diff --git a/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal-content.js b/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal-content.js
index 7f7c36dd31..e3cf73c93c 100644
--- a/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal-content.js
+++ b/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal-content.js
@@ -3,12 +3,25 @@ import { Row, Col, Modal, Grid, Alert, Button } from 'react-bootstrap'
 import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 import Icon from '../../../shared/components/icon'
+import AccessibleModal from '../../../shared/components/accessible-modal'
 
-function WordCountModalContent({ data, error, handleHide, loading }) {
+export default function WordCountModalContent({
+  animation = true,
+  show,
+  data,
+  error,
+  handleHide,
+  loading
+}) {
   const { t } = useTranslation()
 
   return (
-    <>
+    <AccessibleModal
+      animation={animation}
+      show={show}
+      onHide={handleHide}
+      id="clone-project-modal"
+    >
       <Modal.Header closeButton>
         <Modal.Title>{t('word_count')}</Modal.Title>
       </Modal.Header>
@@ -16,7 +29,7 @@ function WordCountModalContent({ data, error, handleHide, loading }) {
       <Modal.Body>
         {loading && !error && (
           <div className="loading">
-            <Loading /> &nbsp; {t('loading')}…
+            <Icon type="refresh" spin modifier="fw" /> &nbsp; {t('loading')}…
           </div>
         )}
 
@@ -70,11 +83,13 @@ function WordCountModalContent({ data, error, handleHide, loading }) {
       <Modal.Footer>
         <Button onClick={handleHide}>{t('done')}</Button>
       </Modal.Footer>
-    </>
+    </AccessibleModal>
   )
 }
 
 WordCountModalContent.propTypes = {
+  animation: PropTypes.bool,
+  show: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
   handleHide: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
   loading: PropTypes.bool.isRequired,
   error: PropTypes.bool,
@@ -86,9 +101,3 @@ WordCountModalContent.propTypes = {
     textWords: PropTypes.number
   })
 }
-
-function Loading() {
-  return <Icon type="refresh" spin modifier="fw" accessibilityLabel="Loading" />
-}
-
-export default WordCountModalContent
diff --git a/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.js b/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.js
index dac9291de4..573ea3d284 100644
--- a/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.js
+++ b/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.js
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useState } from 'react'
-import { Modal } from 'react-bootstrap'
 import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
+import AbortController from 'abort-controller'
 import WordCountModalContent from './word-count-modal-content'
+import { fetchWordCount } from '../utils/api'
 
 function WordCountModal({ clsiServerId, handleHide, projectId, show }) {
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
@@ -21,25 +22,17 @@ function WordCountModal({ clsiServerId, handleHide, projectId, show }) {
     const _abortController = new AbortController()
     setAbortController(_abortController)
 
-    let query = ''
-    if (clsiServerId) {
-      query = `?clsiserverid=${clsiServerId}`
-    }
-
-    fetch(`/project/${projectId}/wordcount${query}`, {
+    fetchWordCount(projectId, clsiServerId, {
       signal: _abortController.signal
     })
-      .then(async response => {
-        if (response.ok) {
-          const { texcount } = await response.json()
-          setData(texcount)
-        } else {
+      .then(data => {
+        setData(data.texcount)
+      })
+      .catch(error => {
+        if (error.cause?.name !== 'AbortError') {
           setError(true)
         }
       })
-      .catch(() => {
-        setError(true)
-      })
       .finally(() => {
         setLoading(false)
       })
@@ -55,14 +48,13 @@ function WordCountModal({ clsiServerId, handleHide, projectId, show }) {
   }, [abortController, handleHide])
 
   return (
-    <Modal show={show} onHide={abortAndHide}>
-      <WordCountModalContent
-        data={data}
-        error={error}
-        handleHide={abortAndHide}
-        loading={loading}
-      />
-    </Modal>
+    <WordCountModalContent
+      data={data}
+      error={error}
+      show={show}
+      handleHide={abortAndHide}
+      loading={loading}
+    />
   )
 }
 
diff --git a/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/utils/api.js b/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/utils/api.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..54818f0338
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/web/frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/utils/api.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import { getJSON } from '../../../infrastructure/fetch-json'
+
+export function fetchWordCount(projectId, clsiServerId, options) {
+  let query = ''
+  if (clsiServerId) {
+    query = `?clsiserverid=${clsiServerId}`
+  }
+
+  return getJSON(`/project/${projectId}/wordcount${query}`, options)
+}
diff --git a/services/web/frontend/stories/word-count-modal-content.stories.js b/services/web/frontend/stories/word-count-modal-content.stories.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8d4cfc5f8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/web/frontend/stories/word-count-modal-content.stories.js
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import React from 'react'
+
+import WordCountModalContent from '../js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal-content'
+
+export const Basic = args => {
+  const data = {
+    headers: 4,
+    mathDisplay: 40,
+    mathInline: 400,
+    textWords: 4000
+  }
+
+  return <WordCountModalContent {...args} data={data} />
+}
+
+export const Loading = args => {
+  return <WordCountModalContent {...args} loading />
+}
+
+export const LoadingError = args => {
+  return <WordCountModalContent {...args} error />
+}
+
+export const Messages = args => {
+  const messages = [
+    'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.',
+    'Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.'
+  ].join('\n')
+
+  return <WordCountModalContent {...args} data={{ messages }} />
+}
+
+export default {
+  title: 'Word Count Modal / Content',
+  component: WordCountModalContent,
+  args: {
+    animation: false,
+    show: true,
+    error: false,
+    loading: false
+  },
+  argTypes: {
+    handleHide: { action: 'hide' }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/services/web/frontend/stories/word-count-modal.stories.js b/services/web/frontend/stories/word-count-modal.stories.js
index 20b6781cdc..703a830477 100644
--- a/services/web/frontend/stories/word-count-modal.stories.js
+++ b/services/web/frontend/stories/word-count-modal.stories.js
@@ -1,77 +1,76 @@
 import React from 'react'
+import fetchMock from 'fetch-mock'
+import PropTypes from 'prop-types'
 
-import WordCountModalContent from '../js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal-content'
+import WordCountModal from '../js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal'
 
-// NOTE: WordCountModalContent is wrapped in modal classes, without modal behaviours
+export const Interactive = ({
+  mockResponse = 200,
+  mockResponseDelay = 500,
+  ...args
+}) => {
+  fetchMock.restore().get(
+    'express:/project/:projectId/wordcount',
+    () => {
+      switch (mockResponse) {
+        case 400:
+          return { status: 400, body: 'The project id is not valid' }
 
-export const Loading = args => (
-  <div className="modal-dialog">
-    <div className="modal-content">
-      <WordCountModalContent {...args} />
-    </div>
-  </div>
-)
-Loading.args = {
-  loading: true,
-  error: false
+        case 200:
+          return {
+            texcount: {
+              headers: 4,
+              mathDisplay: 40,
+              mathInline: 400,
+              textWords: 4000
+            }
+          }
+
+        default:
+          return mockResponse
+      }
+    },
+    { delay: mockResponseDelay }
+  )
+
+  return <WordCountModal {...args} />
 }
-
-export const LoadingError = args => (
-  <div className="modal-dialog">
-    <div className="modal-content">
-      <WordCountModalContent {...args} />
-    </div>
-  </div>
-)
-LoadingError.args = {
-  loading: false,
-  error: true
-}
-
-export const Loaded = args => (
-  <div className="modal-dialog">
-    <div className="modal-content">
-      <WordCountModalContent {...args} />
-    </div>
-  </div>
-)
-Loaded.args = {
-  loading: false,
-  error: false,
-  data: {
-    headers: 4,
-    mathDisplay: 40,
-    mathInline: 400,
-    textWords: 4000
-  }
-}
-
-export const Messages = args => (
-  <div className="modal-dialog">
-    <div className="modal-content">
-      <WordCountModalContent {...args} />
-    </div>
-  </div>
-)
-Messages.args = {
-  loading: false,
-  error: false,
-  data: {
-    messages: [
-      'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.',
-      'Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.'
-    ].join('\n'),
-    headers: 4,
-    mathDisplay: 40,
-    mathInline: 400,
-    textWords: 4000
-  }
+Interactive.propTypes = {
+  mockResponse: PropTypes.number,
+  mockResponseDelay: PropTypes.number
 }
 
 export default {
   title: 'Word Count Modal',
-  component: WordCountModalContent,
+  component: WordCountModal,
+  args: {
+    clsiServerId: 'server-id',
+    projectId: 'project-id',
+    show: true
+  },
   argTypes: {
-    handleHide: { action: 'handleHide' }
+    handleHide: { action: 'handleHide' },
+    mockResponse: {
+      name: 'Mock Response Status',
+      type: { name: 'number', required: false },
+      description: 'The status code that should be returned by the mock server',
+      defaultValue: 200,
+      control: {
+        type: 'radio',
+        options: [200, 500, 400]
+      }
+    },
+    mockResponseDelay: {
+      name: 'Mock Response Delay',
+      type: { name: 'number', required: false },
+      description: 'The delay before returning a response from the mock server',
+      defaultValue: 500,
+      control: {
+        type: 'range',
+        min: 0,
+        max: 2500,
+        step: 250
+      }
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/services/web/package.json b/services/web/package.json
index 56caa3ddb7..81ee45a749 100644
--- a/services/web/package.json
+++ b/services/web/package.json
@@ -165,6 +165,7 @@
     "@storybook/react": "^6.1.10",
     "@testing-library/dom": "^7.29.4",
     "@testing-library/react": "^11.2.3",
+    "abort-controller": "^3.0.0",
     "acorn": "^7.1.1",
     "acorn-walk": "^7.1.1",
     "angular-mocks": "~1.8.0",
diff --git a/services/web/test/frontend/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.test.js b/services/web/test/frontend/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.test.js
index e0b8095b1e..1a658b8db5 100644
--- a/services/web/test/frontend/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.test.js
+++ b/services/web/test/frontend/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal.test.js
@@ -1,29 +1,43 @@
 import React from 'react'
-import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react'
-import WordCountModalContent from '../../../../../frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal-content'
+import { render, screen, cleanup } from '@testing-library/react'
+import WordCountModal from '../../../../../frontend/js/features/word-count-modal/components/word-count-modal'
 import { expect } from 'chai'
+import sinon from 'sinon'
+import fetchMock from 'fetch-mock'
 
-const handleHide = () => {
-  // closed
-}
+describe('<WordCountModal />', function() {
+  afterEach(function() {
+    fetchMock.reset()
+    cleanup()
+  })
+
+  const modalProps = {
+    projectId: 'project-1',
+    clsiServerId: 'clsi-server-1',
+    show: true,
+    handleHide: sinon.stub()
+  }
 
-describe('<WordCountModalContent />', function() {
   it('renders the translated modal title', async function() {
-    render(<WordCountModalContent handleHide={handleHide} loading={false} />)
+    render(<WordCountModal {...modalProps} />)
 
     await screen.findByText('Word Count')
-
-    expect(screen.queryByText(/Loading/)).to.not.exist
   })
 
   it('renders a loading message when loading', async function() {
-    render(<WordCountModalContent handleHide={handleHide} loading />)
+    fetchMock.get('express:/project/:projectId/wordcount', () => {
+      return { status: 200, body: { texcount: {} } }
+    })
 
-    await screen.findByText('Loading')
+    render(<WordCountModal {...modalProps} />)
+
+    await screen.findByText('Loading…')
   })
 
   it('renders an error message and hides loading message on error', async function() {
-    render(<WordCountModalContent handleHide={handleHide} loading error />)
+    fetchMock.get('express:/project/:projectId/wordcount', 500)
+
+    render(<WordCountModal {...modalProps} />)
 
     await screen.findByText('Sorry, something went wrong')
 
@@ -31,32 +45,38 @@ describe('<WordCountModalContent />', function() {
   })
 
   it('displays messages', async function() {
-    render(
-      <WordCountModalContent
-        handleHide={handleHide}
-        loading={false}
-        data={{
-          messages: 'This is a test'
-        }}
-      />
-    )
+    fetchMock.get('express:/project/:projectId/wordcount', () => {
+      return {
+        status: 200,
+        body: {
+          texcount: {
+            messages: 'This is a test'
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    })
+
+    render(<WordCountModal {...modalProps} />)
 
     await screen.findByText('This is a test')
   })
 
   it('displays counts data', async function() {
-    render(
-      <WordCountModalContent
-        handleHide={handleHide}
-        loading={false}
-        data={{
-          textWords: 100,
-          mathDisplay: 200,
-          mathInline: 300,
-          headers: 400
-        }}
-      />
-    )
+    fetchMock.get('express:/project/:projectId/wordcount', () => {
+      return {
+        status: 200,
+        body: {
+          texcount: {
+            textWords: 100,
+            mathDisplay: 200,
+            mathInline: 300,
+            headers: 400
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    })
+
+    render(<WordCountModal {...modalProps} />)
 
     await screen.findByText((content, element) =>
       element.textContent.trim().match(/^Total Words\s*:\s*100$/)