Website ADA Compliance
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990 which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
In addition to requirements for public building accessibility and telecommunications, these standards also extend to websites. As of the publish date of this article, there is no law or legal standard dictating what these requirements are. However, the WCAG 2.0 Level AA standard is considered an excellent reference when evaluating the overall website experience for those with disabilities.
What is WCAG?
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of providing a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally.
Website “content” generally refers to the information on a web page or web application which may include the following:
natural information such as text, images, and sounds
code or markup that defines the structure, presentation, etc.
What steps does Bixler Consulting take?
As an organization, we continually monitor all the industry best-practices as it pertains to the construction of beautiful, unique websites. Each website we deliver will always include, but is not limited to, the following elements which align with the WCAG 2.1 Guidelines:
Navigation: Navigational mechanisms that are repeated on all web pages in the same relative order, unless a change is initiated by the user.
Alt-tags: Each image on the website will include a short text description
Captions: Captions for any multimedia or video
Titles and Headings: Use of accurate and descriptive page titles as well as on-page heading structure (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
Responsive: The website will automatically resize based on the user’s device.
Forms
Action Buttons or Links: Guidance on supporting language which does not limit the understanding of the size, shape, color of required action. For example, including both shape and textual information to locate the action the user needs to take. “Click the square SUBMIT button to complete the form.” The purpose of each link can be determined from the link text alone or from the link text together with its context.
Input Fields: Guidance on how to include proper descriptions for each field required on a form.
Color: Ensuring that measures are taken to support reasonable color contrast and guidance where additional text may be needed to support content.
Text: Images of text will ONLY be used for decoration.
Terms of Use: Adding a clause to the Terms of Use section of your website can provide additional protection and should be reviewed or provided by legal council.
Summary
There are no strict standards but rather guidelines that most website providers should follow and business owners should be mindful. If you have any questions regarding the compatibility of your website after speaking with your website provider, or if you receive a complaint or a letter about your website accessibility, we recommend consulting with legal counsel.
This article should not be considered legal advice. Please be proactive in your decision to follow the appropriate course of action for your company.