Astro is an excellent framework for content-focused websites with zero-JS Islands Architecture, but it has no built-in WCAG accessibility audit for deployed sites, no on-demand Core Web Vitals scoring, and no continuous health monitoring. PageGuard audits any Astro site externally — free, no code changes, results in 30 seconds.
ADA Title II Deadline: April 24, 2026
State and local government websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Astro generates semantic HTML which is a great foundation, but semantic HTML alone does not guarantee WCAG compliance — missing alt text on dynamic images, inaccessible custom navigation, insufficient color contrast, and missing ARIA labels are common issues that only appear in the deployed output. PageGuard audits your live Astro site after deployment and alerts you to WCAG violations before they become legal liabilities.
| Feature | PageGuard | Astro |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | External website health monitor — scans any URL for performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices | All-in-one web framework for content-focused sites with Islands Architecture, zero JS by default, and multi-framework component support |
| Free tier | Yes — unlimited one-off scans, no signup required | Yes — Astro framework is open source and free; hosting on Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare may incur costs |
| Works on non-Astro sites | ✓ Yes — scans any URL on any platform or framework | No — Astro is a framework for building sites, not a monitoring tool for external URLs |
| Accessibility audit (WCAG / ADA) | ✓ Yes — WCAG 2.1 AA scored 0–100 with specific issue list | No — Astro has no built-in WCAG audit; @astrojs/a11y (experimental) only checks templates at build time, not live rendered pages |
| Technical SEO audit | ✓ Yes — meta tags, headings, canonical, structured data | Partial — Astro SEO component and sitemap integration help manage meta tags but do not audit live rendered SEO quality |
| Performance audit (Core Web Vitals) | ✓ Yes — LCP, CLS, FCP scored 0–100 per scan | No — Astro ships minimal JS for fast sites but has no built-in CWV scoring; external tools required to measure live performance |
| Islands Architecture / partial hydration | No — PageGuard is a monitoring tool, not an application framework | ✓ Yes — component islands allow selective hydration (client:load, client:idle, client:visible) for minimal JS delivery |
| Multi-framework component support | No — PageGuard monitors any site regardless of framework used to build it | ✓ Yes — use React, Vue, Svelte, Solid, Preact, and Lit components in the same Astro project |
| Automated website monitoring | ✓ Yes — weekly or daily scans with email alerts on score drop | No — Astro has no built-in health monitoring or accessibility regression alerts for deployed sites |
| AI-generated plain-English report | ✓ Yes — explains issues in non-technical language | No — no AI health report |
| ADA Title II compliance monitoring | ✓ Yes — WCAG audit + alert on accessibility regression | No — Astro generates semantic HTML but does not continuously monitor deployed site accessibility for WCAG violations |
| Independent external audit | ✓ Yes — third-party scan, shareable URL for clients/stakeholders | No — no built-in tool to generate a shareable external health report of the deployed Astro site |
| Instant on-demand scan | ✓ Yes — results in 30 seconds, no code changes needed | No — no on-demand health scan for live deployed Astro sites |
| Multi-site dashboard | ✓ Yes — 1–50 sites depending on plan | Astro does not provide cross-project health monitoring; each Astro site is independent |
| Pricing for health monitoring | ✓ Free + from $9/mo for automated monitoring | Health monitoring not available — Astro is a framework, not a monitoring platform |
Get the WCAG accessibility score and Core Web Vitals that Astro doesn’t provide for deployed sites. Results in 30 seconds. No npm packages, API keys, or build changes required. Share with clients instantly.
Results in ~30 seconds. 4 scores: Performance, Accessibility, SEO, Best Practices.
Yes — PageGuard scans any live website URL regardless of framework. Simply enter your deployed Astro site URL and receive a full health report in ~30 seconds covering Core Web Vitals performance, WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility, technical SEO quality, and best practices. No npm packages, code changes, or build process modifications required.
Astro has an experimental @astrojs/a11y integration for build-time template checking, but this does not audit the live rendered HTML of your deployed site. For organizations needing verified WCAG 2.1 AA compliance on their live Astro site — especially those facing the ADA Title II April 24, 2026 deadline — an external tool like PageGuard is required for continuous monitoring of the deployed production site.
Astro handles the framework: routing, rendering, Islands Architecture, and content management. PageGuard adds deployment-level verification: (1) WCAG/ADA compliance auditing of the live site output, (2) on-demand Core Web Vitals scoring to confirm Astro’s speed delivers real scores, (3) automated regression alerts when new content or deployments introduce health issues, and (4) shareable reports for client handoffs — from $9/mo for up to 5 projects.
Astro generates semantic HTML which is a strong foundation for accessibility, but semantic HTML alone doesn’t guarantee WCAG compliance. Common accessibility issues in Astro sites include missing alt text on dynamic images loaded from content collections, keyboard-inaccessible custom navigation, insufficient color contrast in theme styles, missing ARIA labels on interactive island components, and heading hierarchy issues across page layouts. PageGuard audits the final rendered HTML and gives you a concrete WCAG score you can act on.