Regardless of the industry your website is in, its size, or even age, it is still at risk of ADA Accessibility lawsuit. In fact, even big companies having substantial web-development teams that protect themselves from ADA Accessibility lawsuit still end up with ridiculous fines. So, what is ADA Accessibility Lawsuit and why should you be alarmed by it? Furthermore, how can you prevent it?
Here’s all you need to know.
What is ADA Compliance and ADA Accessibility Lawsuit?
ADA which stands for Americans with Disabilities Act, is a law signed by the US President George Bush in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, along with web accessibility. In short, it grants equal rights to both general users and people with disabilities whenever using an online platform or website.
Who should follow ADA Compliance?
The ADA compliance applies to practically all models and mediums that utilizes electronic information and technology – which means, all websites are covered – regardless of their industry or niche. It applies to all businesses as well as web developers if they have more than 15 employees.
This means ADA compliance is required out of businesses such as: businesses in the entertainment industry such as movie theaters, concert halls and others. Also applicable to the food industry such as restaurants and eateries, along with retail industry, local government offices, employment agencies, and small or medium types of businesses.
Back then, the law was signed in major consideration to the businesses in the physical realm, since not much people or businesses were using the online medium. However, with the advancement of technology, there had been an increase in online businesses and websites along with the growth in numbers of people using the internet, this law has become more prominent and severely imposed.
The internet has a major role to play in today’s way of life, and ADA compliance is a law that ensures equal accessibility – especially to people with disabilities.
What happens when you are faced with ADA Compliance Lawsuit?
ADA compliance is actually a very broad piece of law that covers a lot of various aspects of online accessibility. If your website is sued for acting against ADA Compliance then there is a great chance that your website or business may have had a great effect on its way of serving its customers or users – especially people with disabilities. This legislation is usually called “ADA Title III”, which covers public accommodation places such as parks, hotels, restaurants, and any other businesses having more than 15 employees.
In addition to a lawsuit, a business or a website is also prone to legal fees, possible settlements with their customers or clients, possible problems regarding public relations, and possibly heft costs from rebuilding or redesigning your website to be ADA compliant.
What’s even worse when dealing with ADA lawsuits is that you get the risk of losing your customers and company credibility. This is what hurts businesses the most seeing that loyal and returning customers are their most valued assets.
How to avoid ADA Compliance Lawsuit
Basically, if you want to avoid any ADA Compliance lawsuits in the future, you should need to comply with the WCAG (or Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) which develops web standards.
The WCAG makes use of 4 principles to ensure compliance and accessibility to all users. These principles include:
- Be Perceivable – this means all users should be able to perceive every bit of information or content that is on a page or website. This includes every text, image, video, audio, and others.
- Be Operable – being operable refers to how a website can be navigated with ease. Considering users with disabilities, the website should have the means to provide features and modes of assistance such as virtual keyboards, tools, and other modes to make the website operable.
- Be Understandable – the content as well as information provided in a website should not require any special skills or knowledge in order to used. Both general users and users with disabilities should easily comprehend what they are reading, seeing, listening to, and so on, on a website. A good way to make a website understandable is by providing a detailed instruction on how to use or navigate through the website and its features.
- Be Robust – even though the website is tailored in consideration to users with disabilities, it should still be competitive and universal. Make sure that your content is always up-to-date and is always well-equipped with the best descriptions, explanations, videos, audios, and all features and functions possible.
More information on how to reduce risks of ADA Compliance Lawsuits
Here are a few more things you can do in order to reduce risks of ADA compliance lawsuits in the future.
- Auditing your website accessibility
It is important to audit your website regularly to avoid ADA compliance lawsuits. The procedure of auditing provides you with any issues regarding website accessibility. This can be done through manual or automatic testing that are easily obtainable and available online. While the automatic testing gives you a quick audit result, it doesn’t really provide a detailed and more reliable result than that of the manual testing. Have a consultant or a professional perform the audit to ensure that every nook and cranny of your website or business is carefully reviewed and verified.
- Make use of ADA-dedicated plugins
Use of ADA-dedicated plugins is also a great way to ensure that your website is always ADA compliant. These ADA-dedicated plugins are readily available in any design platform and are designed to scan your website of any ADA compliance-related issues.
- Get information on updated accessibility requirements
It always helps to get yourself in-the-know of the latest and most recent accessibility requirements seeing that more and more users as well as websites are showing up online. Reading as well as understanding the most recent requirements will help you plan ahead for your website. With your knowledge of the requirements, you are able to make changes and tweaks in advance and you are able to inform and prepare your customers and clients in the process.
Our Final Thoughts
ADA Accessibility lawsuits are the last thing you’d want to face especially when your company has established its presence online. Not only can it cause damage to your business and finances, but also to your credibility and reputation as a business and as a person. Thus, it should never be taken too lightly.
Equipping yourself with the information as well as tips mentioned in this article will free your mind off of such lawsuits and worries of damaging your business. Also, if you want to make sure your website is ADA compliant, you got to work with the right people. Always do a background check on consultants or auditors you’re working with. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to pay more on such services if it guarantees website formidability against expensive ADA compliance lawsuits.
