasting compliance. Our monitoring service bridges the gap between the one-time WCAG audit and long-term conformance assurance: automated scans detect technical regression errors within hours, monthly manual spot checks review context-dependent quality, and quarterly reports document conformance status for your compliance management and potential market surveillance authorities. Monitoring starts at €49 per month.
Why one-time audits are not a lasting solution
After a successful WCAG 2.2 audit and subsequent accessible web development, your website is conformant at a defined point in time. But the everyday reality of a digital product looks different: editors add new content, developers extend features, extensions get updated, CMS versions change. Each of these modifications can introduce new barriers — often unintentional and unnoticed. In our experience, websites without continuous monitoring accumulate significantly more barriers within six to twelve months after an audit than they had directly after remediation (project experience). Conformance at audit time provides no assurance during ongoing operations.
BFSG obligation: ongoing, not one-off
What our monitoring service covers
Our BFSG monitoring combines three complementary testing methods that together ensure comprehensive coverage of all relevant accessibility aspects. Automated scans reliably and quickly detect technical barriers, manual spot checks identify context-dependent quality issues, and structured reporting makes conformance status provable and manageable.
Automated scans
Weekly automated scans (rule-based, including axe-core) of all defined page types and critical user paths. Detected regression errors are classified, compared with the last scan, and reported within 48 hours for critical findings.
Manual spot checks
Monthly manual review of a representative page selection by trained auditors. Focus on areas automated tools cannot cover: understandability of new content, alt text quality, heading hierarchy consistency and new interactive components.
Quarterly reports
Quarterly reports with conformance status, trend development, identified findings and prioritized recommendations. The report serves as compliance evidence for market surveillance authorities and includes an updated WCAG conformance matrix.
Immediate alerting
For critical findings (WCAG conformance level A violated, fundamental screen reader operability impaired), you receive a notification within 48 hours with finding description, affected page and recommended solution path.
Accessibility statement
Updating your accessibility statement as required by BFSG §14 based on monitoring results. The date of the last review is kept current, known limitations are documented and planned measures are communicated transparently.
Screen reader spot checks
Quarterly testing with NVDA and VoiceOver for critical user paths (navigation, search, forms, login). Identification of regression issues that automated scans do not detect, such as changed output order or new ARIA errors.
Process: how continuous monitoring works
Onboarding and baseline assessment
At the start of the monitoring contract we conduct a complete baseline review. We record all page types and user paths to be monitored, set up automated scan configurations and document the initial state. The baseline serves as the reference for all subsequent comparisons.
Weekly automated scans
Every week automated scans (rule-based, including axe-core) run across all defined pages. Results are compared with the previous month: new findings are immediately flagged, resolved findings are marked as closed. Critical findings (Level A or severe Level AA) automatically trigger a notification.
Monthly manual spot checks
Once a month an experienced auditor manually reviews a representative selection of pages. Special focus is placed on content and features added since the last scan. Findings are recorded in the monitoring database and fed into the quarterly report.
Quarterly reporting
Every three months we produce a complete quarterly report with trend analysis, updated WCAG conformance matrix, open and resolved findings list and prioritized action recommendations. The report is discussed in a review meeting, questions are answered and measures for the following quarter are agreed.
Response to new barriers
For new findings above a defined severity level you receive a structured notification with WCAG reference, description, screenshot and solution proposal. On request we handle the remediation directly within a time budget or coordinate the fix with your development team.
Annual full audit
Once a year we conduct a complete WCAG 2.2 AA audit systematically checking all 78 success criteria. This is especially important after major redesigns, CMS updates or when new functional areas have been added. The audit resets the baseline for the new monitoring year.
Will your website stay conformant after the audit?
We monitor your accessibility continuously and report new barriers before they become a compliance risk — from €49 per month.
What monitoring detects — and what it does not
Transparency about the limits of our monitoring service matters to us so you have realistic expectations. Automated scans reliably detect a defined set of technical barriers: missing alt texts, insufficient color contrasts, missing form labels, invalid ARIA attributes and structural HTML errors. These are precisely the barriers most frequently introduced by new content and code changes (project experience). The manual spot check extends coverage to context-dependent quality issues that no automated tool can detect.
Coverage: automated vs. manual
What automated scans detect
Automated scans reliably cover technical, rule-based barriers. They form the foundation of continuous monitoring and run weekly across your entire page inventory without manual effort.
- Missing or empty alt attributes on images
- Insufficient color contrasts (text on background)
- Missing or incorrectly linked form labels
- Invalid ARIA roles and attributes
- Missing page titles and language attributes
- Incorrect heading hierarchies (level jumps)
- Links without recognizable link text
- Form error messages without programmatic association
What manual spot checks add
Manual spot checks close the gaps no automated tool can close. They are conducted monthly by trained auditors and focus on new and changed content.
- Understandability and meaningfulness of new alt texts
- Logical consistency of heading hierarchy
- Understandability of error messages and help texts
- Screen reader output of new interactive components
- Keyboard navigation through new forms and dialogs
- Color contrast review for new design elements and graphics
Monitoring plans: scope and monthly prices
We offer three monitoring plans scaled to the size and complexity of your website and your compliance requirements. All plans include automated scans, manual spot checks and regular reporting; the difference lies in check frequency, page scope and included remediation budget. Larger portals and online shops are quoted individually by page type.
Monitoring plans: transparent monthly prices
All prices net per month, cancellable monthly. Every plan includes automated scans, manual spot checks and reporting — the tiers differ in check frequency, page scope and remediation budget.
Basic monitoring
For smaller websites and landing pages with stable content.
- Monthly automated scans against WCAG 2.2
- Quarterly manual spot checks (5 pages)
- Semi-annual conformance report
- Email alert for critical findings
- Basis for your accessibility statement
Standard monitoring
For BFSG-obligated corporate websites with ongoing changes.
- Weekly automated scans
- Monthly manual spot checks (10 pages)
- Quarterly report with WCAG conformance matrix
- Immediate alert within 48 hours for critical findings
- Time budget for immediate remediation of minor findings
Premium monitoring
For complex websites, online shops and high-traffic portals.
- Weekly scans plus quarterly screen reader tests
- Monthly manual spot checks (20+ pages)
- Monthly reports and a dedicated point of contact
- Extended remediation budget
- Annual WCAG 2.2 full audit included (otherwise from €2,480)
All prices net plus VAT. The annual full audit is included in the Premium plan and otherwise bookable from €2,480 as a WCAG 2.2 audit. We define the right scope together in the free initial consultation.
New WCAG 2.2 criteria in the monitoring focus
The monitoring report: your compliance record
Our quarterly report is more than a list of findings. It is a structured compliance document containing all relevant information for your internal quality management and for potential review by market surveillance authorities. The report is based on the VPAT format (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) and the structure of EN 301 549, but is designed to be understandable and usable for organizations of all sizes.
- Conformance assessment per WCAG 2.2 AA success criterion (passed / failed / not applicable)
- Trend comparison: number of open findings compared to the previous quarter
- Prioritized findings list with WCAG reference, severity and solution recommendation
- Documentation of barriers resolved since the last report
- Recommendations for the following quarter with effort estimates
- Basis for updating your statutory accessibility statement under BFSG §14
Integration with existing development and editorial processes
BFSG monitoring delivers its full value when integrated into existing workflows rather than running alongside them. We support you in routing monitoring results directly into your ticketing or issue-tracking system: new findings are created as prioritized tasks, so your development team can begin remediation immediately without additional communication overhead. For content teams we recommend a short CMS checklist that ensures the most common editorial barriers (missing alt texts, missing heading hierarchy, non-descriptive link text) never arise in the first place. We create this checklist individually based on your website's monitoring findings.
For development teams we recommend integrating automated accessibility tests into the CI/CD pipeline as a complementary measure to external monitoring. A testing plugin such as axe-core in the build process prevents known technical barriers from ever reaching production. The external monitoring then catches barriers the automated build check does not detect: context-dependent issues, new content and subtle regression errors. Together both layers form a robust line of defense for lasting accessibility quality. On request we support CI/CD integration setup as part of our developer training.
Monitoring after launch: the right entry point
The optimal time to start monitoring is directly after the successful completion of a WCAG 2.2 audit and remediation. At that point a validated baseline is available, conformance status is documented and monitoring can observe ongoing changes from this clean starting position. We also frequently see organizations start directly with monitoring without a prior full audit. In this case we conduct the baseline review as the first step of the monitoring contract, establishing a clear foundation for all subsequent comparisons.
Monitoring is particularly important for websites that regularly publish new content: news portals, blog sites, product catalogs with frequent assortment expansions and websites with regular campaign or promotion pages. Every new piece of content is a potential entry point for new barriers. Monitoring ensures none of these barriers remain undetected long-term and the website continually meets the requirements of the BFSG and WCAG 2.2. Contact us to discuss the monitoring model that suits your website and receive an individual proposal — request your free consultation.
Why conformance erodes
Monitoring pays off because accessibility is a process, not a state. Which tools cover which share is described in the article on accessibility testing tools. The most common cause of new barriers after an audit is embedded third-party components — see the article on third-party widgets and BFSG duties. And anyone wanting to know where the standard is heading will find the current status in the article on the WCAG 3.0 draft.
BFSG monitoring — the essentials at a glance
- BFSG monitoring from €49 per month — three plans with monthly to weekly scans, manual spot checks and quarterly reports
- Automated scans detect technical regressions weekly; we report critical findings within 48 hours
- The quarterly report serves as compliance evidence for market surveillance authorities and updates your accessibility statement under BFSG §14
- Manual spot checks and quarterly screen reader tests (NVDA, VoiceOver) cover what no automated tool can detect
- The BFSG has applied since 28 June 2025; violations can carry fines of up to €100,000 (BFSG §37)