Top 3 Benefits of ADA Compliance for Your Website and Business

Technology has become so closely woven into people's lives that their social and economic activities are essentially incomplete without it. This reality holds true for Internet users with disabilities. More than 60% of U.S.-based adults with a disability own a laptop or desktop PC while 72% have their own smartphones. Moreover, 75% of them use the Internet daily. If there are over 40 million in America who have a disability, government and business offices have a huge responsibility to stay accountable when it comes to web accessibility.

Why ADA Compliance is Important

ADA refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which covers the rights of people with disabilities. These rights include access to the services of all types of entities, public and private. The law requires not just physical aids outside and within physical structures such as ramps, but also online spaces— particularly websites. 

Although ADA was passed in 1990, the compliance level worldwide remains wanting. Recent figures show that 98% of the top one million websites in the world don't pass accessibility compliance.

3 Benefits of Website ADA Compliance

Here are three reasons why your website and business should commit to it:

1. Legal protection and benefit

You can lower your risk of facing legal claims of ADA violations when you ensure your site and online platforms are fully accessible. At the same time, compliance allows you to receive Disabled Access Credit from the Internal Revenue Service, helping you recover the cost of your efforts.

2. Greater market reach and opportunity

ADA compliant websites can help you capture a wider market—from both consumers and members of the workforce with disabilities.

3. Improved brand reputation

Following ADA standards removes the technical barriers to understanding content or doing business online. This move is solid proof that you care for everyone's needs. It's something that paid ads can't do and can be appreciated by customers with and without disabilities.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

Recent guidance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) emphasized the importance of ADA compliance and how it can be achieved through web accessibility. In particular, the DOJ advised the public to refer to the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which it said federal agencies follow for their website-building.

Among the website features to check for web accessibility include the availability of zoom capability, audio or video volume adjustment, navigation without a mouse, and text captions for images.

4 Steps Toward Running a More Accessible Website

You and your company can work toward an ADA-compliant website by doing the following: 

• Incorporate accessibility into your culture.

Develop an awareness strategy that builds on the question "Why is accessibility important to my company?" and the most updated version of the WCAG.

• Audit

  

Determine how your current business aligns with WCAG standards. Professional service providers can help you perform an audit.

• Remediation

The experts who conducted an audit of your portal can deploy the needed solutions to make the necessary fixes. 

• Maintenance

Ensure that you and your staff get any required training for testing, reviewing, and maintaining this assistive technology. 

Pick the Right ADA Compliance Solution

Website plug-ins or add-on products are proliferating online, claiming to automate accessibility tweaks. However, they can only detect around 30% of issues at the most.