What does it mean for a website to be ADA compliant and why is it important?
ADA compliance ensures that a website is accessible to individuals with disabilities, meeting the standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. This not only helps avoid potential legal issues but also broadens your audience by making your website usable for everyone.
Introduction
So you’ve had your company website built, and it’s feature-rich and aesthetically pleasing, offering all the information visitors are looking for. However, you might not be aware that some disabilities can make it difficult for individuals to access, view, and use your website. Ensuring your website is ADA compliant is crucial to avoid losing potential customers and facing legal risks.
Understanding ADA Compliance
What Does ADA Compliant Mean?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires commercial and public entities to provide access and accommodation for individuals with various disabilities. In 2010, the law was amended to include websites as “places of public accommodation.” Thus, making your website ADA compliant is essential.
How Do I Make My Website ADA Compliant?
While the final standards for website accessibility are yet to be officially released, businesses can use the WCAG 2.0 level AA technical requirements as guidelines. These standards, established in conjunction with the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), serve as valuable references for ensuring accessibility.
Steps to Ensure ADA Compliance
Make Sure the HTML is Accessible & Clean Proper HTML uses meta descriptions, title tags, and bulleted lists to ensure that visually impaired individuals and screen readers can easily locate and read the content.
Offer Text Alternatives Include text alternatives for graphics and videos to ensure information is accessible to those who cannot effectively view multimedia content.
Offer a Simplified Version of Your Website Providing a simplified version of your website can make it easier for individuals with various disabilities to find content and navigate the site.
Offer a High Contrast Option High contrast designs or options can help visually impaired individuals read web pages more effectively.
Avoid Flashing Graphics Flashing graphics or rapidly moving images can cause seizures in individuals with certain disabilities. Avoid these elements to ensure safety.
Include Keyboard Support Keyboard support allows navigation using keys, accommodating those who cannot use a mouse.
Include ARIA Landmarks Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) landmarks help assistive technologies ascertain and navigate the content on a webpage effectively.
Why Else Should You Care About ADA Compliance?
Ensuring ADA compliance is not only a legal obligation but also a smart business decision. By making your website accessible to an audience of 60 million disabled Americans, you expand your potential customer base. Over 70% of potential customers will leave a website if it isn’t accessible, making ADA compliance a crucial aspect of your digital strategy.
Think of ADA compliance as another form of search engine optimization. Instead of optimizing for search engines, you are optimizing for individuals with disabilities, who are a significant part of your target market.
Making Your Website ADA Compliant
Ensuring your website is ADA compliant involves integrating tools, code, and features that enable individuals with disabilities to use their own assistive technologies with your website. For example, visually impaired users can utilize braille displays or screen readers, while individuals with hearing loss or limited mobility can use other devices to access and use your site.
At Psycray, we offer consultation and assistance in ensuring ADA compliance. Our team helps you understand and implement WCAG 2.0 guidelines, keeping you updated on new regulations to ensure your website is accessible to all users.
Contact us today for more information about ADA website compliance.