Dokku is a free open-source self-hosted PaaS that deploys web apps with git push dokku main on your own Linux server — but as a deployment platform, it has no built-in WCAG accessibility audit, no Core Web Vitals scoring, and no front-end health monitoring. PageGuard audits the live URL of any Dokku-hosted application externally — free, no SSH access needed, results in 30 seconds.
ADA Title II Deadline: April 24, 2026
State and local government websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA by April 24, 2026. Government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions that self-host web applications on Dokku face this compliance deadline. Dokku’s git push deployment means any code commit can introduce front-end accessibility regressions to production instantly — new server templates, updated Buildpack dependencies, or CMS content changes can push WCAG violations without any automated quality gate. PageGuard provides continuous post-deployment front-end monitoring without requiring SSH access or code changes.
git push dokku main; Buildpack auto-detection for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java; Docker and Dockerfile support; NGINX reverse proxy; zero-downtime deployments
dokku plugin:install for one-step setup; multiple apps per server; custom domains with auto-HTTPS
| Feature | PageGuard | Dokku |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | External website health monitor — scans any URL for performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices | Open-source self-hosted PaaS (Platform as a Service) that lets you deploy web applications to your own server using `git push dokku main`; Docker-based with NGINX reverse proxy; plugin ecosystem for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, Let's Encrypt SSL, S3, and more; 28K+ GitHub Stars; often described as a single-server open-source Heroku alternative |
| Free tier | ✓ Yes — unlimited one-off scans, no signup required | Yes — Dokku itself is free and open-source (MIT license); you pay only for your own server (e.g., $6/month on DigitalOcean, $4/month on Hetzner); there is no Dokku SaaS service or subscription fee |
| Accessibility audit (WCAG / ADA) | ✓ Yes — WCAG 2.1 AA scored 0–100 with specific issue list | No — Dokku is a self-hosted deployment platform; it deploys and runs application containers on your own server but has no built-in WCAG or ADA accessibility auditing for the front-end HTML rendered by hosted applications; accessibility quality is entirely determined by the application code and templates developers deploy |
| Technical SEO audit | ✓ Yes — meta tags, headings, canonical, structured data | No — Dokku provides no SEO audit scores, meta tag validation, heading hierarchy checks, or structured data analysis; all SEO implementation is the responsibility of the deployed application code |
| Performance audit (Core Web Vitals) | ✓ Yes — LCP, CLS, FCP scored 0–100 per scan | No — Dokku provides no Core Web Vitals measurement (LCP, CLS, FCP, INP) for hosted applications; it manages NGINX routing and Docker containers but does not measure front-end rendering performance from a user perspective |
| Self-hosted PaaS deployment | No — PageGuard is a monitoring tool, not a hosting platform | ✓ Yes — Dokku runs on any Linux server (Ubuntu, Debian); deploy with `git push dokku main`; Buildpack auto-detection for Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java; Docker image and Dockerfile support; zero-downtime deployments; automatic NGINX configuration; Let's Encrypt SSL via plugin; multiple apps per server; custom domains |
| Plugin ecosystem | No — PageGuard is a browser-based monitoring tool | ✓ Yes — 100+ community plugins: postgres, mysql, redis, mongodb, letsencrypt, s3cmd, elasticsearch, memcached, rabbitmq, couchdb, grafana, and more; plugins install as Docker containers on the same server; `dokku plugin:install` command for one-step setup |
| Automated website monitoring | ✓ Yes — weekly or daily scans with email alerts on score drop | No — Dokku has no post-deployment front-end health monitoring for WCAG compliance, Core Web Vitals regressions, SEO quality, or best practices for rendered HTML; Dokku logs track HTTP responses and application output — not front-end quality metrics |
| AI-generated plain-English report | ✓ Yes — explains issues in non-technical language | No — no front-end health report for applications hosted on Dokku |
| ADA Title II compliance monitoring | ✓ Yes — WCAG audit + alert on accessibility regression | No — Dokku does not audit or alert on WCAG compliance for hosted apps; government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions that self-host applications on Dokku face ADA Title II compliance requirements; common accessibility issues in Dokku-hosted apps include server-rendered templates missing ARIA landmark roles, missing alt text on CMS-managed images, insufficient color contrast in CSS, and keyboard navigation gaps in JavaScript-heavy components — all requiring external runtime validation that Dokku's deployment layer cannot provide |
| Works on any platform | ✓ Yes — scans any URL on any front-end or platform | No — Dokku only manages apps deployed to servers you control; it does not audit sites hosted on other platforms |
| Independent external audit | ✓ Yes — third-party scan, shareable URL for clients/stakeholders | No — no built-in tool to generate a shareable external front-end health report for a Dokku-hosted application |
| Instant on-demand scan | ✓ Yes — results in 30 seconds, no code changes needed | No — no on-demand front-end health scan; auditing Dokku-hosted applications requires separate tools like Lighthouse or axe after each deployment |
| Multi-site dashboard | ✓ Yes — 1–50 sites depending on plan | Dokku organizes apps by name on a server; there is no health monitoring dashboard showing WCAG accessibility, SEO, and Core Web Vitals scores across multiple Dokku-hosted applications |
| Pricing for health monitoring | ✓ Free + from $9/mo for automated monitoring | Health monitoring not available — Dokku is a self-hosted deployment platform; Dokku itself is free and open-source; server infrastructure costs start from ~$4–6/month on Hetzner or DigitalOcean |
git push to catch accessibility and SEO regressions before users encounter themGet WCAG accessibility scores and Core Web Vitals for any Dokku-hosted application. Results in 30 seconds. No SSH access, Dokku CLI, or code changes required.
Results in ~30 seconds. 4 scores: Performance, Accessibility, SEO, Best Practices.
Yes — PageGuard scans the live URL of any Dokku-hosted application. Enter your app’s public URL (custom domain or server IP) and receive a full health report in ~30 seconds covering Core Web Vitals, WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility, technical SEO, and best practices. No SSH, Dokku CLI, or application code access is required.
No — Dokku is a self-hosted deployment platform with no built-in WCAG compliance checking. It deploys and runs application containers on your server using Docker and NGINX but does not audit the front-end HTML output for accessibility issues. Common problems include missing alt text, improper heading hierarchy, insufficient color contrast, missing ARIA labels on interactive components, and keyboard navigation gaps. PageGuard audits your live Dokku app and provides a WCAG 2.1 AA score with specific issues to fix.
Dokku’s git push deployment means any code commit can push front-end accessibility regressions to production instantly with no automated quality gate. New server-rendered templates, updated CSS, Buildpack dependency upgrades, and CMS content changes can all introduce WCAG violations. Government agencies, nonprofits, and universities running apps on Dokku face ADA Title II compliance with an April 24, 2026 deadline. PageGuard provides continuous post-deployment monitoring with email alerts when WCAG scores drop.
No — they serve completely different purposes. Dokku is a free open-source self-hosted PaaS that deploys and manages web applications on your own Linux server with Docker and git push. PageGuard is an external quality monitoring tool for the front-end output of those deployed applications. Teams using Dokku for hosting should add PageGuard to continuously verify WCAG compliance, Core Web Vitals, and SEO quality after each deployment.