When most people think of ADA compliance, it's easy to fall into the trap that meeting ADA standards only means prepping your physical location to accommodate disabilities reasonably. However, most companies overlook the importance of preparing their digital platforms for ADA compliance. Websites need to be reasonably accommodated to be accessible by law. The best and most recommended way to stay up to date with online accessibility is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). WCAG is the standard for web compatibility and covers a wide range of recommendations for making web content more accessible for various disabilities and devices.
Of course, there is a large amount of information out there about the best practices for creating or adapting a website to meet this standard. To break it down, WCAG can be highlighted into four sections.
Your website is a step closer to following WCAG if it is:
This means that your website must be able to adapt to people with disabilities. If a website is perceivable, it might offer alternative text, audio assistance or alternatives, have high contrast colors, and mark what language is used in the website's header code. If it is operable, it will have a clear hierarchy with a header and easy-to-navigate menus. If the content is understandable, it might avoid using long, unnecessary words. If it is robust, then your website will be able to work on any device it needs to.
All of these factors make a world of a difference when it comes to making your website just a little more usable for people with disabilities. People often design websites as visual pieces, but they must also be functional and usable by all sorts of people. Making a website too complex or confusing can vastly change how accessible it is. In addition, a website that is not accessible is far less likely to be boosted by search engines and is less likely to be seen as often. This only adds to the urgency of setting your website up to be ADA compliant.
As a note, there is a new ruling under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires web content for state and local governments to meet specific standards of WCAG by a certain deadline, depending on population. The first deadline is in April 2026. Check out this fact sheet for more information.
Further details on these deadlines:
Need a little help making your website ADA compliant, or would you like us to train your people? Contact Poole Communications at 573-221-3635... or email us at info@poolecommunications.com.
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