What is ADA compliance?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),  was instituted in 1990 to end discrimination based on differing abilities. The act requires organizations to have “reasonable accommodations” for  employees with disabilities.

The regulations for websites have often been complicated, undergoing several amendments. However, commercial websites are classified places of public accommodation, and subject to ADA compliance standards.

Is ADA compliance mandatory?

Because it is not clear how ADA rules apply to a particular website, it is not currently mandatory for websites to be ADA compliant. The most reliable measure of compliance is the set of guidelines in the WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards. Level AA is the middle and most common target standard for most commercial websites. AAA is the highest standard but is often beyond the reach of most commercial websites.

How to test for ADA compliance?

Anyone can test  their website’s compliance at this free ADA Compliance Website Checker or manually with this Accessibility Chrome Extension.

Basic ADA compliance checklist

• Read the law documentation.
• All media files and maps should have an “alt” tag.
• All your online forms should have descriptive html tags.
• All hyperlinks should have a descriptive anchor text.
• All pages on your website have “skip navigation” links.
• All the text content should be structured using proper heading tags.
• All PDF files should be accessible.
• All videos should have subtitles, transcripts, and audio description.
• The color contrast of your web pages should be sufficient according to WCAG.
• All fonts should be accessible.
• All HTML tables should be populated with column headers, row identifiers and cell information.
• All audio files on your website should have a written caption.
• All call-to-action buttons on your website should have an accessible name and an ARIA label.
• All your website should be accessible with keyboard navigation.
• Have a website accessibility policy page.
• Have easily locatable contact information to allow users to request accessibility information.
• Test your website accessibility according to the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines.
• Automate your website accessibility check to prevent missing critical accessibility issue.’

Conclusion

Businesses looking for legal and case specific help to become ADA compliant should contact the legal experts at Chugh, LLP.

 

Works Cited

“ADA Compliance for Websites Explained – 18 Steps Checklist.” Siteimprove, www.siteimprove.com/glossary/ada-compliance.

“Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA.” ADA.gov, 5 June 2023, www.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance.

“U.S. Access Board - ADA Accessibility Standards.” ADA Accessibility Standards, www.access-board.gov/ada.