AccessIQ vs Hitsteps Web Analytics

AccessIQ is a free WordPress accessibility plugin that combines three tools most sites pay separately for — a full WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 accessibility scanner, a self-hosted click heatmap engine, and behavior analytics — all inside a single dark-themed dashboard, with no data ever leaving your server. No API keys. No subscriptions. No third-party services for core features. 🔬 Live Demo | 📖 Documentation | 💬 Support Forum Why WordPress Sites Need an Accessibility Scanner ADA and EAA lawsuits are rising. Any publicly accessible website can be targeted — and “we didn’t know” is not a legal defense. WCAG 2.1 compliance is increasingly required by law across the US, EU, and UK. Inaccessible sites lose real users. 1 in 4 adults has a disability that affects how they use the web. An inaccessible checkout button or unlabeled form field directly costs you conversions. Most tools only tell you there’s a problem. AccessIQ shows you exactly which element failed, why it failed, and what to fix. What You Get — 100% Free ♿ WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 Accessibility Scanner Run unlimited scans on any page or post URL. Get a 0–100 compliance score, severity-ranked violations with element selectors, full scan history, and one-click rescans. Supports Level A, AA, and AAA. 🔥 Self-Hosted Click Heatmap Engine See exactly where your visitors click, overlaid on your live site inside a macOS-style browser frame. All click data stays in your own database — no Hotjar, no external service required. 📈 Behavior Analytics Track sessions, bounce rates, average time on page, and device splits. Animated Chart.js dashboards that rival tools costing $50/month — built right into WordPress. 🧩 Accessibility Profiles Five one-click preset configurations — Vision Impaired, ADHD Friendly, Seizure Safe, Dyslexia, and Keyboard Only — that apply multiple accessibility settings instantly. The fastest way for visitors to get the experience they need. 🔡 Frontend Accessibility Widget A fully redesigned floating toolbar with 15 accessibility tools, grouped accordion layout, Lucide SVG icons, Dark/Light/System theme switching, adjustable panel width and height, and mobile bottom-sheet support. 📊 Score History Chart Track how your accessibility score changes over time for any scanned URL. See compliance progress at a glance. 📋 Accessibility Statement Generator One-click publish of a WCAG-compliant accessibility statement page. Auto-fills last scan date and top violations, with a live preview and an embeddable [accessiq_badge] shortcode. 🔧 Auto-Fix Engine Automatically apply frontend fixes for common violations — Skip Link, Focus Outline, HTML Lang Attribute, and Decorative Image Alt — with no code required. Who Uses AccessIQ Developers & Agencies — Audit client sites before launch. Deliver professional WCAG compliance reports that build trust and justify ongoing maintenance retainers. Business Owners — ADA and EAA lawsuits are rising fast. AccessIQ keeps you compliant and documents your remediation efforts — which matters in court. E-commerce Stores — Heatmaps reveal exactly which product page elements get clicked and which get ignored. Fix what matters for conversions. Bloggers & Content Creators — Understand where readers engage without handing your data to Google Analytics. UX Designers — Validate design decisions with real click data. Measure the impact of layout changes with before/after score tracking. SEO Professionals — Google uses accessibility signals as ranking factors. Accessible, well-structured content with proper headings and alt text ranks better. AccessIQ catches both. 🔬 WCAG Scanner — Full Feature List Compliance Score (0–100): Animated score ring with grade label (Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor) WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 Level A, AA, AAA: Choose your target compliance level per scan Violations by Category: Visual bar chart — Images, Contrast, Headings, ARIA, Forms Severity Labels: Critical / Serious / Moderate issue classification Element Selector: The exact HTML element that caused the violation Fix Suggestions: Actionable guidance for each violation type Scan History: Full history with date, score, issue count, and WCAG level per URL Score History Chart: Line chart showing compliance progress over time One-click Rescan: Re-run any scan instantly from the reports page Print Reports: Print scan reports directly from the browser Unlimited Scans: No limits, no paywalls, no scan credits Single Report View: Detailed breakdown with back navigation and print option Perfect Score Celebration: Special screen when a page scores 100/100 WCAG 2.2 Checks: Focus Not Obscured (2.4.11), Dragging Movements (2.5.7), Target Size Minimum (2.5.8) 🔥 Heatmap Engine — Full Feature List Live Click Heatmap: Intensity overlay on your live site — see hot and cold spots instantly In-Dashboard Preview: View heatmaps inside WP Admin — no external app needed macOS-style Browser Chrome: Professional browser frame with URL bar and LIVE PREVIEW badge Top Clicked Elements: Ranked table with element selector, click count, and % of total Gold / Silver / Bronze Rankings: Visual rank indicators for top 3 elements Date Range Filter: 7 days / 30 days / 90 days Device Filter: All Devices / Desktop / Mobile / Tablet Page Dropdown: Select any tracked page from the dropdown Peak Activity Hour: Discover when your visitors are most active Self-Hosted: 100% — all click data lives in your WordPress database Lightweight Tracker: Under 3KB, loads asynchronously, zero impact on Core Web Vitals 📈 Behavior Analytics — Full Feature List Session Tracking: Total sessions, average time on page, bounce rate Daily Sessions Chart: Chart.js line chart with gradient fill and hover tooltips Device Breakdown: Animated donut chart — Desktop / Mobile / Tablet split Top Pages Performance: Sessions, avg time, bounce rate, and top device per page Date Range Filter: 7 / 30 / 90 day periods Bounce Rate Alerts: Color-coded — red (high), amber (medium), green (low) Privacy-First: No cookies, no third-party scripts, no Google Analytics dependency ♿ Accessibility Widget — Full Feature List Text & Reading Font Size Control: Adjust text from 80% to 150% with A−/A+ controls Letter Spacing: Range slider 0–5px for improved character readability Line Height: 3-level slider — Default / Comfortable / Spacious Dyslexia-Friendly Font: Apply Lexend for easier reading Reading Line: Teal horizontal line that follows the cursor to help track text Reading Mask: Dual overlay spotlight window for focused reading Color & Vision High Contrast Mode: One-click high-contrast color scheme Monochrome: Full grayscale filter for color-sensitive users Saturation: 3-state selector — Low / Normal / High Highlight Links: Teal outline and underline on all anchor elements Highlight Titles: Teal left-border accent on all h1–h6 headings Motion & Navigation Stop Animations: Disables all CSS animations, transitions, and smooth scroll Big Cursor: Enlarged cursor with 4 color variants (White / Black / Teal / Red) Keyboard Navigation: Highlight keyboard focus indicators sitewide Screen Reader Optimize: Optimize page structure for screen readers Accessibility Profiles Vision Impaired: Font Size 130% + High Contrast + Highlight Links ADHD Friendly: Stop Animations + Reading Mask + Dyslexia Font Seizure Safe: Stop Animations + Monochrome + Low Saturation Dyslexia: Dyslexia Font + Letter Spacing 2px + Line Height Spacious Keyboard Only: Keyboard Navigation + Highlight Links Widget Customisation Brand Color: 9 preset swatches + custom color picker + hex input Widget Position: Top Left / Top Right / Bottom Left / Bottom Right Panel Width: Compact (260px) / Normal (300px) / Wide (340px) Panel Height: Auto / Fixed 400px / Fixed 500px / Full Screen Theme: Dark / Light / System (follows OS preference) Mobile Bottom Sheet: Slides up from bottom on screens under 480px Show on Mobile: Show or hide widget on mobile devices Floating Toolbar Toggle: Enable or disable the widget entirely 📋 Accessibility Statement Statement Generator: Auto-fills organisation name, last scan date, and top violations from your AccessIQ data Live Preview: See the formatted statement before publishing One-click Publish: Creates or updates a WordPress page automatically [accessiq_badge] Shortcode: Embed a WCAG compliance badge (dark or light variant) anywhere on your site Widget Footer Link: Shows “Accessibility Statement” link in the widget when a statement page exists 🔧 Auto-Fix Engine Skip Link: Adds a “Skip to content” link as the first focusable element Focus Outline: Injects a visible teal focus ring on all focusable elements HTML Lang Attribute: Auto-adds the lang attribute to the tag Decorative Image Alt: Sets empty alt=”” on images with no alt attribute AccessIQ Pro The free plugin is fully featured for most sites. AccessIQ Pro adds agency-grade tools: PDF Compliance Reports — Generate branded WCAG compliance reports in PDF format. White-label with your logo, company name, and accent color. AI Alt Text Generator — Automatically generate descriptive alt text for images using AI. Bulk-apply to your media library. Supports OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq, and more. Scheduled Scan Email Delivery — Automatically email PDF reports after each scheduled scan. Regression alerts when score drops. Multi-Site Hub Dashboard — Agency dashboard to monitor 25+ client sites in one view. Compliance score, violations, and last scan date per site. White-label Widget — Customize the accessibility widget with your agency’s branding. Priority Support — Direct email support with fast response times. Upgrade to AccessIQ Pro → Privacy & Data AccessIQ stores all data in your own WordPress database. No scan results, click events, or session data are sent to external servers. The WCAG scanner runs client-side in your browser — it loads your page locally and sends results via AJAX to your own database. Nothing leaves your server. The plugin loads fonts from Google Fonts (DM Sans, DM Mono for admin; Lexend for the frontend widget). See the External Services section for details. External Services This plugin does not send scan, click, or session data to external servers. All data is stored in your WordPress database. Google Fonts AccessIQ loads typefaces from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com): Admin screens — DM Sans and DM Mono load on AccessIQ admin pages. Frontend widget — Lexend loads on public pages when the accessibility toolbar is enabled. When fonts are requested, the visitor’s browser sends a standard HTTP request to Google servers, which may include the visitor’s IP address, browser user-agent, and referring page URL. Provider: Google LLC Terms: https://policies.google.com/terms Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy Privacy Policy AccessIQ stores the following data in your WordPress database only: Click Events (Heatmap): X/Y coordinates, CSS element selector, page URL, timestamp, device type. Sessions (Behavior Analytics): Page URL, session duration, device type, timestamp, bounce status. Scan Results: Page URL, WCAG violations, compliance score, scan timestamp, WCAG level. What we do NOT collect: IP addresses, usernames, email addresses, cookies, or any personally identifiable information (PII). No data is sent to third-party servers. The WordPress admin loads fonts from Google Fonts (see External Services). You can delete all AccessIQ data by deactivating and deleting the plugin. For heatmap and analytics tracking, we recommend adding a disclosure to your site’s privacy policy informing visitors that anonymous click and session data is collected for site improvement. Development Source Unminified source code available at: https://gitlab.com/thereadscope/accessiq

Hitsteps is a real-time visitor tracking plugin for WordPress. Watch live visitors, follow page-by-page journeys, and connect behavior to referrers, campaigns, devices, approximate locations, and returning visitor profiles. Add visitor tracking without editing your theme. Connect an account in the plugin settings, save the API key, then verify real-time tracking as soon as the first live visit arrives. See more than aggregate pageview totals by following the journeys behind them. Use Hitsteps to answer practical questions: Who is visiting my WordPress site right now, and which page are they viewing? Which referrers, traffic sources, campaigns, and landing pages bring engaged visitors? What did a visitor view before placing an order, submitting a form, or starting live chat? Which links, buttons, menus, products, and page sections receive clicks in heatmaps? Did traffic stop after a deployment, cache change, or outage? Real-Time Visitor Tracking for WordPress Hitsteps adds the tracking code after you connect an account and API key. The live dashboard shows active and recent visitors without a next-day wait. Live Visitors and Page-by-Page Journeys Follow activity page by page. See current and entry pages, session duration, browser, device, country, region, and available approximate IP-based city context. Visitor Profiles and Returning Visitors Visitor profiles connect repeat browser visits and journey history. Optional aliasing can associate a known identifier supplied after login, form submission, chat, or purchase. Anonymous visits do not reveal a person’s identity automatically. Referrer Analytics and Traffic Sources Connect journeys to available referrers, search engines, campaigns, landing pages, and entry sources. Browsers, privacy controls, apps, and copied links can omit referral data. WordPress Heatmaps and Page Analysis Click heatmaps and Page Analysis show which links, buttons, menus, products, and page sections receive attention, helping explain where journeys stall. WooCommerce and Form Visitor Context Hitsteps can add recent visitor journeys to WooCommerce admin order emails and supported form notifications. Integrations include Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, and Jetpack Contact Form. More Hitsteps Features Live chat and support-button options. Bot detection and referral-spam filtering. Invisible tracking with no public counter badge. Real-visitor page-speed reporting. Uptime monitoring and alert channels, depending on plan and configuration. WordPress dashboard summaries, visitor maps, recent graphs, Online Visual live visitor paths, and pageview widgets. Optional registered-user aliasing across devices when your site has the required permission or consent. Learn more on the Hitsteps features page. External Service and Privacy This plugin connects WordPress to the hosted Hitsteps analytics service. An account and API key are required. It sends analytics data such as page URLs and titles, referrers, browser and device information, IP-derived approximate location, and interactions. Optional aliasing, WooCommerce, or form integrations can also send identity or journey context. Site owners are responsible for providing any notice and obtaining any consent required for their use of analytics, cookies, identity features, chat, and related integrations. Review the Hitsteps Terms of Service and Hitsteps Privacy Policy before enabling the service. Security Policy Reporting Security Bugs Please report security issues in the Hitsteps plugin through the Patchstack Vulnerability Disclosure Program. Patchstack can assist with verification, CVE assignment, and developer notification.