Accessibility Audit Services in Nashville, TN
Nashville businesses live online — from Broadway honky-tonks taking reservations to Music Row startups to the healthcare giants headquartered here. But if your website can't be used by someone relying on a screen reader or navigating by keyboard, you're shutting out customers and inviting legal risk.
Cairn Digital helps Nashville businesses meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard the Department of Justice and federal courts use to judge whether a website is accessible under the ADA. We deliver manual audits verified by real assistive-technology testing — not a one-click scan with a logo slapped on it. The practice is run by Andrew Elliott, a front-end developer and accessibility specialist with experience at Dell and in the healthcare sector.
Get Your Free AuditWhy Nashville businesses need accessibility audits
Website accessibility lawsuits have climbed nationwide for nearly a decade, and Tennessee is not exempt. Nashville businesses fall under federal ADA Title III, enforced through the Middle District of Tennessee, and courts consistently point to WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the benchmark for whether a website meets the law.
The risk is not evenly distributed. Two of Nashville's signature industries — healthcare and hospitality — are among the most frequently targeted nationally for website accessibility claims. That matters in a city that is both the healthcare capital of the United States and one of its busiest tourism and hospitality markets. If your website takes bookings, processes orders, or delivers patient or customer information, it is exactly the kind of "place of public accommodation" these claims focus on.
Settlements for these cases commonly land between $5,000 and $75,000, before you count attorney fees and the cost of the emergency remediation work that follows. Getting ahead of it with a proactive audit is dramatically cheaper than responding to a demand letter.
Our accessibility audit process
Every audit follows the same three-phase approach — automated baseline, manual expert review, and a report your team can actually act on.
Automated scan baseline
We start with industry-standard automated tools — axe-core, WAVE, Lighthouse — to catch the issues machines catch well: missing alt text, color-contrast failures, missing form labels. Automated tools only catch roughly 30–40% of WCAG issues, which is why no honest audit stops here.
Manual expert evaluation
Full keyboard-only navigation, screen-reader testing (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), focus-order review, and human judgment on whether content actually makes sense when read aloud or operated without a mouse. We evaluate against all applicable WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria.
A report you can actually use
An executive summary that tells you where you stand and what the risk is, plus a developer-ready breakdown that maps each finding to the specific WCAG criterion, explains the fix in plain language, and points to the exact code.
Industries we serve in Nashville
Nashville's economy gives accessibility a particular shape. We work across the sectors most exposed to ADA risk.
Healthcare
Patient portals, appointment booking, and telehealth interfaces carry both ADA Title III and Section 504 obligations. Nashville is the nation's healthcare hub — this is a core focus.
Hospitality & Tourism
Hotels, restaurants, venues, and booking platforms are among the most-sued categories nationally. If you take reservations online, you're a target.
E-Commerce & Retail
Any site that sells online is a frequent target. The checkout flow is where keyboard and screen-reader failures hurt most — and where demand letters get triggered.
Music & Entertainment
Ticketing, streaming, and artist sites that serve the public carry the same ADA obligations as any other consumer-facing business.
Professional Services & Nonprofits
Law firms, financial services, and mission-driven organizations can't afford a credibility hit — and ADA Title III applies regardless of tax status.
Not Sure Where to Start?
A free automated audit is the fastest way to find out where your Nashville site stands.
Get Your Free AuditTransparent pricing for Nashville businesses
Most accessibility firms hide their pricing. We don't. Exact cost depends on the size and complexity of your site — here's the honest range.
PDF Remediation
Roughly $500 – $1,500
Making your PDFs — reports, forms, menus, patient documents — accessible and screen-reader friendly with proper tags, logical reading order, and alt text.
Full WCAG 2.1 AA Manual Audit
$3,000 – $15,000
The real thing. Manual and assistive-technology testing across your key user flows, with a developer-ready prioritized remediation report.
Ongoing Monitoring & Support
Quoted per engagement
Continued accessibility testing as your site evolves — retests after remediation, new feature reviews, and standing consultation.
Expert Witness & Litigation Support
Contact for quote
Technical accessibility analysis, WCAG conformance evaluation, and expert testimony for ADA website accessibility cases. (Technical expertise, not legal advice.)
We serve businesses across Nashville and Middle Tennessee — Davidson County and the surrounding metro (Franklin, Brentwood, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, and beyond). Most work is done remotely, so location is never a barrier.
Local Nashville accessibility resources
Part of doing this right is pointing you to legitimate help, not just selling you ours.
- Southeast ADA Center (opens in new tab) — Free technical assistance for Tennessee businesses, part of the federal ADA National Network.
- Tennessee Disability Coalition (opens in new tab) — Accessibility training and advocacy serving the state.
- Disability Rights Tennessee (opens in new tab) — The state's designated protection and advocacy agency.
- ADA.gov (opens in new tab) — The Department of Justice's official guidance and small-business compliance materials.
Frequently asked questions
Is my Nashville business required to have an ADA-compliant website?
If your business serves the public, almost certainly yes. Courts treat business websites as an extension of a "place of public accommodation" under ADA Title III, and Nashville businesses are governed by federal ADA requirements through the Middle District of Tennessee. The practical standard is WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
How much does a website accessibility audit cost in Nashville?
It depends on your site's size and complexity. We offer a free automated audit, more in-depth automated audits in the $500–$1,500 range, and full manual WCAG 2.1 AA audits typically running $3,000–$15,000. We'll give you a clear quote before any work starts.
Do you work with Nashville businesses remotely or on-site?
Both, but most audits are done remotely — accessibility testing doesn't require us to be in your office. We serve all of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, and remote work means there's no travel cost padding your invoice.
Why not just install an accessibility widget or overlay?
Because they don't work and they don't protect you. Overlays can't fix the underlying code, and a significant share of recent accessibility lawsuits have been filed against sites that already had a widget installed. Real accessibility lives in your HTML, not in a script bolted on top.
How long does an audit take?
A free automated audit typically turns around in a few business days. A full manual audit takes one to three weeks depending on the size of your site and the number of unique page templates and user flows.
What happens if my website fails the audit?
That's the normal starting point — almost no site is fully compliant on first audit. You get a prioritized roadmap of what to fix, in what order, with developer-ready guidance. We can advise your team or help with remediation directly.
Find out where your website stands.
Get your free audit — no obligation. We'll show you your biggest accessibility risks and what to do about them.
Get Your Free Audit