Qualys (VMDR, WAS, TruRisk) is a leading cloud security platform used by 10,000+ organizations for vulnerability management and web application security testing — but as a security scanner it has no WCAG accessibility audit, no Core Web Vitals scoring, and no front-end quality monitoring. PageGuard audits any website externally — free, no credentials required, results in 30 seconds.
ADA Title II Deadline: April 24, 2026
Government agencies, universities, and healthcare organizations using Qualys VMDR for infrastructure vulnerability management or Qualys WAS for web application security testing face ADA Title II compliance requirements for their public-facing web applications. A web application can pass Qualys WAS OWASP Top 10 testing with zero critical security findings while simultaneously having hundreds of WCAG 2.1 AA violations in its front-end HTML — Qualys’s security vulnerability scanning reveals nothing about whether application HTML implements correct alt text, keyboard navigation, or ARIA roles. PageGuard monitors any publicly accessible web application for WCAG compliance without requiring Qualys credentials or Cloud Agent installation.
PageGuard vs Qualys — cloud security/DAST vulnerability scanning vs deployed website front-end quality monitoring
| Feature | PageGuard | Qualys |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | External website health monitor — scans any deployed URL for performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices | Qualys is a cloud-based cybersecurity company headquartered in Foster City, CA, providing a unified cloud platform for IT, security, and compliance; Qualys's flagship products include Qualys VMDR (Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response), Qualys WAS (Web Application Scanning for DAST), Qualys PC (Policy Compliance for CIS/DISA/PCI/HIPAA), Qualys CSAM (Cyber Asset Surface Management), Qualys CS (Container Security), and Qualys EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response); Qualys operates the world's largest vulnerability knowledgebase with 200,000+ CVEs tracked and scans are performed via lightweight Cloud Agents, virtual scanners, and API; Qualys is used by more than 10,000 customers including Fortune 500 companies and government agencies for vulnerability detection, patch management, and compliance assessment; Qualys does not audit web application front-end quality: WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance, Core Web Vitals browser performance metrics, or technical SEO quality are not functions of Qualys's cloud security platform |
| Free tier | ✓ Yes — unlimited one-off scans, no signup required | Qualys offers a free Community Edition for personal/non-commercial use with limited VMDR scans and WAS scans; Qualys VMDR, WAS, and enterprise platform modules are priced per asset on annual subscription; no Qualys product tier includes WCAG accessibility auditing, Core Web Vitals measurement, or technical SEO analysis of web application HTML front-ends |
| Accessibility audit (WCAG / ADA) | ✓ Yes — WCAG 2.1 AA scored 0–100 with specific issue list | No — Qualys's cloud security platform performs vulnerability scanning of network hosts and web applications for CVE vulnerabilities, SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, and authentication issues using authenticated scans and DAST techniques; Qualys WAS (Web Application Scanning) tests web applications for OWASP Top 10 security vulnerabilities — not WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance; Qualys performs no analysis of HTML content for alt text quality (WCAG 1.1.1), ARIA landmark structure (WCAG 1.3.1), keyboard navigability (WCAG 2.1.1), color contrast ratios (WCAG 1.4.3), or form label correctness; the WCAG accessibility quality of web applications scanned by Qualys WAS is determined entirely by the application front-end HTML code, not Qualys's security vulnerability analysis |
| Technical SEO audit | ✓ Yes — meta tags, headings, canonical, structured data | No — Qualys provides no SEO audit of web application HTML; Qualys WAS (Web Application Scanning) crawls web applications to detect security vulnerabilities (SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, authentication bypass, sensitive data exposure) — not to evaluate meta title quality, canonical URL correctness, heading hierarchy, structured data validity (JSON-LD), hreflang configuration, or any other technical SEO element; Qualys VMDR performs network-layer vulnerability assessment of IP-addressed hosts — not web page content quality analysis |
| Performance audit (Core Web Vitals) | ✓ Yes — LCP, CLS, FCP scored 0–100 per scan | No — Qualys does not measure browser-side Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, FCP, INP) for web applications; Qualys WAS crawls web application pages to detect security vulnerabilities using HTTP request analysis, parameter fuzzing, and session management testing — it does not render web pages in a browser context or measure DOM loading performance, layout stability, or Largest Contentful Paint timing; Core Web Vitals are browser rendering metrics dependent on frontend JavaScript execution and layout stability — not security vulnerability categories that Qualys's DAST engine analyzes |
| Web application security scanning (DAST) | No — PageGuard is an external front-end quality monitor, not a security vulnerability scanner | ✓ Yes — Qualys WAS (Web Application Scanning) is a cloud-based DAST platform that crawls and tests web applications for OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), CSRF, authentication bypass, insecure direct object references, sensitive data exposure, and security misconfigurations; Qualys WAS supports authenticated scanning, API testing (REST/SOAP/GraphQL), and integration with CI/CD pipelines for DevSecOps; Qualys WAS also includes malware detection and threat intelligence correlation for discovered vulnerabilities; Qualys WAS is used by enterprises and government agencies to assess web application security posture as part of ongoing vulnerability management programs |
| Automated website monitoring | ✓ Yes — weekly or daily scans with email alerts on score drop | No — Qualys does not perform automated front-end quality monitoring of WCAG compliance, Core Web Vitals, or SEO quality; Qualys VMDR provides continuous vulnerability assessment and scheduled scans with automated ticketing integration (ServiceNow, Jira) for security findings (CVEs, misconfigurations, compliance violations); these alerts notify security operations teams of infrastructure security findings — not accessibility regression alerts or SEO quality degradation notifications for web application front-end stakeholders |
| AI-generated plain-English report | ✓ Yes — explains issues in non-technical language | No — Qualys provides no AI-generated front-end health report explaining WCAG accessibility, Core Web Vitals, or SEO issues in plain English for non-technical stakeholders; Qualys TruRisk AI analyzes vulnerability severity, asset criticality, and threat intelligence to prioritize CVE remediation for security teams — not to generate client-facing web accessibility or SEO quality reports for marketing teams, accessibility officers, or ADA compliance auditors |
| ADA Title II compliance monitoring | ✓ Yes — WCAG audit + alert on accessibility regression | No — Qualys does not audit or alert on WCAG compliance for web application HTML; government agencies, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations using Qualys VMDR for infrastructure vulnerability management or Qualys WAS for web application security testing face ADA Title II compliance requirements for their public-facing web applications that are separate from their security vulnerability posture; a web application can pass Qualys WAS OWASP Top 10 testing with no critical security vulnerabilities while simultaneously having hundreds of WCAG 2.1 AA violations in its front-end HTML; the ADA Title II deadline of April 24, 2026 requires WCAG compliance in HTML content — Qualys WAS security testing does not assess WCAG compliance; Qualys Policy Compliance (PC) supports CIS, DISA STIG, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and SOX frameworks — but not WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance |
| Works on any deployed platform | ✓ Yes — scans any URL on any hosting or platform | Qualys scans IP-addressed network hosts via Cloud Agents, virtual scanners, and API; Qualys WAS scans web application URLs for security vulnerabilities; PageGuard audits any public URL for front-end quality regardless of what vulnerability management tools the hosting organization uses |
| Independent external audit | ✓ Yes — third-party scan, shareable URL for clients/stakeholders | No — Qualys provides no built-in tool to generate a shareable external front-end health report for web application accessibility, Core Web Vitals, or SEO quality; Qualys dashboards (VMDR, WAS, TruRisk) are internal security management platforms for security operations, vulnerability management, and compliance teams — not shareable accessibility or SEO quality reports for clients, procurement teams, or ADA compliance auditors |
| Instant on-demand scan | ✓ Yes — results in 30 seconds, no code changes needed | No — Qualys has no on-demand front-end health scan capability; auditing a web application for WCAG accessibility, Core Web Vitals, or SEO quality requires dedicated front-end quality tools; Qualys WAS on-demand scans initiate DAST security crawls of web application security surfaces — not browser-based front-end quality audits delivering WCAG accessibility scores in 30 seconds |
| Multi-site dashboard | ✓ Yes — 1–50 sites depending on plan | Qualys VMDR and WAS provide asset-based dashboards tracking vulnerability exposure, patch status, compliance posture, and TruRisk scores across network hosts, cloud workloads, containers, and web applications — organized by asset group, tag, business unit, or risk score; these dashboards track CVE severity, CVSS ratings, and remediation SLA compliance for security teams, not WCAG accessibility scores, Core Web Vitals, or SEO quality metrics for web front-ends |
| Pricing for health monitoring | ✓ Free + from $9/mo for automated monitoring | Qualys Community Edition is free (limited scans); Qualys VMDR starts at approximately $2.99/asset/year for cloud-based vulnerability management; Qualys WAS is priced per web application annually; Qualys enterprise platform pricing varies by asset count and module combination; no Qualys product tier includes WCAG accessibility monitoring, Core Web Vitals scoring, or SEO audit for web application front-ends |
Get a full WCAG accessibility, Core Web Vitals, and SEO report in 30 seconds — free, no Qualys credentials, Cloud Agents, or network scanner configuration required.
Yes — PageGuard and Qualys WAS serve different purposes and can both be used on the same web application. Qualys WAS scans for OWASP Top 10 security vulnerabilities. PageGuard audits for WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance, Core Web Vitals performance, and technical SEO quality. PageGuard scans any publicly accessible URL without requiring Qualys credentials, Cloud Agent installation, or network scanner configuration.
No — Qualys WAS (Web Application Scanning) is a DAST security testing platform that crawls web applications to detect OWASP Top 10 security vulnerabilities: SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, authentication bypass, sensitive data exposure, and security misconfigurations. Qualys WAS performs no analysis of web application HTML for WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance. Qualys has no concept of alt text quality, ARIA landmark structure, keyboard navigability, color contrast, or any WCAG 2.1 success criterion. Auditing web applications for WCAG compliance requires a dedicated external tool like PageGuard.
Yes — a web application can pass Qualys WAS OWASP Top 10 security testing with no critical vulnerabilities while simultaneously having hundreds of WCAG 2.1 AA violations. Security vulnerability testing and accessibility compliance are entirely separate domains. ADA Title II and Title III requirements apply to HTML content accessibility — not application security posture. Government agencies and universities using Qualys for web application security testing must separately verify WCAG 2.1 AA compliance. The ADA Title II deadline of April 24, 2026 applies regardless of Qualys security testing results.
No — they serve completely different purposes. Qualys (VMDR, WAS, PC, CSAM) is a cloud-based vulnerability and compliance management platform used by 10,000+ organizations for infrastructure CVE scanning and web application DAST security testing — critical security operations tooling. PageGuard is an external quality monitoring tool that audits deployed web pages for WCAG accessibility compliance, Core Web Vitals performance, and technical SEO quality. Organizations using Qualys for security should also use PageGuard to verify their web application HTML meets WCAG requirements — front-end accessibility that Qualys’s security scanning platform does not assess.