Any vendor working with the government or any organization that receives government funding must understand with Section 508 VPATs. What s a VPAT? A VPAT is a Voluntary Accessibility Template. It is a form that documents your accessibility. Without it, and many organizations can't secure a contract or pursue an RFP. It can stop your business right in its tracks.
Free ConsultationEvery business should aim to get their websites and digital properties accessible, but 508 compliance is a necessity for many. In May of 1999, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), became the authoritative source on how to comply by developing the first set of digital accessibility guidelines. There are multiple degrees of compliance criteria and not every business must reach the highest standard. Where is your organization now?
Determining which level you need to achieve depends on various factors – let our accessibility experts help you determine what compliance criteria you should work toward.
To determine if your digital properties are Section 508 compliant, you will need to conduct a manual accessibility audit. An audit verifies the level of accessibility of your digital properties.
The good news? The revised Section 508 standards have been synched up to match the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. WCAG guidelines are now explicitly stated as the formal accessibility requirements. That simplifies things significantly.
To verify that your organization’s website is compliant with Section 508, you need to test in accordance with these popular, well-established guidelines.
Any sufficient, comprehensive testing plan must include both automated and manual testing. Automated tests can be helpful, but they can't catch everything or apply the same subjective judgments that human testers can. In fact, such automated tests only run at about a 30% accuracy rate and can flag false positives, which can further throw your test results out of whack. The best approach is to work with a trained human expert — a trusted tester — who will conduct both automated and manual testing.
Our accessibility team is composed of certified, professional, and skilled technicians who offer white glove support throughout your audit process. We pledge to not only help guide you through this process but also educate you and your team on accessibility along the way. We will get you prepared to maintain 508 compliance moving forward and ensure the creation of new accessible content.
It’s a federal law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination in employment, programs, and activities. It covers any federal programs as well as any other programs that get federal funding. It includes multiple sections that provide for the civil rights of people with disabilities.Section 508 specifically set up requirements for electronic and information technology developed, maintained, procured or used by the federal government. It now requires WCAG 2.0 AA compliance for all information communication technologies (ICT) and three additional requirements related to synchronized media.
Section 508 compliance means your website, app or digital content is accessible to people with disabilities. It is part of a US law that says government websites and contractors must make their digital services usable for everyone including people using screen readers or keyboard navigation.
Learn more about 508 website compliance here.
All US federal agencies and any company or contractor working with them must meet Section 508 rules. That includes software vendors, web developers and document creators. Even private companies should follow it if they want to avoid legal issues and make their content accessible.
Websites can be 508 compliant by following certain accessibility rules. These include:
• Text that’s readable with screen readers
• Keyboard-friendly navigation
• Proper use of headings and labels
• High contrast between text and background
• Alt text to describe the purpose of important images
Basically, the site should work well for people who use assistive tools. It works for those who have vision, hearing or motor disabilities.
Section 508 applies to federal agencies and digital content only. The ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act is broader. It involves both public and private businesses and applies to physical spaces and digital platforms.
In short: ADA is about accessibility rights in general, while 508 is for government related digital access. Do you need expert guidance for 508 compliance? Book a free consultation with ADACP to test 508 website compliance.
Section 508 compliance test checks your digital content against federal accessibility rules. Testing tools or audits determine whether disabled users can use your website, documents, or apps properly with or without assistive technology. The test identifies issues that need to be addressed to meet the standards.
There are two types: automated tools and manual audits.
Popular automated tools include:
• WAVE for visual issue spotting
• axe DevTools for browser-based testing
• PAC for PDFs
• ANDI is used by the U.S. government
But automated tools only catch about 30% of issues. Therefore, manual testing by real people using screen readers and keyboards is essential to get it right.
The standards used for Section 508 are mostly based on WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) version 2.1 at Level AA. These include:
• Text alternatives for non-text content or images
• Logical structure with headings and labels
• Sufficient contrast between text and background
• Keyboard-only usability
• Clear instructions for forms and errors
With these rules, your content works for everyone, including people with disabilities.