Accessibility
ADA Compliance
Are you ADA Compliant?
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Why is ADA compliance important?
ADA compliance refers to meeting the standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design. This act covers the accessibility of electronic and information technology, like websites.
Almost every business should follow ADA, which according to the law applies to the following organizations:
- State and local government agencies
- Private employers with 15 or more employees
- Companies operating for the public’s benefit
Even if ADA doesn’t apply to your company (say you employ 5 people), you should still have an ADA compliant website. You want to provide everyone with the same experience and level of accessibility.
Top reasons be ADA compliant
Guidelines for ADA compliance
WCAG 2.1 guidelines focus on four fundamental principles:
1. Perceivable
Content is presented in an easily perceivable manner. All images should have alt text, all videos should have captions, and all audio should be transcribed.
2. Operable
All website visitors should have the ability to navigate your site and use its features. Not everyone can use a mouse. Make sure you can navigate your website with the keyboard as well.
3. Understandable
No one should have difficulty understanding your website and its content. Add labels to forms, make sure header tags are in the correct order, and ensure your site at minimum meets the contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text and graphics.
4. Robust
ADA-compliant websites must provide all site visitors with the same experience. Ensure your website's code is clean and operable on different browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Edge.
The Americans with Disabilities Act on online accessibility has been and will likely remain vague for the near future. In lieu of a clear set of national guidelines, following WCAG accessibility standards remains the best option for most businesses. It’s not just a smart way to avoid accessibility lawsuits and negative publicity but providing accessible websites for all users is the right thing to do.