Ensuring your website is ADA compliant is a continuous process that requires coordination, collaboration, effective management of stakeholders, and the application of accessibility best practices throughout the development life cycle. This guide is intended to summarize ADA compliance and the environment and tools you need to be familiar with. Key points:
- Legal landscape of website accessibility
- Technical standards - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
- Best practices for ADA compliance
- Types of disabilities
- Practical advice
Legal Landscape
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) generally requires public accommodations to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against by providing accessible offerings (i.e., accommodations, goods, services, etc.) to the public.
Because the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. state and federal courts have overwhelmingly interpreted the ADA to apply to digital offerings including websites (and mobile apps), the best course of action for website owners is to make their websites ADA compliant.
Because the ADA does not state how to make a website compliant, a gray area exists.
Two broad legal standards for ADA compliance are “meaningful access” and “effective communication”, but how do you know if a website meets these thresholds?
In a letter to Congress, Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd, wrote, “Absent the adoption of specific technical requirements for websites through rulemaking, public accommodations have flexibility in how to comply with the ADA’s general requirements of nondiscrimination and effective communication. Accordingly, noncompliance with a voluntary technical standard for website accessibility does not necessarily indicate noncompliance with the ADA.”
While flexibility in compliance sounds nice, it’s largely unhelpful to entities who find themselves on the receiving end of website accessibility litigation. These entities want to know exactly how to make an ADA compliant website.
The best place to start is with the voluntary technical standard Boyd alluded to: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are technical standards for web accessibility created by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) under their Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The W3C is a non-profit, non-governmental international community that works together to develop web standards.
WCAG has multiple versions and conformance levels for each version, but the most important version and conformance level is WCAG 2.1 AA.
Although past DOJ enforcement actions, U.S. courts, and other applicable anti-discrimination laws (e.g., Section 508, AODA) have required conformance with WCAG 2.0 AA, Version 2.1 is the current WCAG version and includes considerations for mobile accessibility.
Thus, it’s highly recommended you push past WCAG 2.0 AA and achieve conformance with WCAG 2.1 AA.
An important note is that nothing in 2.0 AA is undone by 2.1 AA, rather 2.1 only adds to the number of success criteria to account for.
Success Criteria
Success criteria are accessibility requirements necessary to meet the WCAG standard. Think of success criteria as bullet points or things to do. Every higher version and conformance level of WCAG consists of additional success criteria to the previous version and level.
For example, WCAG 2.0 AA contains 38 success criteria and WCAG 2.1 AA contains those same 38 success criteria and adds 12 more for a total of 50 success criteria.
What exactly do the success criteria call for?
The individual success criteria can be quite detailed and technically complex but some of general requirements include the following:
- Closed captioning for videos
- Good color contrast ratio
- Labels for form fields
- Correct heading structure
- Full keyboard navigation
You can download my free WCAG 2.1 AA checklist and guide at Accessible.org (no subscription required).
My checklist contains a quick summary of each success criterion along with a team role assigned to it (i.e., content editor, developer, designer).
My guide contains more detailed, plain English explanations of each success criterion.
Best Practices for ADA Compliance
Because the ADA doesn’t explicitly say what is needed for website compliance, it’s best to look to the relevant authoritative sources for best practices.
When it comes to Title III of the ADA, the best source of information is the DOJ. The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ regulates and enforces Title II and Title III of the ADA.
What’s extremely fortuitous is, in the early to mid 2010s, the DOJ has initiated several private enforcement actions that either centered around or included digital accessibility. In the resulting settlements, the DOJ consistently laid out what it required to ensure ADA compliance. The core terms of the settlement generally fell into two categories, accountability and proactive steps.
Here are the accountability mandates:
- Designation of employee as Web Accessibility Coordinator
- Accessibility Policy adopted and implemented
- Policy distributed to relevant persons
- Mandatory training
- Link to a statement of the policy prominently displayed on the homepage
- Multiple ways to provide feedback
- Accessibility issues prioritized on the same level as other fixes
Here are the proactive steps mandates:
- Accessibility audit
- Interval automated scans
- Hire an independent consultant
- Conduct an annual evaluation
- Perform user testing
- WCAG 2.0 AA conformance
- Provide auxiliary aids and services
Let’s quickly summarize each item.
Keep in mind, the DOJ settlements were corrective measures to ensure accessibility from an entity the DOJ thought was non-compliant. Thus, not all bullet points are strict requirements but they are certainly best practices that can be incorporated to mitigate risk.
Web Accessibility Coordinator
A coordinator does not provide for materially accessibility. However, a coordinator does help ensure that material accessibility progress will be made.
The outcome is what’s important, not necessarily having the coordinator. I recommend larger entities such as corporations or organizations with several digital assets appoint a coordinator.
For small businesses, the coordinating responsibilities can fall upon the website owner.
Accessibility Policy
There is a difference between a website accessibility policy and a statement. A policy is a more expansive document that includes details meant for internal use such as deadlines, processes, departmental responsibilities, reporting, and other nuances.
Distribution of the policy is required to ensure awareness, buy-in, and adoption from all personnel who participate in the digital offerings, from vendors to designers to content editors.
Accessibility Statement
A statement is a brief document that states an organization’s commitment to accessibility along with information that is meant to be publicly-facing and helpful to website visitors. A statement should offer accessibility specific assistance and invite feedback. Additionally, there should be include multiple ways for visitors to provide feedback (e.g., email, phone, form, etc.).
My article on how to write an accessibility statement elaborates further on this topic.
Also, you can download my accessibility statement template for free (no subscription required) on Accessible.org.
An accessibility statement is a material part of accessibility as it extends assistance and I consider it a necessary component of compliance.
Last, make sure you display your accessibility statement link on your homepage – I highly recommend you make it a sitewide link.
In terms of importance and prominence, this link should be viewed as on equal footing with your privacy page.
You may even want to post two accessibility links: one for a statement and the other for assistance/feedback.
Accessibility Training
Further, the DOJ required that training be mandatory for all web content personnel, including contractors.
Training is an investment with tremendous benefits as the more personnel have knowledge of accessibility, the less time is spent fixing issues after they’ve been produced.
Prioritization
The DOJ also insisted that accessibility fixes be on the same priority level as any other fixes. The impetus here is that accessibility not become an afterthought, but rather embraced by the organization.
For larger entities, prioritization of fixes should be a new procedural implementation that is made immediately.
Accessibility audit
One of the first steps in making a digital asset accessible is to assess the state of accessibility and identify accessibility issues. The DOJ required an audit to be conducted.
Interval automated scans
The DOJ was also insistent on the use of automated scans and the sustained, regular use of scans to find new issues as they arose.
Hire an independent consultant
Additionally, he DOJ required an independent website accessibility consultant to perform numerous tasks including:
- Advise on how to achieve WCAG conformance
- Establish criteria for selecting testers with disabilities and reviewing the results of testing
- Conduct an annual evaluation of conformance, deviation from prioritization of accessibility issues
- Recommend how to improve accessibility of assets
Conduct an annual evaluation
An annual evaluation is listed above as part of the consultant’s role but should be noted separately as it has been a DOJ requirement.
Perform user testing
User testing performed by people with different disabilities was another key action item required by the DOJ.
I highly recommend your organization engage in regularly scheduled user testing after making your asset accessible. This can significantly mitigate your litigation risk and provide you with a strong defense in the event you are defending against a claim.
WCAG 2.0 AA conformance
Of course, WCAG conformance was another stipulation in settlements. The DOJ set a fair but relatively prompt deadline for conformance. I recommend you similarly self-impose an accelerated deadline.
Provide auxiliary aids and services
The DOJ also called for auxiliary aids and services, where applicable. Auxiliary aids and services are items that assist in effective communication.
As it applies to most websites, providing for captioning and audio descriptions on videos is a good start (WCAG conformance includes these measures). Also, linking out to the free NVDA screen reader software is a good idea. Another possibility is providing for alternatives / alternative formats to presentations and media (e.g., PDF, Microsoft Word document). Basically, with auxiliary aids and services, the important takeaway is to furnish items that can assist in accessing content or functionality, especially when making your digital asset accessible wouldn’t be enough by itself to provide an accessible experience.
Loose analogy: Think of a unique situation like going to a 3D movie. You can attend the movie, but if you don’t have the 3D glasses, your experience will be horrible.
WCAG Conformance
Because WCAG 2.1 AA was not published at the time of these settlements, it was not mandated. However, I now strongly recommend all of my clients remediate their websites to conform to WCAG 2.1 AA.
WCAG 2.2 AA is expected to be published in 2021. In 2022, I will recommend WCAG 2.2 AA conformance although WCAG 2.1 AA conformance will still provide a very accessible experience for website visitors. Moreover, legally, websites that are WCAG 2.1 AA conformant will be extremely robust against litigation.
Best Practices In a Nutshell
By far the most important items on this list are 1) WCAG 2.1 AA conformance and 2) posting an accessibility statement.
Next, it’s critical to maintain accessibility for continued compliance. The action mandates from the DOJ are extremely helpful in laying out how to first achieve accessibility and then maintain it.
Start with the combination of full conformance and statement and you’ll be in great shape when it comes to ADA compliance. Once you’ve ascended to this level, the DOJ’s supporting requirements (e.g., policy, training, audits, scans, etc.) offer an excellent playbook for maintaining compliance.
Types of Disabilities
I believe it’s easier for people to embrace accessibility when we look beyond the law and at the root reason why accessibility is so important: many people – including you, your co-workers, your friends, and your family – have or will have one or more disabilities and if we don’t make our digital assets flexible enough to consider disability, then we can exclude people from access.
When we invest in making our digital assets accessible, we consider all types of disabilities including:
- Visual impairments
- Motor skills impairments
- Auditory impairments
- Cognitive disabilities
- Dyslexia
- Susceptibility to seizures
By making these considerations, not only do we make access to content and functionality possible, but we significantly improve the user experience.
To illustrate, let’s say whereas before remediating your website someone using a screen reader wasn’t prevented from completing a purchase but it might take them 15 minutes because they had to gather context clues and guess and check their way through the process. After remediation, checkout might be much, much easier, resulting in a 2 minute checkout process.
As a tremendous bonus, the improved user experience is a win for your entire audience – accessibility and usability are highly correlated.
Practical Advice
I consult with clients on accessibility and best practices for compliance on a regular basis. In this last section, I’ll leave you with three reoccurring themes from these consulting sessions:
- Get started ASAP
- Eliminate WAVE errors
- Avoid overlays
Accessibility Starts Now
Digital accessibility takes time to implement. In very rare cases (e.g., you own a simple website), it might take a few days. In a few instances (e.g., you own a moderately simple website and have agents who can dedicate to taking out issues), it might only take a few weeks. In most cases, it takes at least a few months.
No matter what your situation, accessibility is something you will need to address (it’s not a fad) so it’s in your best interest to get started today.
WAVE Errors
WAVE is a very good automated accessibility scan tool that is very easy to understand. Plaintiffs’ lawyers commonly use it when determining whether to initiate litigation against an entity so it’s a prudent move to lower and, ideally, eliminate your WAVE errors.
Automated scans can only detect a limited number of accessibility issues (i.e., even if you score 100% doesn’t mean you’re WCAG conformant) but they are excellent tools with multiple benefits.
One benefit is they can flag a handful of critical accessibility issues that significantly impact the accessibility of a website. Another benefit is scans create efficiency by saving time and limiting oversight in finding accessibility issues.
Avoid Overlays
Overlays are widgets that purport to automatically make a website accessible through a menu of claimed accessibility options. Although many website owners have purchased these widgets, the widgets do not make your website WCAG conformant.
OverlayFactSheet.com is a great resource on why overlays are ineffective and create a negative experience for people with disabilities.
One other note - overlays create a separate experience for users with disabilities which violates the plain language of the ADA.
Summary
ADA website compliance for websites can initially seem overwhelming but the best practice for compliance boils down to three parts:
- Make your website WCAG 2.1 AA conformant
- Post an accessibility statement that reflects your organization’s commitment
- Maintain your conformance
Accessible.org
Kris Rivenburgh writes extensively on digital compliance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Kris is the author of The ADA Book and has written Kris's WCAG 2.1 AA Checklist and Guide. Kris is also the creator of Kris's Accessibility Statement Template. Kris's work has been published in or cited by Bloomberg Law, Yahoo Small Business, Minnesota.gov, and Illinois University Library. Kris has presented on ADA compliance and accessibility at multiple industry conferences.
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