Can a Gatsby site be made ADA compliant for SaaS products?

Yes, provided the merchant or development team applies WCAG 2.2 AA at the source code and content level. No platform — including Gatsby — guarantees compliance automatically.

Do SaaS vendors need a VPAT?

Increasingly yes. Enterprise procurement teams — particularly in higher education, healthcare, government, and large finance — require a current VPAT/ACR before purchase. Federal vendors require Section 508 VPATs explicitly.

Is the SaaS marketing site or the product more important for accessibility?

Both are in scope under different regimes. The marketing site is ADA Title III (public accommodation). The product is procurement-VPAT-driven and increasingly EAA-driven for consumer offerings. A vendor should not treat one as adequate cover for the other.

Is Gatsby still maintained for accessibility?

Gatsby is in maintenance mode under Netlify. New projects often prefer Next.js or Nuxt.

Can a Gatsby site be made ADA compliant for SaaS products?

Yes, provided the merchant or development team applies WCAG 2.2 AA at the source code and content level. No platform — including Gatsby — guarantees compliance automatically.

Do SaaS vendors need a VPAT?

Increasingly yes. Enterprise procurement teams — particularly in higher education, healthcare, government, and large finance — require a current VPAT/ACR before purchase. Federal vendors require Section 508 VPATs explicitly.

Is the SaaS marketing site or the product more important for accessibility?

Both are in scope under different regimes. The marketing site is ADA Title III (public accommodation). The product is procurement-VPAT-driven and increasingly EAA-driven for consumer offerings. A vendor should not treat one as adequate cover for the other.

Is Gatsby still maintained for accessibility?

Gatsby is in maintenance mode under Netlify. New projects often prefer Next.js or Nuxt.

guide

Gatsby accessibility for SaaS products: setup, plugins, and audit checklist

Running an accessible Gatsby site for SaaS products combines two layers of responsibility: Gatsby's platform-level accessibility, and the saas & software-specific compliance frameworks — WCAG 2.2 AA, Section 508 (federal procurement), EN 301 549 (EU procurement) — that layer on top.

Maya Ramos · IAAP CPACC · IAAP WAS · 7 years lead auditor3 min readPublished November 1, 2025· Updated May 10, 2026

Why Gatsby for SaaS products?

Gatsby accessibility relies on accessible React component patterns, gatsby-plugin-image alt props, route-change announcements through @reach/router compat, and content-source discipline (especially around Contentful/Markdown alt text).

SaaS & Software accessibility — the regulated reality

SaaS accessibility means that B2B and B2C software products — dashboards, admin consoles, embedded widgets, and APIs — meet WCAG 2.2 AA so that employees with disabilities and the customers they serve can use the product, which is increasingly a procurement requirement (VPAT/ACR) and an EAA obligation for consumer-facing SaaS in scope.

Gatsby accessibility challenges that hit SaaS products hardest

• Image plugin alt prop omission

• Route announcements

SaaS & Software pain points your Gatsby site will likely have

• Component libraries without semantic markup

• Modal dialogs that trap focus incorrectly

• Data tables without programmatic structure

• Drag-and-drop without keyboard alternatives

• Status messages not announced to AT (4.1.3)

Setup steps

1. Use semantic React: Native elements first.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Cited answers. Sourced. Updated as standards and case law change.

Can a Gatsby site be made ADA compliant for SaaS products?
Yes, provided the merchant or development team applies WCAG 2.2 AA at the source code and content level. No platform — including Gatsby — guarantees compliance automatically.
Do SaaS vendors need a VPAT?
Increasingly yes. Enterprise procurement teams — particularly in higher education, healthcare, government, and large finance — require a current VPAT/ACR before purchase. Federal vendors require Section 508 VPATs explicitly.
Is the SaaS marketing site or the product more important for accessibility?
Both are in scope under different regimes. The marketing site is ADA Title III (public accommodation). The product is procurement-VPAT-driven and increasingly EAA-driven for consumer offerings. A vendor should not treat one as adequate cover for the other.
Is Gatsby still maintained for accessibility?
Gatsby is in maintenance mode under Netlify. New projects often prefer Next.js or Nuxt.

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