GoDaddy Website Builder Accessibility Checklist 2026 | WCAG 2.1 AA & EAA Guide
Last updated: 2026-04-14
GoDaddy Website Builder is one of the most popular beginner-friendly website creation tools, powering millions of small business websites around the world. Its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for non-technical users to build professional-looking sites quickly. However, this simplicity comes with a significant trade-off: many of the accessibility decisions are made by the platform itself, and users have limited control over the underlying HTML structure. GoDaddy has improved its accessibility features over the years, but many templates still produce markup that falls short of WCAG 2.1 AA requirements. Common problems include missing alt text on images added through the visual editor, navigation menus that are difficult to operate with a keyboard, form fields without proper label associations, and color combinations that fail contrast requirements. With the European Accessibility Act enforcement underway and ADA-related lawsuits continuing to affect small businesses, GoDaddy users need to understand what they can fix within the platform's constraints and where they may need to advocate for platform-level improvements. This checklist focuses on actionable steps that GoDaddy Website Builder users can take right now to improve their site's accessibility, organized by severity and WCAG criterion.
Common Accessibility Issues
GoDaddy's media manager allows users to upload and insert images quickly, but the alt text field is often overlooked or left blank. The visual editor does not prompt users to add alt text during the upload flow, and stock photos inserted from the built-in library frequently have no meaningful descriptions. Screen reader users encounter these images as unlabeled content, losing important visual context.
After inserting any image, click on it in the editor and look for the Alt Text or Image Description field in the settings panel. Write a concise description of what the image shows and why it matters in context. For decorative images like background textures or dividers, check if there is an option to mark them as decorative. If not, use a brief description like 'decorative divider' rather than leaving it blank, as GoDaddy may not generate an empty alt attribute.
Several GoDaddy templates use navigation menus with dropdown submenus that only respond to mouse hover events. Keyboard users cannot access dropdown items because the submenus do not open on focus or via Enter/Space key activation. The mobile hamburger menu on some templates also fails to trap focus properly, allowing keyboard users to tab behind the open menu overlay.
Test your site's navigation using only the Tab key. If dropdown menus do not open, try switching to a different GoDaddy template that has better keyboard support. If your current template's navigation is inaccessible, consider using a flat navigation structure without dropdowns as a workaround. Report the issue to GoDaddy support referencing WCAG 2.1.1 to help push for platform fixes.
Contact forms and signup forms created through GoDaddy's form builder sometimes render fields with visual labels that are positioned near the input but not programmatically associated using HTML label elements or aria-label attributes. Screen reader users hear 'edit text' or 'text field' without any indication of what information to enter.
In the form editor, ensure every field has a visible label and that the label text clearly describes the expected input. GoDaddy's newer form builder versions typically generate proper label associations automatically. If you are using an older form design, try recreating the form using the current form block. Test by clicking on the label text -- if clicking the label moves focus to the input field, the association is correct.
GoDaddy templates often use light text on photographic backgrounds or semi-transparent overlays where the contrast ratio varies depending on the underlying image content. Some sections with gradient backgrounds create areas where text becomes difficult to read. The platform's color customization tools do not include a built-in contrast checker.
Use a contrast checking tool like the WebAIM Contrast Checker to verify that all text meets the minimum 4.5:1 ratio for normal text and 3:1 for large text. When placing text over images, use the section's overlay opacity setting and increase it until text is clearly readable against the darkest and lightest parts of the image. Prefer solid-color backgrounds for text-heavy sections.
GoDaddy's text blocks allow users to choose 'Heading', 'Subheading', or 'Body' styling, but these visual styles do not always correspond to proper HTML heading levels. Some templates render all headings as styled div elements or use heading levels out of order, making it impossible for screen reader users to navigate the page by heading structure.
When adding text blocks, use the Heading option for your main section titles and Subheading for secondary titles. Check your published page using a browser's accessibility inspector or a tool like the HeadingsMap browser extension to verify that headings appear in the correct hierarchical order (H1, H2, H3). If GoDaddy renders headings as non-semantic elements, use the SEO section of each page to at least ensure the page title generates a proper H1.
GoDaddy's hero section templates frequently include auto-playing video backgrounds with no visible pause or stop control. These videos play automatically on page load, which can be disorienting for users with cognitive or vestibular disabilities and can interfere with screen reader audio output.
Replace video background sections with static images wherever possible. If a video background is essential to your design, check if the template includes a pause button. If not, consider using a section with a static image thumbnail and a clearly labeled play button that gives users control over when the video starts. This also improves page load performance and reduces data usage for mobile visitors.
GoDaddy Website Builder-Specific Tips
- GoDaddy Website Builder has limited custom code options compared to platforms like Squarespace or Webflow. Focus your accessibility efforts on content-level fixes like alt text, heading structure, and color choices that you can control within the visual editor.
- Use GoDaddy's built-in SEO panel for each page to set a descriptive page title and meta description. The page title typically generates the H1 heading, so make sure it accurately describes the page content.
- Test your GoDaddy site with the WAVE browser extension after publishing. WAVE highlights accessibility errors directly on your page and can catch issues like missing alt text, low contrast, and empty links that are easy to fix in the editor.
- If your GoDaddy template does not support a specific accessibility fix, document the issue and submit it to GoDaddy support. Referencing the specific WCAG criterion helps their product team prioritize platform-level improvements.
Recommended Tools
WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluator
A free browser extension that evaluates web accessibility directly on your published GoDaddy site, highlighting errors, alerts, and structural elements with visual indicators overlaid on the page.
WebAIM Contrast Checker
A free tool to test foreground and background color combinations against WCAG contrast requirements. Essential for verifying that your GoDaddy template's color choices meet accessibility standards.
HeadingsMap
A browser extension that displays the heading structure of any web page. Use it to verify that your GoDaddy pages have a logical heading hierarchy after publishing.
Further Reading
Other CMS Checklists
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