Why Your Business Website Needs to Be ADA-Compliant

When building your website, you should be mindful of everyone who comes to visit it. It should be fairly easy to access and user-friendly for a broad range of visitors. By doing this, you’re ensuring that each member of your audience will feel included and that they get the most optimal user experience.  

When it comes to ensuring proper web accessibility, the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA comes into play. In this article, we’ll go over what ADA stands for, why it’s important, and how to make sure your website is ADA-compliant.   

What Is ADA?

The ADA is a law that was passed in 1990. It protects people with disabilities from discrimination and ensures that they’re given equal opportunities like everyone else. Aside from the private and public sectors, the ADA encompasses the world of the Internet.

Today, website owners must make sure that their site can address the needs of people with disabilities. They must optimize it in terms of layout and content to make it more navigable and comprehensible for users. But most importantly, the level of its accessibility must pass the standards set by the ADA.  

Importance of ADA Compliance

More people are becoming aware of their right to digital inclusion. This is seen in the growing number of web accessibility lawsuits over the past few years. As a website owner, you should ensure that your site adheres to ADA’s latest rules and regulations. Otherwise, you’ll risk receiving legal complaints and lose clients.  

An even bigger reason why your website must be accessible is so you can engage with as many clients as possible. By providing them a great user experience, you can build long-term relationships with your clients. Web accessibility contributes to your overall business growth.  

Guidelines for ADA

You must follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), so you’ll know how to best structure your website for everyone. Here are some of the salient points of the WCAG.  

• Write clearly—your headlines and titles must accurately describe your content. This means avoiding clickbait. The text must also be easy to read, so go for bulleted lists as much as possible to break up walls of text. 
• Don’t just rely on plain text. Some people use screen readers, so include alt text to describe your images and other visual elements in your website. If you have videos, offer transcripts, captions, or other auditory options for them to experience the content. 
• Your website must be mobile-friendly and navigable with a mouse and keyboard. Also, include shortcut links, so your visitors can jump to the main content easily. 

The above guidelines are just a few points. For the full list, visit the WCAG website. 

Optimizing Your Website for ADA Compliance

To be ADA-compliant, you must do a thorough review of your website using the ADA and WCAG guidelines. It’s also essential to catch up with the latest updates, so you’ll know what changes to make.  

However, keeping updated and ensuring full compliance isn’t easy. Thankfully, there’s a solution that can make the process much easier. With ADA Web Accessibility, they can make your website ADA compliant and help you create engaging content for everyone. 

To learn more, check out ADA Web Accessibility today.