Understanding the Essence of ADA Compliance in Websites
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a piece of legislation that plays a significant role in shaping the nature of website creation in the US. The evolution of this law has also birthed a new legal industry that leverages the courts to hold website owners accountable. The regulations have led to increased lawsuits, particularly in states such as New York, California, and Florida.
Importance of Website Accessibility
Website accessibility is critical due to a variety of reasons. Firstly, it has a legal implications, with non-compliant websites being liable for lawsuits. Secondly, it impacts DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) by ensuring the website is usable for individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, it affects the digital landscape by promoting websites that adhere to world-wide-web consortium (W3C) guidelines. Lastly, compliance with accessibility guidelines presents opportunities to interact with a broader audience.
Interestingly, data shows that in 2023, about 96.3% of homepages are not compliant with an average of 50.0 barriers per homepage.
Website Compliance with WCAG
An authoritative guide on web accessibility is the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG). The Web Content Accessibility Guideline has been hailed as the de facto standard for digital accessibility.
WCAG website compliance standards include:
Perceivable
- Text alternatives for non-text content.
- Captions and other alternatives for multimedia.
- Content that can be presented differently without losing meaning.
- Content made easier for users to see and hear.
Operable
- All functionality should be available from a keyboard.
- Users should get ample time to read and use content.
- Prohibition of content that causes seizures.
- User assistance in navigating and locating content.
Understandable
- Readable and understandable text.
- Content operation and appearance should be predictable.
- Assistance to users to avoid and rectify mistakes.
Robust
- Maximizing compatibility with current and future user tools.
Path to ADA Compliant Website
The process of achieving website accessibility entails two steps; conducting a website audit, followed by website remediation based on the findings of the audit.
ADA Compliance Audit Best Practices
A website audit should not solely rely on automated audits because WCAG interpretations require nuanced understanding. Automated tools can only detect about 30% of WCAG issues. As such, human testing is necessary. The cost of an audit depends on the size and complexity of your website and your ultimate goals.
How to Reduce Audit Costs
For owners who find full audit costs prohibitive, pragmatic measures have been suggested. Including auditing key pages or resorting to automated-only audits.
ADA Website Remediation
After the audit, the design, development, and content teams can implement the recommendation from the audit findings.
Maintaining Web Accessibility and ADA Compliance
Since websites are frequently updated, to maintain accessibility, schedule periodic WCAG audits. This will ensure consistent compliance with the WCAG guidelines and ADA requirements.
Overcoming ADA compliance may seem intimidating, but breaking it down into phases can help make it manageable.
Tags: #ADAAccessibility, #WebsiteCompliance, #WCAG, #DigitalInclusion
[Reference Link](!https://www.accessibility.works/blog/2023-wcag-ada-website-compliance-standards-requirements/)