DG Studio

Having an ADA-compliant website can boost the success of your website! Many of the techniques that make websites more accessible for those dealing with a disability also make life easier for those who don’t deal with one. Simple access to an easy-to-use website encourages people to stay longer and engage more!

Creating an ADA-compliant website is critical to making life easier for those individuals. But what do ADA-compliant websites look like, and how can you tell if your website is ADA compliant or not? In this article, we’ll discuss tips and tricks to incorporate into your website designs to make them accessible for everyone.

Who Needs to Have an ADA-Compliant Website?

Preferably, every website would be ADA compliant. However, the requirements for ADA-compliant websites can be a bit vague, becoming hard to implement. While not required for every website, it is beneficial to have an ADA-compliant website.

If your website is for a government body, private organization, place of business, or an organization meant for public benefit, you must make it ADA compliant. If it’s for anything else, such as a personal blog, you don’t have to make your website compliant, but it is recommended. You may face legal consequences if it isn’t, so be careful!

What Does My Website Need to Be ADA-Compliant?

While there are a lot of specific parts to what makes a website ADA compliant, it can be complicated to figure them all out. However, the requirements all have a few particular qualities. For a website to be ADA compliant, it needs to hit four key points:

• Perceivable
• Operable
• Understandable
• Robust

Perceivability pertains to the aspects of a website that affect how a user finds and processes information on your website. For example, if there’s a video on your website, provide an audio description so that visually impaired people can still access the content in the video. Adding a written description of any images is also beneficial, as many people use screen-readers to “read” written text into spoken word. 

Operability refers to the issues that impact how the user can navigate and use your website. For example, some disabilities cause the person to be unable to use a mouse while accessing the internet, so an ADA-compliant website would be able to be navigated by using only keyboard commands.

Understandability is how able the user can comprehend the information on a website and how to navigate it. An excellent way to add understandability is if your website has error messages, make them clear and fully explain what went wrong and how the user can fix it. Making your website as easy as possible to understand is a great way to make sure anyone can access it.  

Robustness of your website refers to your website’s ability to adapt to the ever-changing needs of those with disabilities. An excellent way to make your website adaptable and robust is to test how it works with several types of screen-readers and ensure you have room to upgrade if you need to. 

Is My Website ADA-Compliant?

If you want to be sure you have an ADA-compliant website, check to see if your website matches the four key points listed above. There are several online checkers you can use as well to test it so your content can reach as many people as possible. While it’s not specifically necessary for many website formats, remember that the extra work can boost your success and engagement with everyone!Need some help making sure your website is exactly as you want it to be? Schedule a consultation with us so we can help you perfect your web page!

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