Website Accessibility: WCAG & ADA Compliance Guide

Understanding WCAG Guidelines and ADA Requirements

By Amplified Audience Partners

Your website is your gateway to the digital world. Is it open to all?

It’s important for visitors to your website to find it easily accessible, usable, and a welcoming environment. That’s why website compliance is so important.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are international standards developed by the W3C to make web content accessible to people with disabilities. WCAG covers web pages, mobile apps, multimedia, and AI interfaces, and is organized under four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Each principle has testable success criteria at levels A, AA, and AAA, which determine conformance.

With roughly 15 percent of potential visitors to your site having a disability, and non-compliance lawsuits running upwards of $20,000, it’s vital to ensure the compliance of your website. This is particularly crucial if you’re a business drawing in a large and diverse audience, such as one in healthcare, banking, education, and other organizations with a wide reach.

Any store, restaurant, or place of business is considered a public space. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires these spaces to be accessible to everyone. Websites, given that most people spend a large percentage of their lives online, are considered public spaces as well.

WCAG 2.0 AA is the ADA online regulation. WCAG 2.0 was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the highest authority in web accessibility goals and universal design. The WCAG 2.0 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are a set of parameters for making digital content accessible for all users, including those with disabilities.

It’s important for your site to be regularly audited for compliance, not only to establish a baseline of its success, but to make sure that it maintains its standing as regulations expand and evolve.

Website compliance isn’t just about making your site accessible for those with disabilities (although that is an important factor), it’s about making it easier to navigate for everyone. Improving your web experience with a compliant website keeps visitors, and customers, happy.

That improved site usability helps enhance your image and your brand, and helps visitors find what they need, quickly.

There are a number of factors to consider.

Does your website have the correct readability and contrast standards for text and background? Does it provide closed captioning for video? Does it provide links to definitions? Does it ensure keyboard control for all website functions?

These are only a few of the considerations in making sure your website is compliant. Having an experienced team certified in compliance and up-to-date with all current regulatory parameters is key. The team at Amplified Audience Partners is fully certified and has decades of experience in bringing web content into conformance and can provide you information and guidance about your website and compliance regulations.

Amplified Audience Partners can make sure you have a fully compliant website, enhancing your visitor experience and protecting you from litigation in the future.

Need Help With Website Accessibility?

Your website should be accessible, easy to navigate, and welcoming to every visitor. Amplified Audience Partners can help you evaluate your website, identify accessibility issues, and develop a plan to improve usability and support applicable compliance requirements.

Let’s talk about your website. Contact Amplified Audience Partners to discuss a website accessibility review and determine the next steps for your business.

Contact Amplified Audience Partners