Get ADA Compliant
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Open up your website to everyone… because it’s the right thing to do.
How do you know if your website is ADA-compliant?
About Web Accessibility
Web accessibility is essentially a set of rules, behaviors, code standards, and design guidelines that were created by the W3C and are called the WCAG 2.1.
The WCAG 2.1 is a massive 1,000-page guidebook that encapsulates a range of disabilities that go from hindering internet use to making internet use impossible without adjustments. This spectrum actually comprises 20-25% of the general population, depending on if we’re going with the CDC or WHO.
There are many disabilities covered, but the primary categories that require attention are:
- Blind people using screen-readers
- Motor-impaired people using only the keyboard to navigate
- People with epilepsy
- People with visual impairments and color-blindness
- People with cognitive and learning disabilities
Does the ADA Apply to Small Businesses?
It might come as a surprise, but yes, even small businesses are required to comply with the ADA. According to ADA Title III, every business, no matter how big or small, has to be accessible to people with disabilities.
Disability rights activists, legal scholars, and court rulings have agreed that ADA Title III covers online websites. Furthermore, in 2018, the Department of Justice specifically stated that websites are considered places of public accommodations, despite the ADA not mentioning sites specifically.
Therefore, ADA Title III applies both to physical access, like permitting service animals to enter the premises, and digital access, like including subtitles on videos and ensuring websites support accessibility technology.
3 Reasons Why Your Website Should be ADA-Compliant
Why is web accessibility so important?
1. Protect Your Business from Lawsuits
You have enough to deal with when running a small business without worrying that you might be sued or fined for ADA non-compliance.
And the risk of an ADA lawsuit is real. Since 2018, the number of websites to receive a lawyer letter about web accessibility rose almost 300%, and since the pandemic began, web-accessibility lawsuits have jumped even higher. In 2020, the number of web-accessibility lawsuits in federal courts rose to 2,523, almost 300 more than in 2019, and January 2021 alone saw a record 10,983 federal lawsuits filings. Lawsuits in 2024 are forecasted to be over 4000.
It’s not surprising when you remember that COVID-19 pushed people online like never before. People with disabilities are a lot more ready to take legal action on a non-accessible website when they cannot access the website freely.
Small businesses aren’t small enough to fly under the radar, either. All it takes is one person with disabilities to find your site frustrating and unwelcoming for them to send you a legal letter demanding that you fix the site, and possibly requesting damages as well.
2. Web Accessibility Has the Potential to Grow Traffic and Sales
Prioritizing web accessibility in your online presence may help your business succeed by attracting more visitors and driving more sales.
An ADA-compliant website may boost SEO in several ways:
Improved user experience
ADA compliance enhances overall usability, leading to better engagement and lower bounce rates.
Enhanced content structure
Proper heading tags (H1, H2, H3) create a logical hierarchy, making it easier for search engines to crawl and understand content.
Optimized title tags
Descriptive and specific title tags benefit ADA compliance and SEO by accurately representing page content.
Image alt text
Descriptive alt text helps search engines understand images and improves chances of appearing in image search results.
Increased site visibility
Accessible websites are more easily indexed by search engine crawlers, improving their chances of appearing in search results.
Better mobile responsiveness
ADA compliance often involves responsive design, a crucial factor in SEO rankings.
Reduced bounce rates
When users can easily navigate and understand content, they’re less likely to leave quickly, positively impacting SEO.
Longer dwell time
Accessible content encourages users to spend more time on the website, signaling quality to search engines.
Improved site speed
While not an explicit ADA requirement, accessibility-focused design, clean code, and proper page structure may increase site speed, which can improve SEO.
Broader audience reach
By making content accessible to people with disabilities, websites may attract a larger audience, potentially increasing traffic and improving SEO metrics.
Improve Reputation to Drive More Sales:
Word of mouth is a powerful type of marketing, especially now with social media.
People with disabilities who land on your site and find that it’s confusing or totally inaccessible to them aren’t going to be shy about warning other people to avoid it. On the other hand, if your site is a delight for people with disabilities, they’ll recommend it strongly to their friends and relatives.
Offer a Positive Experience to All Your Customers:
A fully accessible site is a pleasure for everyone to use, not just for people with disabilities. When you build your site from the very beginning with web accessibility in mind, you’ll end up with a site that’s simple to navigate, one that has an intuitive purchase journey that encourages more visitors to convert into customers.
When your site is accessible, it means your products are easy to find, your content is clearly understandable, and your checkout process doesn’t throw up obstacles that might lead someone to abandon their cart. It’s a win-win situation.
3. Web Accessibility is the Right Thing To Do
Finally, your conscience should push you to offer an equal opportunity for people with disabilities. In the US alone, 61 million people live with a disability, including two out of every five adults aged over 65, and there are over one billion people with disabilities worldwide.
These people must also be able to carry out activities online, like ordering groceries and medications, buying shoes and clothes, and comparing prices and features for services such as mobile hairdressing, garden care, or physical therapy. If your site isn’t accessible, it’s like you’re locking them away from the rest of the world.
How We Can Help
We offer a straightforward, business-friendly way to get an ADA website compliant. Our experts scan your site to identify accessibility issues. We then propose a Remediation and Maintenance Plan customized to your ongoing requirements.
READ: Join the Movement Towards Digital Inclusivity
ADA Tax Credit for Small Business
Contact us to see if your business qualifies for the ADA Small Business Tax Credit (up to $5000/year).
Resources:
How Small Businesses are Targeted with Abusive ADA Lawsuits
Plaintiffs Set a New Record for Website Accessibility Lawsuit Filings in 2022
Businesses ‘sitting ducks’ for lawsuits because websites aren’t ADA compliant
Lawsuits targeting business websites over ADA violations are on the rise
More Information
How & Why Accessibility Matters for SEO
Website Accessibility & the Law: Why Your Website Must Be Compliant
