The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 to ensure that people with disabilities had equal access to the same opportunities. Whether it’s an office building, retail store, or website, businesses must be prepared to welcome people with special needs and make sure their websites are ADA compliant. In this guide, we’ll walk you through making an ADA compliant website and help you understand what you need to do to create a website that meets legal standards and makes all customers feel welcome.
What is the ADA?
The ADA stands for Americans with Disabilities Act. It was passed in 1990 by congress and prohibited discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. If you do business online or have a website, then you need to be ADA compliant.
Why Should I Care About the ADA Compliance?
Because it’s not just a civil rights law, it’s a business opportunity. Moreover, a website that meets ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) guidelines provides disabled individuals with equal access to your products and services. Failure to comply could mean serious penalties, including reimbursement for any fines levied against you and legal fees. Thus, having an ADA compliant website ensures that you’re treating all of your customers equally; it’s a win-win for everyone.
What are the Requirements of an ADA Compliant Website?
In short, an ADA compliant website must be simple and easy to navigate. Those with visual or hearing impairments should be able to easily locate information from your website using only their browser. This means you need to avoid plug-ins that might not work properly in screen readers. It also means that any images on your site need captions and alt text so they can be read aloud by screen readers as well as seen by those browsing visually. Finally, it’s important that ADA compliant websites have good contrast between text and background colors, so they are readable for those with color blindness. You can get in touch with your web design agency in Walnut Creek to know more.
Steps to Make Your Website ADA Compliant
Accessibility Audit
Perform an accessibility audit on your website to make sure your content can be read by as many people as possible. In general, all major ADA and Section 508 compliant websites will already have implemented alt tags and title tags, but there’s always room for improvement. If you need to make more extensive changes, get in touch with a web design company in Bay Area to make sure your website is ADA compliant.
Fix the Critical Components of Your Website for Accessibility
Think about all of your website’s components, from button functionality to product photos and checkout steps. Each piece of your site must be ADA compliant, or it risks being removed from search engine results. So don’t take any chances when it comes to making sure your website is ADA compliant. It only takes a few small changes to make a big difference.
ADA Compliance Plugins for WordPress
WordPress has a range of plugins that make it easy for you to create an ADA-compliant website or ensure your existing one is in line with ADA requirements. These plugins include detailed instructions on how you can use them to make sure your site follows ADA guidelines.
