and why you want to make sure your website is accessible & ADA compliant:
To Avoid Legal Consequences
A website may be found to be inaccessible if there is information, content, or services provided on the website that is not accessible in a physical location, or, if the website is inseparably tied to a physical location in such a way that those who can’t access the website are missing out.
In January 2019 Parkwood Entertainment was sued based on the claim that Beyonce.com violates the Americans With Disabilities Act by denying visually impaired users equal access to products and services offered on the site (read the Hollywood Reporter article). And in July 2019 Dominos petitioned the Supreme court to reverse the 9th Circuit decision that their website should be accessible to the blind (read the article on CNBC).
While big brands like these are more likely to be targets of such lawsuits than smaller businesses, it can be a risk for any business. And why risk the possibility of dealing with a legal issue? When your website is accessible to all visitors it will also help expand your reach to potential customers.
To Help Your Website Visitors
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey in 2017, of adults 18 and over in the United States 10.9% have vision trouble and 15.5% have physical functioning disability (source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/disability.htm). This means that there’s a very large number of people that need assistance when going online. There’s a good chance that many of the visitors to your website need assistance, including some who could be your ideal customers. You don’t want to lose a customer because they couldn’t easily read or navigate through your website.
To Improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
By following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) your website will also incorporate important SEO best practices. Here is a summary of the features of an ADA compliant website (complete guidelines here https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/):
Information must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive:
- Text alternatives to all non-text content (i.e. descriptive text for videos and images)
- Easy for users to see the content, as related to:
- colors used, and color contrast
- size of text
User interface components and navigation must be operable:
- Content can be navigated through using a keyboard
- Users have enough time to read the content; anything that has time limit or any automatically playing content can be adjusted or turned off
Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable:
- Text content is readable and understandable
- Layout and organization of website is intuitive
- Help users avoid and correct mistakes
Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted by by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies:
- Both the content and code powering the website are kept up to date
While Webb Weavers Consulting’s website meets Level AA of the WCAG 2.0 guidelines, to make sure visiting and navigating the website is easy as possible for everyone, a handy accessibility tool has been added to the website. When you click on the blue icon with the person in a wheelchair at the top right of the screen, a menu will display that has various options to change the way the website displays or how you can navigate the website.
Would you like to make sure your website is accessible for all visitors? Contact Debbie to schedule an introductory call and see how Webb Weavers Consulting can help!