Website ADA Compliance: What it Really Means and How to Achieve It

You may have noticed more conversations around web accessibility over the past few years, and it seems like the push is typically driven by two very different things. On one side, you have the genuine need to make the World Wide Web accessible to everyone, including those who use alternative keyboards or visual aids. On the other side, you have disreputable law firms chasing quick compliance lawsuits through threatening letters. That second reason is far from a noble cause, but at the end of the day they both lead to the benefit of all web users. Let’s discuss the need for ADA compliance, what you can do on your own and how we handle accessibility at UPBrand.

What is Website ADA Compliance?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was established in 1990 to guarantee equal civil rights, and that same standard also applies to your digital presence. So, technically speaking, operating an inaccessible website for your business is considered a form of digital discrimination. That sounds harsher than it should and the majority of failures are out of ignorance, not intent.

At a base level, website compliance means providing clean website code so assistive tools like screen readers can read it without errors. While the ADA itself does not directly provide the rules, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (opens in a new window) are the international standard and what is generally enforced in federal courts. Meeting these guidelines is important for every single user who will interact with your brand. While it may feel like an extra step for you, it could save extra steps for your customers.

While it may feel like an extra step for you, it could save extra steps for your customers.

WCAG Compliance Levels

The WCAG are separated into three distinct tiers. At the least, businesses and organizations should follow the accessibility requirements included in WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Here are the differences between tiers, which build on each other. WebAIM has also put together a filterable checklist (opens in a new window) as an easy reference.

Level A: Minimum Foundation. Failing this tier means the website has critical technical roadblocks – such as a lack of keyboard navigation – that completely block assistive technologies from functioning.
Level AA: Legal Target and Global Benchmark. Meeting this tier solves the most common usability barriers for the widest audiences. It provides a stable and functional site, without requiring significant development resources, and should mean your site is compliant.
Level AAA: Gold Standard. This requires hyper-specialized functionality, such as full sign language interpretation for all video assets and advanced contrast settings. Because of its technicalities and requirements, this level is unattainable by most organizations.

How to Test Your Website for ADA Compliance

It’s easier than you think for someone – yes even you – to give your website an initial accessibility review. There are plenty of free tools out there, including one within Google Chrome. Google’s Lighthouse (opens in a new window) is an automated testing tool that evaluates a webpage’s accessibility, generating a score between 0 and 100, with just a few clicks. Tools like this can instantly scan your code and flag technical concerns.

There are a couple of notes regarding these tools though. First, many resources you’ll find through a quick search are trying to sell you their services. That’s not to suggest their audit and recommendations are not valid, but they may have some ulterior motives outside of an objective compliance audit. Second, like any other free online tool, there’s no guarantee it will identify all issues and fully solve any needs. But, they can be great starting points and often provide enough guidance to protect your site from those annoying lawsuit letters. That’s likely all those lawyers are referencing anyway.

What if you gave your site an audit and it didn’t pass? First of all, you’re not alone. A recent report (opens in a new window) noted that “full WCAG 2 A/AA conformance was certainly lower than 4.1%” in a review of the top one million homepages. That may provide some comfort, but it doesn’t mean you should ignore accessibility issues. This report identified some of the most common errors, most of which you can address on your own.

A person walking up a smooth ramp that runs alongside a flight of stairs, heading toward a browser window with one large button.

6 Steps to Improve Website Accessibility Without a Developer

You usually do not need a specialized web development team to address basic accessibility infrastructure. Focus on these accessibility fundamentals to fix many of the primary issues:

Organize with Logical Headers: Structure your pages using defined headings. Use Heading 1 (H1) for your main page title, Heading 2 (H2) for major subheadings and Heading 3 (H3) for smaller sub-sections. (Bonus: this is also good for your site’s SEO!)
Fill Image Descriptions: When uploading a photo, always fill in the alternative text field describing what is actually in the picture. This allows screen readers to explain the image to a visually impaired user. There are many AI tools to simplify this process, including the AI Image Alt Text Generator we often use.
Provide Descriptive Links: Avoid using generic button copy like Click Here or Read More. By writing out exact descriptions such as View our Summer Catalog, assistive tools can tell users where links will take them.
Keep Color Contrast High: Text should always stand out sharply against its background. Avoid things like light gray text on white backgrounds or colorful text on colored buttons. If website copy is a little difficult for you to read, it will be completely unreadable for a visually impaired visitor.
Label Form Fields: Every box on a contact submission or newsletter signup form needs a clear, visible title. Also, if a user makes an error filling out a field or submitting, ensure the system displays a clear message explaining the exact issue.
Use Your Keyboard: Try navigating your entire website using only the Tab and Enter keys. Make sure you can access every menu item and button smoothly and verify that you never get trapped inside a specific page element.

The Reality of Accessibility Plugins

A lot of businesses drop a paid accessibility widget or plugin onto their site and call it a day, such as accessiBe (opens in a new window). These tools certainly help and provide more accessibility options than most sites can on their own by providing enhanced visibility, screen reader, keyboard navigation, custom profiles, visual adjustments, etc. Although it can get your site to a WCAG 2.2 at the AA level, understand that this is an overlay and does not directly fix accessibility issues on your site. We would recommend playing with some of the accessiBe settings on an existing site to help you understand the variety of accessibility needs a site should support.

The catch with these plugins is they rarely cover full compliance on their own. Although they are very helpful tools, they are only overlays on the site and do not fix the root code. As an example, if you have a header link without a button, no plugin will be able to magically fix that. They’re a great tool and provide additional accessibility support, but they are not a catch-all for compliance.

How UPBrand Helps Without the Hassle

When it comes to this whole website compliance conversation, our goal is always to best serve our clients and their brands. First – and we’ll be completely honest – website accessibility is not what gets us out of bed in the morning. We’re a strategic creative shop at heart and following detailed and evolving compliance rules is not something we want to chase. But, if there’s a need to update websites to specific WCAG standards, we will do it in the same way we do everything else – with strategy, experience and passion.

When we build websites at UPBrand, we take basic accessibility into account. This includes the bullet points above along with some other basic practices. We’ve also brought older websites up to a Level AA standard. However, meeting strict, certified compliance benchmarks does take extra hours and budget – and we don’t assume every client wants or needs that level of technical build-out. If you do need it, we’re happy to help you get there, whether that’s through custom code or even a simple paid plugin.

Digital compliance can be confusing, ambiguous and feel like an impossible target. But, finding solutions to complex brand challenges is what we do every day. If you need help navigating website accessibility, or if you want to look at the bigger picture of your brand’s strategy, please contact our team. We have an experienced group across a variety of industries who are ready to handle the finest details and most nuanced brand challenges.