Aside from site security, adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is increasingly becoming one of the major requirements for creating a website. Today, we will share with you your basic to-do list to up your company website ADA compliance.
Before anything else, it is important to be aware that the acknowledged standards to adhere to are set by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) published by the World Wide Web Consortium. The principles described below are also defined by the WCAG.
1. PERCEIVABLE
Websites are composed of audio and visual media. In order to be usable by everyone, considerations must be made for disabilities that include vision and hearing impairments. This can be done by using basic measures as providing alt text for images and closed captioning for sounds and dialogue in videos. It cannot be underestimated how far a simple subtitle can go for a short video ad on your site.
2. OPERABLE
The key thing to note for a website to be operable is navigation. Even if a site has all the ingredients for perceivable media, if it is hard to browse in the absence of a computer mouse, it will still fail to uphold ADA principles. While it is expected that more users will start engaging on the internet solely on their mobile phones, the number of people who still use desktop computers cannot be disregarded. Options must be set in place for seamless navigation using only keyboard commands.
3. UNDERSTANDABLE
The ADA recognizes persons with learning disabilities as people who must also be protected from discrimination. Since websites contain information that need to be absorbed and interpreted, the WCAG recommends that media be presented in such a way that it does not discriminate against limitations in understanding. Websites can observe this by using consistent language that is not fraught with jargon. The easier to comprehend your message, the less questions you will also encounter from your customers.
4. ROBUST
Technology is constantly improving. Every day, we are finding solutions to old problems and relegating these troubles to our past. Persons with disabilities are now able to acquire more convenient ways to move around in the world with the use of assistive technologies. In order to serve more people from all walks of life, your website must be ready to accommodate the latest software that helps persons with disabilities access the internet.
Benefits to ADA Compliance
Ensuring that your site is up to date with WCAG 2.1 rules does two things. Firstly, it protects you from possible lawsuits that can cost you and your business tens of thousands of dollars. A simple search engine entry will return you as many results to show you that the onslaught of online ADA lawsuits has yet to reach its peak. ADA compliance online also helps you keep in touch with a market that includes all kinds of people with individual limitations and capabilities. This means more exposure and more profit for you in the long run. You’re not just saving and earning some money; you’re doing the right thing that needs to be done.
