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Why You Need an ADA-Compliant Website To Be Competitive
If you want to reach a greater audience and boost your SEO, you should consider an ADA-compliant website. Learn about website compliance and how to comply with the ADA.
Do you comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it comes to your website? Did you even know you needed to? Businesses can reach the largest audience by creating an ADA-compliant website. Not to mention, failing to give a person with a disability a user-friendly experience could result in legal action.
In an ADA website compliance case, you risk losing if the court determines that your website design breached accessibility rules. It’s challenging to bounce back after an ADA lawsuit, especially if your business is a small or medium-sized one. Your finances, reputation, and income may all suffer as a result.
Making sure your website is accessible to everyone, whatever their physical limitations, is a requirement of the ADA. Having a site that’s compatible with screen readers, an assistive device that makes it easier for those who are blind or visually impaired to navigate websites is one way to make your website more accessible.
What Is The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?
ADA compliance is an umbrella term used to describe efforts to make a website accessible to people with disabilities. The objective is to make sure they have no problems viewing your web pages. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) created the WCAG, and it describes the technical specifications for producing accessible content. This set of guidelines is not a law and cannot be enforced.
A quick overview of the guidelines:
Perceivable information and user interface
Text alternatives for non-text content
Captions and other alternatives for multimedia
Content is easier to see and hear
Operable user interface and navigation
Functionality is available from a keyboard
Users have enough time to read and use the content
Content does not cause seizures and physical reactions
Users can easily navigate, find content, and determine where they are
Users can use different input modalities beyond the keyboard
Understandable information and user interface
Text is readable and understandable
Content appears and operates in predictable ways
Users are helped to avoid and correct mistakes
Robust content and reliable interpretation
Content is compatible with current and future user tools
If you’d like in-depth explanations, visit Web Accessibility Initiative.
The Repercussions Of ADA Non-Compliance
Ignoring accessibility requirements can have an impact on your company’s bottom line in addition to increasing your chance of being sued for a non-compliant website.
SEO – You may effectively optimize for accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO) by understanding how they overlap. The technical SEO components are covered when you improve accessibility by adding or updating image alt tags, audio/video captions, sitemaps, font size, and color contrast.
Reputation – Even while not all ADA lawsuits are filed by people with disabilities, they can nevertheless damage your online reputation if they spread the word about how difficult it is to use your website. If these visitors are leaving your site without taking any further action, search engines can also use that in their calculation of your bounce rate.
Competitors – Users who are hard of hearing or visually impaired head to your competitor’s website if yours is not accessible. You shouldn’t ignore this issue or undervalue the purchasing power of working-age persons with impairments.
Inaction can cost you more than a preventive compliance service. Don’t wait for a lawsuit about ADA website compliance before taking action. By enlisting the aid of a third party that provides ADA compliance services, you may avoid making mistakes that could get you into trouble or lead to a protracted legal dispute.
Be Proactive With ADA Website Compliance
You not only want to avoid ADA lawsuits that could cripple your business but being proactive with website compliance has many benefits. Your SEO is improved, you reach a wider audience, and you boost your business’s reputation when you comply with WCAG guidelines.
You need to establish a relationship with someone who is knowledgeable about the specifics of ADA compliance if you want to successfully navigate this always-changing environment. At ATMA, we have the knowledge and resources to help any owner of a business or website. Our ADA compliance and integrated custom web design services include software that corrects faults and a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) tool that adapts to screen readers used by persons with visual impairments.
