Did you know when a company website is not ADA Compliant, a lawsuit can be filed? Lawsuits have been filed against several companies, including Domino’s Pizza, Fox News Network, Burger King, and even Nike.
A website must be designed to meet ADA Compliance requirements. In this article, I will discuss what ADA Compliance is and why it is necessary to be compliant.
Moreover, I will also offer guidelines on Accessibility Testing and the best tools to use to take that same concept and apply it to a web application or website.
Table of Contents:
What Is ADA Compliance?
ADA Compliance stands for Americans with Disabilities Act for Standards and Design. It was passed in 1990 to ensure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else. This includes access to employment, education, transportation, and other aspects of daily life. Part of the ADA requires businesses to provide equal access to their goods and services, including online.
This means that businesses need to make sure that their websites are accessible to people with disabilities. This can include adding alt text to images, providing captions for videos, and using clear and concise language.
By making your website accessible, you are ensuring that everyone has the same opportunity to access your goods and services. This is not only the right thing to do, but it is also the law.
Not being compliant means a website may not have all the functionality or features available to a user with disabilities. The website may meet all requirements according to the planned project. But the requirements for accessibility are a bit different because this involves implementing additional features. These features include a closed video caption, color contrast, Aria labels for screen readers, and text font size. The purpose of compliance is that every website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
Why Is It Necessary to Be ADA Compliant?
ADA Compliance means the website meets all requirements for accessibility, and users can access the website, including those with disabilities. Having an ADA Compliant website avoids issues with users who may not be able to access all of the features on the website. It also allows businesses to have happy customers and avoid possible lawsuits. Since the website meets ADA Compliance means that the company will have a broader outreach to customers.
What Are the Benefits of Making a Website ADA Compliant?
There are many benefits to making your website ADA compliant. Not only will you be ensuring that everyone has the same opportunity to access your goods and services, but you will also be improving your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Search engines like Google are increasingly taking accessibility into account when ranking websites. This means that by making your website more accessible, you could see a boost in your search engine rankings.
In addition, making your website ADA compliant will show your customers that you are committed to inclusion and providing a great user experience for everyone.
How Much Does It Cost to Make a Website ADA Compliant?
The cost of making your website ADA compliant will vary depending on the size and complexity of your site. However, there are many resources available to help you make your website more accessible, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
The WCAG 2.0 is a set of guidelines that businesses can use to make their websites more accessible. There are three levels of compliance: A, AA, and AAA as we will see hereafter.
The cost of making your website compliant will vary depending on which level you are aiming for. However, it is important to note that even Level A compliance can make a huge difference for people with disabilities.
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Guidelines for Accessibility Testing
There are different types of ADA compliance, such as A, AA, and AAA, but knowing which compliance type works best for your company varies with the kind of project and company. The different compliance types depend on the type of company and application you are working on.
The best way to break down the different accessibility types is by defining the overall compliance guidelines. Here is an example of the different types of compliance regarding visual elements and features on a website.
Level A
Level A is the most basic level of compliance and requires some basic accessibility features to be in place. The website must not use color as the only method of providing information to its users. This includes visual features such as images, and call-to-action functional image links and buttons. The colors need to be distinguishable for visually impaired users or have color blindness since it is essential for differentiating between colors. A is considered the basic guideline for ADA compliance. Consider A as a must-have for your website.
Level AA
Level AA is the next level up and requires more advanced accessibility features to be in place. This is one step ahead of A by ensuring that the font size is below certain guidelines such as 18 font size. The user also needs to be able to adjust the size of the website to 200% without losing the ability to access features such as links and buttons. The text needs to be given a higher priority over the usage of only text formatted images including jpg and png. AA provides better compliance in comparison to A because of the font size guidelines. AA is the ideal level to be at for your website since as mentioned, takes A and optimizes the visual compliance one step further.
Level AAA
Level AAA is the highest level of compliance and requires all accessibility features to be in place. This is similar to the previous two levels regarding visual standards but AAA takes it one step further. Not only must the website meet the noted criteria for A and AA, but the visual guidelines must be free of any issues that could cause visual impairments. This includes avoiding the usage of contrast colors for the visually impaired and the overall text must be a specific contrast ratio of 7:1. This level also includes meeting additional requirements such as visual interpretation for live events including American Sign Language (ASL). Consider this as a difficult compliance level to achieve, but this ensures all users will be able to access the website and any live events and videos.
Further reading about ADA compliance
Making your website ADA-compliant doesn't have to be a daunting task. There are many resources available to help you get started, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
If you would like to read more about ADA Compliance, I am including additional resources for you.
Here is an article from Forbes providing even more information on the topic: ADA Compliance FOR Website: Getting It Right
I also recommend reading more about ADA Compliance here from the ADA.gov website: ADA Tool Kit: Website Accessibility Under Title II of the ADA
Source link regarding lawsuits: Top 10 Notable ADA Website Compliance Lawsuits (Updated for 2019)
In addition, the Department of Justice has published a helpful guide that outlines the steps businesses need to take to make their websites more accessible.
There are also many companies that offer web accessibility services, such as audits, training, and consulting. These companies can help you assess your website's accessibility and make recommendations on how to improve it.
Final words
Making your website accessible is important for a number of reasons. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it is also now the law. Making your website ADA compliant ensures that people with disabilities can access all of the same information and services that everyone else can.
There are many benefits to making your website ADA compliant, including improved search engine rankings and showing your commitment to inclusion. The cost of making your website ADA compliant will vary depending on the size and complexity of your site, but there are many resources available to help you get started. Making your website accessible is not only the right thing to do, but it is also good for business.
