Before the Internet, business owners had to ensure their brick-and-mortar establishment was accessible to those with disabilities. Now, with the increase of businesses having an online presence, websites have virtual requirements to which they must adhere, to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Websites must provide the necessary means to access information for those who are hearing, visually, or physically impaired. With an ADA-compliant website, your company will avoid lawsuits and penalties, expand your customer reach, and gain more profit.
This is the first article in our four-part, ADA Compliance series. Discover the other articles in our series:
- Part One: The Importance of Having an ADA Compliant Website
- Part Two: ADA Website Compliance & How Color Impacts Your Website’s Accessibility (read here)
- Part Three: WCAG Compliance & Rethinking the Carousel Trend (read here)
- Part Four: Website Accessibility Test … Is Your Website Navigable Without a Mouse? (read here)
Avoid Lawsuits & Penalties
The effort to establish physical accessibility has been ongoing for decades – specifically with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. But, in 1990, the efforts were intensified with Title III of ADA. Around the same time, the popularity of the World Wide Web spread globally, and businesses flocked to the virtual world to increase business and profit.
In today’s world, an ADA-compliant website is absolutely essential, as nobody should be kept in the dark due to their disability.
Having an ADA-compliant website is being woven into the fabric of technological law. In the near future, the Department of Justice will be issuing specific regulations concerning ADA-compliant websites. However, penalties and lawsuits concerning website discrimination have already taken place.
Expand Your Customer Reach
An ADA-compliant website will dramatically increase your customer reach. There are roughly 49 million Americans who live day-to-day with a disability. When they access your website, are they able to fully navigate it? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Do your videos have captions for the hearing impaired?
- Do your colors have enough contrast for the visually impaired?
- Can the physically impaired navigate your website without using a mouse?
Once you make your website ADA-compliant, your customer reach will improve significantly.
Gain More Profit
In addition to steering clear of a costly lawsuit, more customers will have the opportunity to spend their money at your establishment. Profit is being lost simply to the lack of accessibility. When you increase your accessibility, you increase your customer reach and your profit.
How the M&R Team Can Help with Your ADA-Compliant Website
Stay on the lookout for parts two, three, and four of this series that will dive deeper into ADA-compliant websites!
Until then, allow us to run a FREE compliance scan on your website so you can see which areas need improvement and which areas are thriving. If you’re interested, take a few minutes to email us at hey@mandr-group.com. We look forward to helping you succeed!