What is the ADA and how does it relate to websites?
The ADA affects any business or institution that employs 15 or more people, or offers goods or services to the public, and is a ‘place of public accommodation’. Increasingly, websites are being interpreted as places of public accommodation, although, opinion is divided.
Therefore, it’s critical to ensure your website is accessible, not only as your moral obligation but to avoid litigation.
What web accessibility standards does the ADA follow?
The ADA was written in 1990, and was never designed to cover websites. Being vaguely defined and inconsistently enforced, there is considerable disagreement over exactly what websites must do to comply with it.
The closest the US has to a consensus is the WCAG 2.0 AA standard. In many settlements, the US Department of Justice endorsed WCAG 2.0 AA as appropriate, and conveniently this is exactly the same standard required for Section 508 compliance.
What are the implications if my US websites are not accessible?
Nearly every well-known online retailer – including Target, Amazon, and Dominoes – has faced accessibility lawsuits. Target settled theirs for $6m. In many states, law firms are now actively searching for inaccessible websites to sue.
Data from our own Silktide Index highlights the top five accessibility issues facing government websites;
- Missing ‘Skip to content’ navigation
- Failure to identify form fields
- Using the same link text for different destinations
- Text with insufficient contrast
- Not marking navigation as lists
Any of these issues, while relatively simple to identify using Silktide’s platform, could leave you open to litigation.
How can I make my website ADA-compliant?
You may have an existing website or are building a brand-new one. Either way, the approach is very much the same. Watch our video to get a 4-step plan for starting your journey toward compliance.
How does Silktide help me comply with ADA?
Silktide’s platform automatically tests all your websites against the WCAG 2.1 (and WCAG 2.0) standards and presents you with remedial actions and educational information to help you become more accessible.
We’re able to automatically test all unambiguous success criteria, and we also cover the mobile device accessibility requirements introduced on the most recent WCAG 2.1 standards.
We would recommend that until such a time that the ADA defines the standards it uses, you ensure your website complies with WCAG 2.0 AA at an absolute minimum. You should additionally strive for mobile accessibility as per WCAG 2.1 AA.