ADA Compliance: 3 Things to Know
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a great tool to “level the playing field” for people with some impairments. However, it is not just a suggestion that companies, schools, and other organizations consider the abilities of all individuals to use their services. It is a federal mandate. What is ADA compliance, and what should you know about it?
What is ADA Compliance
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities that affects all aspects of public life. It includes things like the use of Braille on ATMs and other public-use instruments, ramps, and automatic-open doors to allow access to public buildings and other such accommodations. It also, however, includes websites and Internet access.
Website accommodation requirements are not fully determined, but there are guidelines. There are three levels of compliance: level A, level AA, and Level AAA.
You Should Know: The Difference in the Levels
Level A is minimally compliant. It includes things such as a “text alternative to non-text content” and audio descriptions to visual content, captions, “intuitively sequenced” formats and other accommodations. Level AA contains all of the accommodations of level A plus things like the ability to resize text and the absence of flashing images which could cause seizures in some people.
Level AAA is complex and includes accommodations such as explaining all abbreviations and writing for a ninth-grade audience. The accommodations your website makes will affect its appearance, personality, and function, so striving to be AAA compliant is not always possible. Most companies and websites try to be AA (WCAG 2.1) compliant.
You Should Know: Website Owners and Developers Both are Responsible for ADA Compliance
Compliance is tricky. People who feel they have been denied access to a website because of a handicap may file lawsuits, and companies should be prepared to defend against them. There are so many different compliance issues that it is hard to keep track of problems or deficiencies in a website.
It is prudent to engage a digital service that provides that help. That said, human engagement is necessary for complete assurance. AudioEye.com says it this way: “ At the same time, we believe that technology alone is not the full answer. The knowledge, empathy, and expertise of dedicated individuals are needed to support technology and make the overall solution better.”
Few people, if any, would purposefully design a website to be inaccessible to people with handicaps. Most designers simply don’t think about visual or auditory impairments. Using an automated ADA compliance checker is one way to be certain that your website has done enough to comply because it is the right thing to do and because it is the law.
It is a difficult task to make certain a website has eliminated restrictive text, video elements, and other aspects while maintaining the flavor of the site. Using a company that specializes in compliance and in defending the legal rights of website owners is a decision that benefits everyone.
