Writing for an audience with disabilities (including visual and cognitive impairments) can be challenging. A disability could mean the user can not use a mouse and keyboard, that they need to increase the font size, or that images and videos are not accessible. There are many ways you can make your content accessible to users with disabilities.
The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a civil rights law that prohibits unfair practices against people with disabilities in employment and access to public places. The ADA mandates that all businesses, including websites, remove barriers for disabled users so they can fully participate in society.
Labeled as accessibility guidelines by the World Wide Web Consortium, the WCAG 2.0 got released in 2008 and updated from version 1.0 in 1999. It is a set of technical standards which ensure disabled users have the same experience as non-disabled users when browsing the web.
What is ADA / WCAG compliance?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law prohibiting unfairness against people with disabilities in all areas of public life and private places open to the general public.
Labeled “a radical attempt to change society” by The New York Times back in 1990, as it became law with President George H. W. Bush’s signature, the ADA has been helping tackle the stigma surrounding people with disabilities since its inception.
This article highlights what Digital Accessibility Solutions means for you as an online business owner or creator. It enlists how you can become a more inclusive website creator for those who need your information most!
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Since the advent of the web, its users have been growing increasingly diverse due to increased content consumption from mobile and other devices. With this progress in mind, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1998 required Federal agencies “to make their websites accessible to people with disabilities”. The WCAG outlined four principles: perceivable, robust, understandable, and operable.
The guidelines get divided into three conformance levels from A (the lowest) to AAA (the highest). Each level contains one or more requirements a website needs to meet to achieve compliance. If a website fails to meet these requirements, it becomes non-compliant or inaccessible.
Why Should You Make Your Website ADA Compliant?
You are probably familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) from watching movies or TV shows. It is also likely that you were never really sure what this law intends to do. There are a few things that all companies need to be aware of so that everyone can access their website and digital offerings.
First off, let us start with a quick overview of how ADA and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) work together:
- ADA is a federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on disability in employment, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications.
- If your company is subject to Title III of ADA (includes state and local governments), you must meet a few visibility requirements.
How Do You Get Started?
If you are not ready to go that far, you can get an audit of your site from a WCAG consultant.
It is a simple, painless process and will give you a sneak peek at how much work it would take to make it fully compliant.
Any good web designer will tell you that it is crucial to ensure your site becomes compliant with both the WCAG guidelines and Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act. You will need an expert who can visually test various design elements on your website.
Before launching a new website, use a WCAG testing tool to identify and address any accessibility barriers, ensuring a user-friendly experience for people with diverse needs.
What Are the Requirements?
If you want to become WCAG or ADA compliant, you may be thinking about the requirements. Both web accessibility standards are a part of the US Section 508 and the AODA regulations. The WCAG standard sets guidelines for meeting accessible web standards, while the ADA standard deals specifically with making your physical spaces more accessible.
Conclusion
If you are a business owner looking to ensure your website is compliant with the ADA and WCAG, you should consider hiring a testing company to help.
A team of experienced consultants working with you will help provide a full range of services. These can include training your internal web development staff on best practices for web accessibility and auditing your existing website for compliance, to developing new components that are fully accessible.
A compliant platform will help meet the guidelines while improving the experience of the needy. Everyone will have equal access to it.