ADA Website Accessibility Law: All You Need to Know
The percentage of adults with some disability stands at a hefty 26%. It means that one in four adults suffer from disabilities in the USA. So, it was evident that the authority would step in to make the web more accessible for the disabled. It eventually translated into the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It is also popularly known as the ADA website accessibility law.
What does the ADA website accessibility mean for businesses?
ADA is an additional measure that works in tandem with all the different accessibility laws at the state and federal levels. It was enacted back in 1990 when the internet was in its infancy. Therefore, the law couldn't formulate any specific regulations to define website accessibility. However, it still requires businesses falling under ADA Title I and ADA Title III to provide ''reasonable accessibility'' for the disabled.
Any business with a minimum of 15 employees and operating at least 20 weeks or more a year falls under the Title 1 provision of ADA website accessibility law. At the same time, Title III classifies businesses offering services under the ''public accommodation'' domain such as banks, hotels, public transport services, etc. Therefore, in addition to providing digital accessibility, these businesses must also ensure physical accommodations for people with disabilities.
How to ensure accessibility and avoid ADA lawsuits?
With no clearly defined guidelines in the ADA website accessibility law, it can be somewhat tricky to know which steps to take to comply with it. However, it would help fulfill all the requirements suggested in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. In addition, businesses can go even beyond that by integrating some assistive technologies into their website. For example, innovative technology like Recite Me can make a website inclusive and accessible with features like text to speech, translation tools, reading aids, styling features, etc.