Make Your Website Accessible For People With Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) places several legal duties on businesses to ensure that their services are accessible to people living with disabilities. While most company bosses immediately think of interventions like disabled ramps and automatic doors, the ADA extends into the digital realm too.

Creating an ADA-compliant website is a challenge. According to the law, businesses need to provide “reasonable accessibility” to people with disabilities, which often requires the implementation of a variety of techniques. Fortunately, we’re here to help. Our website design and development services automatically incorporate ADA compliance, allowing you to comply with federal law.

SEO And ADA Compliance Go Hand-in-Hand

It’s not just the government that wants companies to offer ADA-compliant websites, but Google too. The impact of ADA-compliance on SEO is often so dramatic that we find it best to provide both services as a bundle. You can take care of your legal ADA duties while at the same time using it as an investment to enhance your search engine optimization. Our services, therefore, not only provide your disabled customer base with better accessibility but enhance your search ranking too.

The rules currently state that any business that employs more than fifteen people and operates for more than twenty weeks of the year must offer ADA-compliant websites. The law, however, isn’t clear on what constitutes a compliant website, and so much of what we do know comes from various court cases, such as Gil v. Winn-Dixie.

As a business, you don’t want to spend precious time staying up to date with all of the outcomes of recent court cases to know what constitutes an ADA-compliant website and what doesn’t. Fortunately, we do all of the legwork for you, applying new insights the moment that they come through the legal system.

How We Develop Your ADA-Compliant Website

Accessibility means providing website facilities that make it easier for people with hearing loss, sight loss, or cognitive disabilities to use your site. While developing an ADA-compliant website is an investment, it can protect your organization against hefty lawsuits.

Here are some of the tools that we use to develop your ADA-compliant website:

  • Consistent, organized layouts. We create site menus that clearly delineate between various website pages, making it easier for disabled customers to navigate your site. The menu on each page is predictable, informative, and offers clear direction to all users.
  • Alternative suggestions following input errors. A person with a disability might struggle to navigate your website using standard inputs. We, therefore, put in place systems that offer alternative suggestions when a user’s interaction appears inconsistent with their goals. Again, you can point to this in your defense should a customer accuse you of failing to comply with the ADA.
  • Identify the site language. People who use text readers often rely on the header to identify the site language. We, therefore, put in place, site language in the header code.
  • Audio and video transcripts. Some people might not be able to hear the sound generated by audio or video elements on the pages of your website. We, therefore, create transcripts to provide support for those with hearing loss. Today, we can generate many audio and video transcripts automatically, negating the need to hire transcription services.
  • Audio tags for images and videos. Not all website users can see visual elements on your pages. We create audio tags for all your pictures and video, describing to users what your pages display. Alt-tags offer brief descriptions of objects on the page and prove that you cater to people with visual impairment or sight loss.

Failure to comply with ADA puts your business at risk of lawsuits. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly common for attorneys to seek out non-compliant websites on behalf of customers and begin formal legal proceedings. The courts often force businesses to comply with ADA rules and demand that they pay attorney’s fees, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Thus, we think it makes sense for organizations to take proactive steps now to eliminate the risk of legal action in the future. With us, you can stay one step ahead of the law and protect your interests.

While the ADA might seem a little subjective – and it is – we believe that the courts continue to operate in good faith, asking businesses to take reasonable steps to provide access to customers. For this reason, taking action today is prudent. In partnership with us, you can avoid inaccessible components on your website and violations of Title III.

Ongoing Support

ADA compliance and technology are always changing. What the courts define as “reasonable accessibility” continues to evolve, meaning that companies that are compliant today might not be in the future.

That’s why we offer ADA compliance as a rolling monthly service alongside SEO. ADA compliance isn’t, unfortunately, a one-off intervention. It is something that you need to update continually as various cases make their way through the courts. You might find that you are compliant one month and then non-compliant the next.

We take care of all of these details when you choose to use our ADA compliant websites and SEO services. You get access to a team of people; all committed to ensuring that your site doesn’t pose any risk to the financial and legal stability of your organization. When you pass responsibility for ADA compliance over to us, you get peace of mind.

Get ADA Compliant Websites & SEO Services Today

Are you worried about falling foul of the ADA? Would you like to provide your customers with better accessibility options? Do you want peace of mind?

If so, we can help. We audit your entire website, looking for instances in which disabled users might not be able to take common paths through your site to achieve their goals. We then put in place a range of strategies to disarm any potential legal case against you, reducing your legal risk, and enhancing your SEO.