In 2010, the US Department of Justice established detailed guidelines for all governmental bodies to follow to become disability-friendly. This includes blind people who use computers and other smart devices.

Being ADA compliant is a proactive step to help businesses grow and be more inclusive. The Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design is abbreviated as (ADA). In other words, your website must be accessible to people with impairments.

The ADA is frequently confused with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. On the other hand, ADA compliance is civil legislation that mandates the full participation of all citizens, including those with disabilities. This includes the workplace, schools, public transit, etc. They both have the same goals, but Section 508 only applies to federal contracts.

The two rules also support the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The WCAG is a set of stated criteria for increasing accessibility. HTML accessibility across platforms is the main focus of the WCAG standard.

The ADA does not include website ADA accessibility regulations. To guide legal claims for online accessibility non-compliance, courts are increasingly referring to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) writes the WCAG by pooling resources from diverse web organizations. WCAG 2.2 is currently being developed and will be released in 2022. The WCAG 2.1 is the most recent version of these standards.

If all public spheres must comply with website ADA accessibility requirements, does this indicate you must also?

Since the ADA covers all electronic information and technology, including the world wide web and its websites, practically all businesses and web creators must comply with the ADA. To be more explicit, the ADA requires compliance with the following:

• Organizations of state and local government.

• Private businesses with 15 or more employees.

• Organizations that work for the greater good of the public (i.e., public transportation, schools, restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, hotels, banks, accountant offices, law offices, social service centres, gyms, healthcare providers, the United States Postal Service, and so on).

• Establishments that would qualify as a place of public accommodation (Title III).

All websites should be ADA compliant and accessible to all, even if the ADA rules do not apply to you or your company.

So, how can you ensure that your website complies with ADA standards? The first universal advice is to follow the WCAG 2.0 guidelines. The rules for WCAG 2.0 use a three-tiered grading system:

• Level A: Your website is only available to a limited number of users.

• Level AA: Almost all people can visit your website.

• Level AAA: Your website is available to all users.

It is frequently sufficient to meet Level AA compliance standards. However, the best course of action is to develop (or rebuild) your website to be completely compliant to avoid leaving anyone out.

For some, ADA compliance requires a complete redesign of their website to incorporate accessible options into their HTML coding. It's expensive and time-consuming, but it's also necessary. Additionally, if you do not take action, the fee will increase.

Consider ADA compliance as a positive. It's a technique to make your organization more inclusive, which results in increased revenue and a better reputation. If you require assistance in getting started, contact us immediately. We specialize in ADA compliance and website ADA accessibility services and will quickly bring you to the greatest level of ADA compliance.