As a business owner, it makes sense to be concerned about your company and the people that visit your website to find out more. It's crucial to consider how your current and potential customers interact with your website to enhance their experience.

You can better meet their demands and ensure that everyone has adequate access to your site by considering the needs of those visiting you online.

What is ADA website compliance?

The Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design apply to ADA website compliance. It mandates that all digital content, including your website, be usable by people with disabilities.

ADA and Section 508 are frequently mixed up. ADA compliance differs from Section 508 in that it's a civil law. ADA compliance requires the inclusion of all individuals, particularly those with disabilities, in all spheres of public life — any setting accessible to the general public, such as a workplace, a school, or a transportation facility.

The objectives of the ADA and Section 508 are identical. However, only Section 508 compliance is required for Federal purchases (commercial enterprises that provide goods or services to the federal government.)

ADA Compliance Matters

According to government figures, 61 million adults in the US are disabled. Ensuring that your website is compliant gives those millions of Americans equal access.

Making your sites inclusive has financial benefits in addition to humanitarian ones. Online retailers who fail to make their sites compliant risk being fined up to $150,000 in court. But penalties aren't the only monetary factor to consider. Serving the American disabled community allows retailers to benefit from their $490 billion annual buying power.

Meeting Compliance Standards

How can you ensure your website complies with ADA guidelines? The first universally agreed-upon advice will be to adhere to the WCAG standards.

Your site needs to be perceivable. It should offer text-to-speech options as well as closed captioning.

Your site needs to be operable. In order to ensure your site is operable by those with disabilities, your need to hire a web designer that understands ADA compliance.

Your site needs to be understandable. The instructions for operating your website and your built-in tools should be easy to find in the navigation menu or home page.

Your site needs to be robust. Ensure that you don't lose any functionality of your tools whether the user is accessing the site from a web browser or a smartphone.