1. Perceivable
Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
ADA Compliance
Website Development
Why Do I Need an ADA Compliant Website?
ADA Compliance is Critical. The DOJ has been clear that ADA (WCAG Level AA) Compliance of your website has become the new standard. JLB has years of experience and can swiftly help your website make the jump to an ADA compliance website!
Failing to comply with the ADA Website Compliance will make you legally vulnerable. This can cost your business tens of thousands or much more! If you haven’t taken steps to ensure that your website is optimized for complete accessibility from every demographic protected in the ADA, you are at risk of being sued, and losing.
There a 4 guidelines for ADA website compliance:
2. Operable
User interface components and navigation must be operable.
3. Understandable
Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
4. Robust
Content must be robust enough so it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
ADA Compliance Website Development
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was originally passed in 1990. The Act has seen continuous updates, most recently in 2016, in an ongoing effort to keep up with the changing landscape of American commerce. This includes websites, and that’s where we come in with our ADA Compliance web development chops.
Gaining ADA compliance for your website can be confusing because there is no official certificate or stamp of approval that businesses can obtain to “check it off their list.” Rather, ADA compliance for web developers is about due diligence. Businesses need to follow the set of guidelines and best practices set forth by our legislature to make sure that they are maintaining ADA compliance. Doing so will serve to eliminate risk of liability in the event of a law suit.
SEO and Compliance: The great thing about ADA compliance is that many of the website compliance tactics are also best practices for search engine optimization. In fact, Google will give a website stronger relevancy because it meets ADA guidelines. This is a little secret that JLB deploys in its SEO strategies.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) takes steps to ensure that people with physical and cognitive disabilities have access to the same services, accommodations, and facilities as the rest of the population. This set of regulations applies to both the public and private sectors, and includes specific stipulations for websites and eCommerce. Doing so will not only eliminate a large degree of legal liability, but will also connect your business with an entirely new group of consumers. It’s a great way to grow your business and eliminate risk! JLB ADA Compliance web developers are here to help.
What you need to know about website ADA compliance:
Disabled individuals must use additional hardware and software tools to help navigation around the web. And even when the visually disabled have access to these tools, many websites — including those from a large percentage of banks and credit unions — aren’t designed and coded properly. Compliance guidelines concerning online accessibility for the visually disabled is part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). JLB embraces ADA guidelines in the engineering of its websites for those who may want to or need to provide ADA management. JLB has ample experience in assisting schools, government organizations, and financial institutions in meeting ADA web guidelines. It’s important. If you are in an industry where ADA compliance is a must and you aren’t in compliance, you are at risk to get sued.
Even though SEO strategies do and should include ADA guidelines, in some cases, some tactics will not typically be employed by a website development team unless specifically asked. Also, some of these regulatory guidelines may change so make sure you work with an organization like JLB that can make necessary adjustments along the way. The following are a good reference point as marketing and technology teams begin planning:
- Text Alternatives : Provide alternatives for non-text content (e.g., images) so that it can be accessed by impaired individuals.
- Time-Based Media : Provide an alternative (e.g., transcript) for time-based media (e.g., audio/video) that presents equivalent information, or link to textual information with comparable information for non-prerecorded media).
- Adaptable : Create content that can be presented in different ways without losing information or structure.
- Distinguishable : Make it easy for users to see and hear content, including separating foreground and background, by using readable fonts, larger font sizes, and highlighted link styling for example.
- Keyboard Accessible : Make all functionality available from a keyboard.
- Timing : Provide enough time for users to read and use content.
- Seizures : Do not include design elements that are known to cause seizures (e.g., rapid flashing).
- Navigable : Provide multiple ways to allow users to navigate content including obvious/prominent links and other techniques.
- Readable : Make text content readable and understandable via styling and other techniques.
- Predictable : Make web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
- Input Assistance : Assist users with web experience, correct mistakes and describe errors in text.
- Compatible : Maximize compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies.
Compliance shouldn’t be scary and isn’t complicated. Knowing the right strategies and processes will help you build a great website solution that meets compliance, drives your rankings on the internet, and is a great solution for all.
The Americans with Disabilities Act advocates on behalf of some of the most vulnerable members of our society. It is undeniable that taking steps to ensure complete accessibility for people who are living with a disability is the right move, but ADA compliance is more than just charity; it’s an opportunity.
Taking steps to connect with consumers who are living with disabilities will help your business tap into an entirely new consumer base. Becoming an advocate for people protected under the ADA also has the potential to plug your business in with new parts of your local community, thus raising your profile. To learn more about how ADA compliance can help your business grow, we’d encourage you to reach out to us and ask!
Thanks to a wave of lawsuits over failure to comply with ADA regulations, financial institutions around the country have been taking steps to limit their liabilities. Because so many Americans with disabilities depend on financial institutions on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is a huge liability.
Organizations working in the healthcare sector have a great many people with disabilities who actively depend on their services being 100% accessible to them. This means that complete ADA compliance is, increasingly, an ethical and legal priority for industry leaders. Don’t let your organization be left behind!
The Americans with Disabilities Act advocates on behalf of some of the most vulnerable members of our society. It is undeniable that taking steps to ensure complete accessibility for people who are living with a disability is the right move, but ADA compliance is more than just charity; it’s an opportunity.
Taking steps to connect with consumers who are living with disabilities will help your business tap into an entirely new consumer base. Becoming an advocate for people protected under the ADA also has the potential to plug your business in with new parts of your local community, thus raising your profile. To learn more about how ADA compliance can help your business grow, we’d encourage you to reach out to us and ask!