Why Web Accessibility Matters

ADA Compliance and Website Accessibility has become an increasingly hot topic in the small business world. While it's certainly not a new thing, I've been hearing more and more chatter from clients and their colleagues about getting scary-sounding letters from lawyers about their website not being ADA compliant.

So I wanted to give you an update about what I'm doing to help clients like you become compliant for three important reasons.

But first, let's take a step back and define some terms...

Web Accessibility refers to the "practice of designing and developing websites, tools, and technologies so people with disabilities can use them, ensuring everyone can perceive, navigate, and interact with the web. It removes barriers, allowing individuals with visual, auditory, physical, or cognitive impairments to access digital content effectively." (source)

ADA Compliance refers to the "adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards and regulations, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design (ADAAG) (1). This comprehensive set of guidelines ensures that people with disabilities have equal access to various aspects of public life, including employment, transportation, and businesses." (source)

In layman's terms, web accessibility and ADA compliance means having a website that everyone can access and interact with, regardless of their disability.

The Most Important Reason Web Accessibility Matters

The fact is, approximately 16% of the world’s population (about 1 in 6 people) lives with a significant disability which means that globally, at least 600 million to 800 million people with disabilities are accessing the internet every single day. This is Reason #1 (and the most important reason) why it's important to consider website accessibility for your business or organization.

Undoubtedly, a certain number of those people are accessing (or trying to access) your website on a regular basis. So naturally, we want a website that is accessible for our friends who have a physical disability.

But how do we know if a website is accessible (ie ADA Compliant)?

Web Accessibility Standards & Guidelines

Some really smart people got together a while back to develop guidelines and standards for this sort of thing. We call them Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which have become the international standard for websites.

Numerous tools have also been developed to audit or scan a website to see if it has any glaring accessibility issues. While the only way to ensure 100% accessibility is to do manual testing with real people who have a real disability, the scanning tools we have are very helpful in finding issues that need to be addressed.

That's where I come in. But first, I need to tell you about the other two reasons it's important to have an accessible website.

The Real-World Risk (The "Shakedown" Era)

There has been a massive surge in "demand letters" and lawsuits targeting small and mid-sized businesses whose websites aren't ADA compliant.

You may have seen the news about Sara Campbell, a boutique owner who was hit with multiple lawsuits for minor accessibility code issues. Even after trying to fix the site, she ended up paying nearly $200,000 in legal fees, settlements, and remediation costs.

Many law firms now use automated software to scan thousands of sites a day, looking for "easy targets" to send demand letters to (often ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 just to settle).

Now let me be clear. I have not personally had a client receive such a demand letter. And "avoiding lawsuits" is not the main reason to make sure your website is ADA compliant, but in this "litigation-happy" world we live in, it's smart to do what you can to help avoid receiving a nasty letter from a law firm you've never heard of.

SEO and Site Performance (Reason #3)

The same things that make a site accessible—like clear headings, descriptive image text (alt-text), and high color contrast—are the exact same things Google looks for when ranking your site. An accessible site is a faster, more search-friendly site.

And that's good news for you. Because anytime I create a website, I have SEO and Site Performance top of mind.

So your website is probably not in terrible shape when it comes to ADA compliance. In fact, many of the modern technologies used to build websites (such as WordPress) have bee built with website accessibility in mind.

So while there are almost certainly issues on your site that need to be remedied, the time and effort involved is probably relatively low (ie not expensive).

How I Can Help: Accessibility Remediation

Having done ADA compliance fixes for a few clients already (and my own site), I have developed a streamlined process called Accessibility Remediation. My goal isn't just to "patch" your site, but to bring it up to the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard—the gold standard for digital compliance.

This remediation service includes:

Site Audit: I scan every page (for smaller sites; the main/important pages for larger sites) for errors and alerts using professional tools like WAVE and Google Lighthouse.
Technical Fixes: I adjust contrast, fix navigation menus, and optimize code for screen readers.
Accessibility Statement: I add a customized Accessibility Statement to your footer (you can see mine here) that signals to both users and lawyers that you are actively committed to website accessibility and ADA compliance.
Full Reporting: I provide you with a report showing "before" and "after" results of the scans.

While no one can guarantee 100% immunity from a lawsuit, taking these proactive steps is the best way to "keep the sharks away" while making your site more accessible for everyone, regardless of their disability.

This service starts at $275 for websites up to 10 pages. The price can go up depending on how many pages a site has and how much fixing is required.

But again, if I'm the one who built your site, odds are it's in pretty good shape already.

If you want to have me bring your website up to standard, let me know and I'll give you a specific price quote for your site.

Ready to win on the web?

You'll win so much you'll be tired of winning. 🙂 Drop me a note below to get the conversation started.

Cristers Media

Headquarters in Texas USA.
Serving clients worldwide.

Call or text:
469-751-2493