DubBot: Digital accessibility website scanning

DubBot is UW–Madison’s enterprise web accessibility scanning platform. It automatically scans university websites to identify potential accessibility barriers and provides detailed reports to help site owners make improvements aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA standards and Section 508 requirements.

DubBot crawls sites on a scheduled basis, analyzes HTML for accessibility issues using the axe-core rules engine, and reports findings through an online dashboard. Campus site owners can view, track, and resolve issues such as missing alternative text, poor heading structure, or low color contrast.

The service is provided at no cost to participating campus units and managed by the Center for User Experience (CUE). Website owners may request access through the Digital Accessibility intake form.

A screenshot of the DubBot dashboard showing sample scan results and issue trends.

Figure 1 caption: The DubBot dashboard displays a summary of accessibility issues by category and trend over time.

DubBot runs automated scans of university web pages and provides prioritized reports of accessibility issues. Each issue links directly to the page location where the problem appears, along with a description and recommended fix.

Common barriers DubBot identifies include:

• Missing or empty alternative text

• Missing form labels or descriptive names

• Improper heading hierarchy

• Low color contrast

• Links with vague or repetitive text

• PDFs and documents lacking accessibility tags (where enabled)

DubBot organizes data by Site, Page, and Issue. Users can filter by severity, WCAG rule, or issue type, and export results for review or reporting.

Scans are typically scheduled weekly or monthly depending on the site size and configuration. UW–Madison’s default configuration excludes certain paths (for example, category archives or blog posts older than 2025 for WordPress sites) to optimize quota usage.

To begin using DubBot, you will first need access to the tool through the Center for User Experience.

To request access:

Use the request form at centerforux.wisc.edu to:

• Request new DubBot access for your website, or

• Add or remove individuals who should have dashboard access for an existing site.

As DubBot requests are received, our team will review them and follow up with additional questions if needed to help us provide the best possible service and support.

Once access has been granted:

1. Log in to https://wisc.dubbot.com using your @wisc.edu credentials.

2. Select your site from the navigation menu to view your assigned web properties.

3. Review findings:

   • Visit the Dashboard for a summary of scan results and accessibility trends.

   • Use Issues to explore details and mark resolved items.

   • Download CSV reports for internal review or sharing.

4. Remediate barriers directly in your website’s content management system (CMS). DubBot will automatically rescan your pages during the next scheduled crawl to confirm fixes.

For additional guidance, see the DubBot Help Center:

• Reports Available in DubBot

• Working with Custom Reports

Getting help:

If you are actively using DubBot and have a question about a scan, report, or tool function:

• Contact DubBot Support staff directly within the tool using the built-in chat or “Help” feature. They can assist with interpreting results, issue details, or site configuration questions.

• If your question involves UW–Madison configuration, onboarding, or site eligibility, contact the Center for User Experience for assistance.

Additional resources:

• DubBot Help Center for articles and vendor documentation

• Digital Accessibility Community of Practice (DACoP) for community discussions and peer learning

• Digital Accessibility Hub site for related policies, training, and tools

Usability barriers

• Exported CSV reports use column labels that may not be intuitive for first-time users (e.g., “Violation Type” vs. “Issue Category”).

• Complex pages with dynamic content (such as single-page applications) may show false positives or repeated issues.

CUE regularly reviews feedback from users and reports barriers to the vendor. Improvements are typically rolled into DubBot’s quarterly updates.