Creating a website for your business involves many steps, one of which is ensuring your web content complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Although the ADA predates the World Wide Web, its broad language and adaptability extend its jurisdiction to web accessibility. The ADA applies to any public domain, making it especially relevant for business websites and their content.
Broadly speaking, the ADA encompasses all "places of public accommodation," which means websites need to be ADA compliant. Since your content is available to any online user, making it public, website accessibility should be a top priority when establishing your business online.
There are several compelling reasons to prioritize ADA website compliance. The guidelines set by WCAG 2.0 and later 2.1 provide clear rules for web design to ensure functional accessibility. Let's explore why having an ADA compliant website is essential.
Avoiding Compliance Lawsuits
One of the most significant reasons to prioritize web accessibility in your web design is to protect yourself from legal action. Accessibility lawsuits can arise if your website compliance falls short of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).
Consider the 2017 case of Gil v. Winn-Dixie. Juan Carlos Gil, a visually impaired man, sued the Winn-Dixie regional grocery chain because its website was not ADA compliant. Specifically, his screen reader assistive technology could not function properly.
The text on Winn-Dixie's website was not readable by Gil's text-to-speech reader, representing a massive oversight.
Without an ADA compliant site, Winn-Dixie failed to ensure its website—ruled by the court as a service or place of public accommodation—was accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. Title III of the ADA explicitly prohibits discrimination based on disability by owners of public accommodation places. Given the clarity of Title III, there is no excuse for non-compliance, especially concerning a major web element like text.
Because their website offered a service to the public, Gil's visual impairment met the criteria of physical disabilities. The courts mandated that the chain make its website accessible. This lawsuit led to hiring a professional to assess their web accessibility against WCAG standards. Bringing the site into updated compliance ultimately cost the chain around $37,000. Legal requirements, like the ADA, stipulate that your website must be accessible to people with disabilities and should guide your website design moving forward.
Expanding Your Customer Base
ADA compliance does more than just protect your business from legal troubles; it also helps you grow your customer base. Modern American communities are incredibly diverse, and within this vast pool of potential customers, nearly one out of five people in the United States lives with a disability.
This substantial demographic alone presents a strong reason to make your website ADA compliant. Widening the range of potential users for your website is most easily achieved by ensuring your content complies with the ADA.
Boost Your Business' Reputation
Following the law and conforming to the Americans with Disabilities Act is not only good practice but also good business. By creating a website accessible to all users, you establish a positive and reputable presence online.
This means your business and content become associated with website accessibility, thereby prioritizing individuals with disabilities as much as the rest of your customer base.
Become Positively Visible in Your Industry
Every business should aim to be a positive influence within its industry. What many businesses might not realize is that website accessibility and ADA compliance are crucial steps towards achieving this goal.
Furthermore, avoiding legal issues and court cases helps maintain your business's pristine reputation. Remember that your website must prioritize equal access, especially for disabled users, and by doing so, your business can become known as a pioneer in accessibility.
Promote User-Friendliness and Good Practices
Familiarity with best business practices can help you meet ADA standards. At the core of good website design should be user-friendliness and adherence to WCAG regulations.
Having a website readily accessible to a variety of users not only benefits you but also helps promote these same practices among your competitors and within your industry. The simple choice to comply with the ADA can have widespread positive effects beyond just your business.
Tackling the Complex Requirements
Prioritizing ADA compliance can save you headaches and potentially significant financial costs down the line. Despite the perceived complexity of the ADA and WCAG, understanding them becomes much easier with professional assistance.
Many online services offer this exact expertise. Website compliance audits can be incredibly helpful, breaking down difficult-to-understand standards and regulations into manageable insights.
Be Carried by Word-of-Mouth Advertising
An eye-catching or unique design is often the easiest way to draw attention to your web content. Marketing and advertising have expanded far beyond physical storefronts; internet advertising and social media are now prime avenues for promoting your business.
Word-of-mouth is amplified through social media, which often highlights businesses that demonstrate care for their communities. By adhering to the law and placing individuals with disabilities at the forefront of your design, you position yourself in the spotlight and benefit from organic advertising as people begin to notice.
Create Positive Effects in Your Community
Above all, the ADA exists to protect communities and establish legal requirements for websites to follow. By adhering to ADA standards, you reinforce the principle of inclusion for all users.
Given that 1 in 5 Americans live with disabilities, prioritizing these individuals during your site's design has immediate positive effects not only on your business but also on your community.
Improve Your Site's SEO
A website designed with accessibility in mind can give you a competitive edge. Nowadays, search engines prioritize and elevate the rankings of sites that adhere to web accessibility and ADA guidelines.
Websites compliant with the ADA are more likely to appear on the first pages of search results when a potential customer searches for terms relevant to your business. Simply put, web accessibility can significantly help push your site towards the top of a user's search results.
Save Money, Time, and Energy
The ADA primarily prohibits discrimination. Therefore, a non-compliant website not only suggests that your business may disregard a significant portion of potential or current customers but also leaves you vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals with disabilities and users who find your website inaccessible.
This oversight can cost you considerable time, money, and energy in the future. A dissatisfied user could initiate legal proceedings, leading to a chain of problems that might start with court appearances and conclude with a WCAG audit—both of which can be financially burdensome. By ensuring your website is accessible from the outset, you eliminate this risk, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business without the constant worry of an inaccessible website.
Do Websites Have To Be ADA Compliant? Conclusion
Considering the entirety of the ADA and all the reasons for creating a compliant site, the answer to "Do websites have to be ADA compliant?" is a resounding "yes."
Keeping websites accessible and compliant with the ADA and the extensive WCAG guidelines can seem an intimidating or arduous process. You want to concentrate on your content or other facets of your business without getting bogged down in technical details.
We at ADA Compliance Pros can assist you with that. You can collaborate with experienced, certified professionals who can identify all liability risks on your website and provide cost-effective solutions for meeting all ADA requirements.
While ensuring access to your physical location is crucial, digital accessibility is equally important. VPAT compliance is the ultimate way to ensure your digital properties are accessible, especially if your business interacts with any government entity.
ADACP can conduct accessibility audits on your digital assets and document our findings with a VPAT, which many clients will require. Often, people ask about the difference between WCAG and VPAT; however, it's not a matter of WCAG vs. VPAT. They are interrelated and both crucial for fully documenting the accessibility of any digital property.