You have likely heard of ADA compliance about physical spaces, but did you know that there has been a spike in lawsuits related to websites failing to meet ADA compliance requirements?
If your website needs to be assessed and adjusted to ensure it is ADA and WCAG-compliant, it may be time to act. What does ADA compliancy mean, and why is it so important? That is what we will discuss in the following post and highlight the real risk you face of legal action if you act later and ensure your site is fully compliant.
What is ADA Compliance?
ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act Standards of 1990, and compliance with this, when spoken about regarding websites, refers to the section about the Standards for Accessible Design. While there are no strict technical standards laid out for websites in that act, given the time it was first put into place, in recent years, the section, as mentioned earlier, has been applied to all electronic information and technology, therefore your website. The ADA outlines that your site should be accessible to all people with disabilities.
Why Is Compliance So Important?
There are currently more than 61 million people living with disabilities in the country, with around 26% sharing one thing in common – they want equal access to online business services.
What Does ADA Compliance Mean for Your Website?
In much the same way that ADA compliance for physical business premises means that they are designed to make it easy for people with disabilities to access, ADA compliance for websites means any user can access them. This involves ensuring alternatives to audio or video content with closed captions and accessibility for assistive technologies such as screen readers.
The Number of Websites ADA Compliance Lawsuits Are Likely to Continue Increasing
It is worth noting that because the court systems were closed temporarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic from early 2020 to the first half of 2021, the number of active cases involving ADA compliance was low. However, as things returned to normal as the pandemic’s effects eased, there was a noted increase in lawsuits compared to 2019.
Why has there been an increase in lawsuits? It is because of the increase in awareness of just how vital digital accessibility is, along with the official opinion released by the Department of Justice on the matter earlier this year. High-profile court decisions like the infamous Robles vs. Domino’s Pizza, LLC lawsuit have meant that the legal consensus is that websites come under Title III in the ADA, even if the law does not have specific technical standards when it comes to digital accessibility.
You can find an informative post on why web accessibility should be top of mind for new business owners: HERE.
Act Today and Ensure Your Website is ADA Compliant to Avoid the Consequences
The bottom line is that if your website needs to be fully compliant with ADA requirements, you could find yourself facing disruptive and expensive lawsuits. You can avoid this happening by speaking to EDG.Tech and finding out how we can help to make your site ADA compliant.
