ADA Compliance
We are not attorneys, however, we hang around them, have many legal clients who refer to us and we obtain advice from them regularly. There are several equal access and anti-discrimination laws covering employment, housing and business. We are not in a position to advise you on any area of the law. So, we will not offer to make your website Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant. We might be able to refer you to an attorney, if you need one.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Guidance and several court cases have consistently referred to the existing technical standards concerning how to ensure accessibility of website features. These include the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards.
The GOOD NEWS is that we have have been creating accessible websites, testing and remediating websites for over 12 years following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards. We also work side by side and sometimes refer to other companies who specialize in Accessibility and conform to these same standards.
DON’T FALL FOR THE QUICK FIX SCAM. Technical code is what creates your website. If your website code has a problem, that code is where Accessibility happens, or not. Adding a quick fix only covers the problem. Fake accessibility is heavily marketed and complaints have been filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against some of these companies and resellers, for false advertising. Compliance with ADA or any other law is not possible by adding one line of code, an overlay or a plugin.
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OVERLAYS DON’T WORK.
Accessibility experts, disability rights advocates, and end users with disabilities across the world have signed the Overlay Fact Sheet
Halfway down the page, after the explanation of the problems, you read a few testimonials from actual users. Your website cannot fix it’s accessibility issues auto-magically by adding one line of code, an overlay or plugin.
Lawyers comments regarding using an overlay:
Lainey Feingold, Disability Rights Lawyer = Honor the ADA: Avoid Web Accessibility Quick-Fix Overlays
Hunt Huey, ADA Defense = Is there a silver bullet for ADA website accessibility? Sorry, but the answer is no.
To learn more about Accessibility, we offer presentations, webinars and public events for businesses and web designers.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
We recommend that you first need to know the status of your website and have, at minimum, a basic understanding of what is wrong and what needs to be fixed. Once you are aware of what needs to be fixed, the next step is remediation.
Before signing on with someone who promises you ADA compliance for your website, a disability rights attorney suggested you ask the following two questions:
1.) Exactly what is ADA compliance for a website?
2.) How are you qualified to advise me on this law?
Most business owners only ask about the price of a website. We recommend you ask more questions to get a better understanding before making a decision.
1.) What is Web Accessibility?
2.) What is wrong with my website now?
3.) What is Assistive Technology and how does it work or not work with my website? Can you show me?
4.) What is WCAG and what does it mean?
5.) How exactly are you going to implement or deliver what you are offering as a fix?
6.) Is there a way my website is tested and can you show me those results – before and after? Are these automated tests or real-people using assistive technology doing the tests?
7.) How long will this take? How long will it last?
8.) What documentation of your efforts will you be providing me?
9.) Will you give me a guarantee?
10.) What is the cost?
The answers to these questions can make the difference in whether you get the results you need and deserve.
CALL TODAY for your free consultation 800-569-8279
YEARS OF COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION TO INCLUSIVE DESIGN
We have been educating on Web Accessibility for the past 5 years. Our specialty in Web Accessibility includes gaining education from the leaders in Web Accessibility field, testing and remediating websites, speaking with attorneys who are involved in legal cases pertaining to Accessibility, speaking to businesses about the VALUE of an Accessible website, presenting at small business events and at web designer education events. We consult with other designers to make their clients websites better. We educate and train do-it-yourselfers with hands-on workshops on Accessibility.
We are available for presentations, custom workshops and consulting on Web Accessibility. The more we work together, the more Accessible the web will be for all. Accessibility is necessary for some and a benefit to all.
Automated Scan Tools:
For your own understanding, there are a few automated tools that can scan your website and give you a visual of potential errors. Automated scan tools will tell you that they are not always 100% and sometimes return false positives. No automated tool can provide a guaranteed results, however, it is a good place for you to start.
We have no affiliation with the following company or their tool, however, we have found it to be one of the most useful and the results are easy to understand. WAVE is a web accessibility evaluation tool developed by WebAIM.org. Go to their page and put your URL in the “Web page address” field.
This automated too will NOT identify AL the errors in your site. It’s a good start, but not all that you need. We use a few different automated tools, as well as native user testing for a deep analysis of your website. Simply dusting the surface is not sufficient for compliance with Accessibility.