ShipcheckBest Chrome extensions for website QA in 2026: SEO, accessibility, and speed
An honest roundup of the Chrome extensions web developers and agencies use to check SEO tags, accessibility, Core Web Vitals, and broken links before launch, with what each is best at.
Short answer
For accessibility, WAVE and axe DevTools are the standard free checkers. For speed, Lighthouse and the Performance panel in Chrome DevTools are built in. For SEO tags, META SEO inspector and Detailed SEO Extension are popular free options, and Check My Links finds broken links. Shipcheck (disclosure: our product) combines these checks with AI search visibility and fix prompts in one side panel.
Disclosure: Shipcheck is our product. For each tool we say where it is the better choice. Detailed head-to-heads are on the compare page.
At a glance
| Extension | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Shipcheck | All-in-one pre-launch and client handoff checks | Free core checks; Pro $20 once |
| WAVE Evaluation Tool | Visual accessibility review | Free |
| axe DevTools | Developer accessibility testing | Free scans; paid Pro plans |
| Lighthouse | Performance audits | Free |
| Chrome DevTools Performance panel | Live Core Web Vitals while you browse | Free |
| META SEO inspector | Inspecting meta tags and structured data | Free |
| Detailed SEO Extension | Quick on-page SEO overview | Free |
| Check My Links | Finding broken links on a page | Free |
The extensions
Shipcheck
By: Shipcheck (our product). Best for: All-in-one pre-launch and client handoff checks. Price: Free core checks; Pro $20 once.
- SEO tags, share previews, WCAG 2.2 audit (axe-core), AI search visibility, Core Web Vitals, and broken links in one side panel
- Works on localhost, staging, and logged-in pages
- Copies each issue as a fix prompt for Cursor, Claude, or ChatGPT; white-label client reports
- Limit: Not a full-site crawler (50-page crawl, 25-page site scan)
- Limit: Newer and less established than the specialist tools
WAVE Evaluation Tool
By: WebAIM. Best for: Visual accessibility review. Price: Free.
- Icons and annotations directly on the page
- Clear explanations aimed at learning
- Structure and contrast views
- Limit: Accessibility only
- Limit: One page at a time
axe DevTools
By: Deque. Best for: Developer accessibility testing. Price: Free scans; paid Pro plans.
- Runs in Chrome DevTools with the industry-standard axe-core engine
- Low false-positive rate
- Guided manual tests in paid plans
- Limit: Accessibility only
- Limit: Advanced features need a subscription
Lighthouse
By: Google (built into Chrome DevTools). Best for: Performance audits. Price: Free.
- Performance, accessibility, SEO, and best-practice scores
- Specific performance recommendations
- No install needed
- Limit: Lab test of one page load
- Limit: Accessibility and SEO checks are basic
Chrome DevTools Performance panel
By: Google (built in). Best for: Live Core Web Vitals while you browse. Price: Free.
- Live LCP, CLS, and INP for your own interactions
- Shows the element behind each metric
- Can compare with real-user field data
- Limit: Performance only
- Limit: Takes some DevTools experience
META SEO inspector
By: Independent. Best for: Inspecting meta tags and structured data. Price: Free.
- Lists meta, Open Graph, and Twitter tags
- Shows structured data and headings
- Limit: Inspection, not an audit with fixes
- Limit: No accessibility or speed checks
Detailed SEO Extension
By: Detailed. Best for: Quick on-page SEO overview. Price: Free.
- Titles, descriptions, headings, canonicals, robots, and links at a glance
- Popular with SEO professionals
- Limit: SEO only
- Limit: No accessibility, AI search, or speed checks
Check My Links
By: Independent. Best for: Finding broken links on a page. Price: Free.
- Highlights valid and broken links in place
- Copies the broken URLs
- Limit: Links only
- Limit: One page at a time
How to choose
- Accessibility work for clients or the EAA/ADA: axe DevTools or WAVE for deep dives, plus a keyboard and screen reader pass. See the WCAG 2.2 checklist.
- Performance tuning: Lighthouse and the DevTools Performance panel. See Core Web Vitals fixes.
- SEO tag inspection: META SEO inspector or Detailed SEO Extension, or the free meta tag checker without installing anything.
- Routine pre-launch and handoff QA across all of the above: an all-in-one tool such as Shipcheck, with the specialist tools for anything it flags as complex.
Questions
What is the best free accessibility checker extension?
WAVE (by WebAIM) and axe DevTools (by Deque) are the two most widely used. WAVE shows icons on the page, which is easy for beginners. axe DevTools runs inside Chrome DevTools and uses the axe-core engine that many other tools, including Shipcheck, are built on.
Is Lighthouse enough for website QA?
Lighthouse is a great free starting point for performance and a basic accessibility and SEO score. It runs a lab test on one page load, so it does not catch everything: it checks a subset of accessibility rules, does not preview social cards, and does not check AI crawler access or broken links across a page.
Which extension checks if AI search engines can read my site?
Few do. Shipcheck checks robots.txt rules for AI search and training crawlers, flags content that only appears after JavaScript runs, and checks llms.txt and structured data. You can also use the free AI crawler checker on this site without installing anything.
Do I need several extensions or one?
Specialist tools go deepest in their area, so many developers keep WAVE or axe for accessibility and Lighthouse for performance. An all-in-one checker saves time on routine pre-launch and client handoff checks. Using one of each is common.
Tools for this guide
Free website checker
Paste a URL for one report: SEO, share previews, security headers, AI crawler access, speed, and accessibility.
Open tool →Meta tag & social preview checker
See your Google, X, LinkedIn, and Slack previews and fix titles, descriptions, and OG images.
Open tool →Broken link checker
Find dead links, redirects, and missing pages on any public page.
Open tool →More guides
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48 checks across SEO, sharing, accessibility, AI search, speed, security, and legal. Tick them off as you go and download your progress.
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