Chris Young
The Americans with Disabilities Act was a compassionate piece of legislation aiming to make daily life more accessible for Americans with a wide variety of disabilities.
Many think of the ADA as the piece of legislation that requires businesses to have handicapped parking spaces and ramps for those with limited mobility. However, the Act did far more than improve physical access for disabled Americans, it also requires websites and digital assets to be accessible for all people. Unfortunately, many business owners and webmasters are unaware of this requirement and, in recent years, there have been waves of lawsuits from predatory law firms that target websites unaware of the ADA requirements. These law firms seek out websites that fail to compy in some way with the ADA and then pressure these websites into settling rather than go to court. This often causes significant financial distress to the people who are least able to bear it. In the case of ADA website compliance, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
ADA website compliance is process of ensuring that websites are accessible to people with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Complaince involves designing websites so that users with different disabilities—such as visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments—to access content and interact with the site. While the ADA does not specify exact technical standards for website accessibility, many organizations follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as a recognized benchmark for achieving compliance.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) serve as the primary set of standards used to ensure websites are ADA-compliant. While the ADA itself does not outline specific technical requirements, WCAG is widely recognized as the best practice framework for achieving digital accessibility. WCAG is built around four main principles that make content:
which provides a clear roadmap for making websites accessible to individuals with disabilities.
The principle of perceivability focuses on making sure that users can perceive the information and interface components on a website, regardless of their sensory limitations. This means that content should be available to people with visual, auditory, or other sensory impairments. Visual media such as videos should have captions and the text should be high contrast to ensure that it’s readable by those with visual impairments. Features like voice-over should also be available for those with visual impairments.
Operability means that all users should be able to navigate and use the website. This involves ensuring that all interactive elements, like menus, buttons, and forms, are accessible to users who rely on assistive technologies or keyboard navigation. This is more of a question of functionality rather than design and, as such, it can be somewhat more challenging to implement, especially for owner-run websites.
The principle of understandability focuses on ensuring that both content and the website’s operation are easy to comprehend. Writing content in plain, straightforward language can help users with cognitive disabilities or non-native English speakers follow along without confusion. Additionally, providing clear guidance and suggestions when users make errors while filling out forms makes the website more user-friendly, helping users correct mistakes with minimal frustration. Maintaining consistent navigation and layout across the website also ensures that users can move through the site predictably, reducing confusion and improving the overall experience.
The robustness principle means that a website should be compatible with various assistive technologies, ensuring that it can be reliably interpreted across different platforms, devices, and browsers. Using clean, valid HTML code helps assistive technologies like screen readers process and present the website's content accurately. It's also important to regularly test the website on various browsers and devices to ensure it functions as expected across different environments.
The short answer to this is yes; ADA compliance is mandatory for websites and businesses that operate within the US or serve US Citizens The ADA mandates that websites and digital content provided by entities such as businesses, non-profits, and governments must be accessible to people with disabilities. Although the ADA does not explicitly prescribe technical standards for website compliance, the law requires sufficient accessibility for all users.
Non-compliant websites risk legal consequences, including lawsuits and financial penalties, as they can be viewed as discriminatory. While ADA website compliance is a legal issue, reaching a wider audience is simply good business. ADA website compliance offers significant benefits, such as expanding audience reach, enhancing user experience, and improving search engine optimization (SEO). Demonstrating a commitment to accessibility can also improve a company's reputation and customer trust, aligning with broader corporate social responsibility goals. Ensuring ADA compliance is not only a legal obligation but also a strategic advantage for businesses and organizations looking to provide inclusive digital experiences.
It is important to note that infringements of the ADA are civil in nature and not criminal. The standards of evidence are different (meaning lower) in a civil case rather than a criminal case. While you won’t go to jail for failing to be ADA compliant, you or your business (depending on who owns the website) may be liable for thousands in damages and reparations.
To check whether your website is ADA-compliant, you should start by evaluating it against the standards outlined in WCAG, which are widely regarded as the benchmark for web accessibility.
Here are some steps to help you in this process:
1. Conduct an Accessibility Audit: Start by performing an accessibility audit to comprehensively review your website’s content, design, and functionality for any barriers that could prevent people with disabilities from accessing your site. You can do this manually using accessibility checklists based on WCAG criteria, or by hiring an ADA service like Be More Digital for a more thorough evaluation.
2. Use Automated Accessibility Testing Tools: Leverage automated tools like WAVE, Axe, or Lighthouse to scan your website and receive a report highlighting potential accessibility issues. These tools can quickly identify common problems, such as missing alternative text for images, improper heading structures, insufficient color contrast, and keyboard navigation issues. Keep in mind that while these tools are helpful, they may not catch every accessibility problem, so it's important to not rely on these tools to keep you out of trouble.
3. Conduct Manual Testing: Perform manual testing by navigating your website as a user with a disability might, using assistive technologies like screen readers, magnifiers, or voice recognition software. This helps you identify more subtle accessibility barriers that automated tools might miss, such as issues with dynamic content, forms, or interactive elements.
4. Engage Users with Disabilities: Consider involving people with disabilities in the testing process to gain valuable feedback on real-world usability. Their experiences can reveal issues that may not be apparent during technical or automated testing, ensuring your website meets the needs of all users.
5. Review Legal Requirements and Guidelines: Stay informed about the latest legal requirements and accessibility guidelines. Use resources like the ADA website or accessibility organizations to guide you on maintaining compliance and staying updated with changes in regulations or standards.
By combining automated testing, manual checks, and real-user testing, you can gain a thorough understanding of your website’s accessibility and determine what improvements are necessary to achieve or maintain ADA compliance. Remember, this process is not just a one-time effort but should be part of ongoing web maintenance and updates to ensure your website remains accessible to all users.
Whenever a company builds a new website, a lot of thought goes into design, user experience, and conversions. However, details such as ADA website compliance often fall through the cracks, almost always because of ignorance rather than malice. Companies must be conscientious of the legal requirements of doing business, not only in regards to taxes and local permits, but also with accessibility for their customers.
To avoid costly and tedious lawsuits, one of the best things that any company can do is work with an ADA website compliance specialist like Be More Digital. The cost of a lawsuit or settlement can be tens of thousands of dollars and can damage the reputation of your company. However, intentionally pursuing ADA compliance is significantly cheaper and is simply better business. To transform your website into an ADA complaint asset, get in touch with the team at Be More Digital today. Our experts can conduct a full website audit and provide remediation with ADA compliance documentation to support you in any potential litigation. Our team is standing by to answer any questions you may have.
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