Filtering scan results by severity inside Accessibility Tracker Platform lets you sort detected issues from highest to lowest impact in a few clicks. Severity reflects how seriously an issue affects users and how exposed it leaves the site from a compliance standpoint. By isolating critical and serious items first, your team works on what matters before moving to moderate and minor items. The filter sits directly above the scan results table, so the view updates instantly as severity levels are toggled on or off.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Filter location | Above the scan results table on the scan report view |
| Severity levels | Critical, Serious, Moderate, Minor |
| Action | Toggle one or more levels to refine the list of detected issues |
| Use case | Prioritize high-impact items before working through lower-severity ones |
| Scan coverage reminder | Scans only flag approximately 25% of issues; a manual evaluation identifies the rest |
Where the Severity Filter Lives
Open any completed scan inside Accessibility Tracker Platform. The scan results table shows each detected issue with a severity label, the page URL, the rule that triggered the detection, and the element involved.
Directly above the table is a severity filter control. Each severity level can be toggled independently, so you can view one level at a time or any combination.
What Each Severity Level Means
Severity labels map roughly to user impact and risk exposure. Critical issues block access to content or function entirely. Serious issues cause significant problems for assistive technology users but may have partial workarounds.
Moderate issues affect usability without fully blocking it. Minor issues are smaller refinements that improve the experience but rarely create access problems on their own.
How Do You Filter Scan Results by Severity?
Click the severity level you want to view. The table refreshes immediately to show only items matching that selection.
To stack levels, select multiple at once. For example, toggling Critical and Serious gives you a focused list of the highest-impact items across the scanned pages. Clearing the filter returns the full results view.
Using Severity to Drive Remediation Order
Severity filtering pairs well with Risk Factor or User Impact prioritization formulas. Start with Critical items, then move through Serious, then Moderate. Minor items can be grouped and addressed in batches.
This ordering keeps developer time focused on items that reduce risk and improve access first. It also makes scan reports easier to share with leadership, since the most important findings sit at the top of the view.
What Scans Cover and What They Do Not
Scans inside the platform are a monitoring layer. They flag approximately 25% of accessibility issues across the pages they cover. The remaining items require a manual accessibility evaluation conducted by a qualified auditor.
Severity filtering helps you work through the portion scans can detect quickly. For full WCAG 2.1 AA or WCAG 2.2 AA conformance, an evaluation is still required to identify the issues a scan cannot reach.
Pairing Severity Filters With Other Views
Severity filtering can be combined with page-level views to see how issues distribute across a website. A page with several Critical items is a higher priority than a page with only Minor items, even if the raw count looks similar.
This makes the platform useful for ongoing tracking. As fixes ship and rescans run, the Critical and Serious counts should drop, giving the team a clear signal of progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I filter scan results by severity across multiple scans at once?
Severity filtering applies within a single scan report. To compare across scans, apply the filter on each and review the counts side by side. Portfolio views give a higher-level read across projects.
Does fixing all Critical and Serious issues mean my site is WCAG conformant?
No. Clearing high-severity items detected by a scan is meaningful progress, but a scan covers only a portion of WCAG criteria. Conformance is determined through a manual evaluation, not through scan results.
Can severity labels change after a rescan?
Severity is tied to the rule that triggered detection, so the labeling is consistent across scans. What changes is the count: as items are fixed, the corresponding entries drop out of the results.
Is severity the same as priority?
Severity is one input into priority. Priority also factors in page traffic, business value, and remediation effort. Severity filtering gives you the starting point; prioritization formulas refine the order from there.
Severity filtering turns a long scan report into a focused work list. Sort by impact, address the top of the list, and let the rescan confirm the progress.
Start filtering scan results inside Accessibility Tracker. Contact the Accessibility Tracker team to see the platform.