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What Is ADA Compliance For Websites And Do I Need It?

Most business owners know about ADA compliance when it comes to their brick and mortar building. Making sure everything has handrails, is wheelchair accessible, and that you have the correct signage. But did you know that there's requirements for accessibilities when it comes to your website? The WCAG or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are required for your website to follow and I guarantee you, your current website doesn't follow them.

Hats wearer Hayden Anderson. Owner and Founder of Jolly Web Consulting. Based in Boulder Colorado
Hayden Anderson
June 6, 2022

Most business owners know about ADA compliance when it comes to their brick and mortar building. Making sure everything has handrails, is wheelchair accessible, and that you have the correct signage. But did you know that there's requirements for accessibilities when it comes to your website? The WCAG or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are required for your website to follow and I guarantee you, your current website doesn't follow them.

Less than 2% of websites are compliant with these guidelines. Some companies are even being sued by random people for their websites and getting a huge toll put on their bottom lines. Worse than that, there are a lot of people that aren't able to access your business and get the help that you provide to them. How many people? It's estimated that 15% of the internet are people with disabilities and over $1.2 trillion is lost annually by businesses not having accessible websites across the world.

So what can you do make your website compliant? There are many requirements to be fully compliant which you can find at the WCAG website. But some basics that you want to keep in mind when building a website is keeping contrast, using alt text for images, captions for videos, and ensuring that your website is navigable via keyboard. If you don't want to get into the nitty gritty, you can hire a web designer trained in compliance to go through your website and teach you or your developer or purchase a subscription service like accessibe that will cost you approximately ~$50/month. If you're concerned about being sued or want to be available now I recommend purchasing accessibe and then finding a developer (like Jolly Web Consulting) that is trained in updating your website to accessibility standards to get you out of that $50/month sink hole.

So what can you do for your website now? Well I would check it right now at this free accessibility checker and find out the main issues you have with your website. Most of the time it's making sure your font is big enough and has enough contrast from the backgrounds that your text is on. If you want to be more thorough, you can always sign up for a free consultation with Jolly Web Consulting! In summary, yes, you should make sure your website is accessible not only to service more people and not get sued, but so you can grow your business and be differentiate from your competitors. It's a win-win scenario and fully worth the investment.

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