How to Ensure You Have an ADA Compliant Website – The Tips You Need to Follow

If you’re interested in carving out a niche for yourself or your business online, creating your ADA compliant website is a must. Now, over the course of building your website, you may forget to consider certain things given how focused you are on making something that is eye-catching and engaging.

It’s understandable that your focus is squarely on creating the best website possible but do note that there are certain standards you also need to abide by.

To be more specific, you need to make an ADA compliant website.

Initially, the ADA compliance website may seem like an odd requirement. Or at least that may seem like the case until you start looking into what the law is about.

Via ADA.gov; the aforementioned piece of legislation “prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life.”

With the help of the ADA, they give people with disabilities access to the same employment opportunities.They can also take part in the programs hosted by the government while also making use of their services. They designed the ADA to make it possible for disabled individuals to purchase the same products and services that other people do.

That last line is particularly important, and it’s also the reason why paying attention to ADA guidelines is crucial if you run a website.

For those planning to promote and sell offerings via their website, ADA compliance is something to be mindful of.

Why ADA Compliance Is Now a Point of Emphasis for Websites

They originally signed the ADA into law on July 26, 1990. Back then, the internet was not something a lot of people knew about.

Since then, the online world has become an essential part of everyday life. Some people work exclusively online,communicate with their loved ones through online channels, and complete the bulk or even the entirety of their shopping with the aid of digital storefronts.

Because of how important the internet has become;people urged the Department of Justice to clarify whether they covered the online-based businesses under title III of the ADA.As noted in this publication by ADA.gov, the Department of Justice agreed with the people saying that ADA compliance is important for websites; especially, those that act as online stores.

Going back to the publication, it also states that the Department of Justice has “taken the position that title III covers access to Web sites of public accommodation.” It goes on to further note that the Department of Justice has already provided guidelines regarding how the websites of public entities can make themselves more accessible to disabled individuals.

Website owners can use those guidelines as a reference as they go through the process of creating their own ADA compliant online property.

How Can I Create ADA Websites?

To gain an idea of how to create your own ADA websites, it helps to reference information provided by ADA.gov while also reviewing the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

First off, it would be a good move on the part of the website developer to create something that can be perceived by individuals with disabilities. While most people have no trouble interpreting non-text content such as images that are displayed on websites, the same does not hold true for people dealing with disabilities that affect their eyesight.

Disabled individuals may sometimes use screen readers and refreshable Braille displays to interpret the content present on a particular webpage, but those tools will not help if they must read an image.

To get around that issue, developers are urged to include lines of HTML code that describes the image. The code can be lengthened or shortened depending on the images used.

Website owners may also sometimes post video or audio-only content and because of that, disabled individuals may have a hard time understanding what they are for.

For that reason, they urge website operators to provide accompaniments that can make their content more accessible. If you intend to post a video, make sure that it has sound so that individuals with vision problems can still understand it. Captions should also be provided for videos to make it easier for individuals with hearing problems to interpret them properly.

Beyond those guidelines, there are other things developers need to keep in mind.

Include a skip navigation link that can be helpful to disabled individuals. A feature such as this will make it possible for them to go to the content even if they use screen readers.

They advise business owners to make their websites fully accessible via keyboards.Doing so will help make navigation a more manageable task for disabled individuals.

Why You Should Create an ADA Compliant Website

The first reason why you should create a website that complies with ADA guidelines is that it could save you a lot of money. Know that websites that fail to make themselves accessible to disabled individuals can be subject to lawsuits.

If you wind up losing that case, you may have to pay a fine that ranges from $50,000 to $100,000.

Another reason why you should make compliant websites is that you stand to gain a lot from doing so. Preventing paying customers from accessing your products and/or services because your website is unable to accommodate them would be a huge mistake. Correct that right away and boost the earning potential of your business.

How to Create ADA Websites Faster

With all the other business matters you must handle, sitting down and learning to craft a website that abides by ADA guidelines may be a task you have no time for. The good news is that you can entrust that responsibility to other professionals.

By enlisting the help of LaV1, you can focus on other tasks as they carefully create a new and improved website that can be accessed by all potential customers. Seek LaV1’s help right now and set your plans to have a better website into motion.